Crunch stay alive with Game 3 victory

Photo: John Saraya

Syracuse kept its season alive on Tuesday night with a 2-1 road victory over Cleveland in Game 3 of their North Division semifinal series.

The Monsters still hold a 2-1 series lead as they prepare to host Game 4 on Thursday.

AHL rookie of the year Alex Barre-Boulet had a goal and an assist for the Crunch and Andy Andreoff‘s power-play goal 31 seconds into the third period proved to be the game-winner.

Eddie Pasquale (1-2) made 25 saves, including 17 in the final frame.

Justin Scott scored his second goal of the series on a shorthanded breakaway with 7:13 remaining, but the Crunch withstood the Monsters’ late pressure and brought an end to Cleveland’s 11-game postseason winning streak dating back to 2016.

Brad Thiessen (2-1) stopped 25 shots in the loss.

North Division Semifinals – Series “C” (best-of-5)
N1-Syracuse Crunch vs. N4-Cleveland Monsters
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 19 – Cleveland 5, SYRACUSE 3 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 20 – Cleveland 5, SYRACUSE 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Tue., Apr. 23 – Syracuse 2, CLEVELAND 1
Game 4 – Thu., Apr. 25 – Syracuse at Cleveland, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., Apr. 27 – Cleveland at Syracuse, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern