Former IceCaps captain Gabriel Dumont provided the final blow as Syracuse eliminated St. John’s with a 2-1 overtime win in Game 4 of their North Division semifinal series on Friday night.
Dumont, a 2009 draft pick by the Montreal Canadiens who spent six seasons playing with the Habs and their AHL affiliates in St. John’s and Hamilton, took a centering pass from Byron Froese and one-timed a shot from the slot past Charlie Lindgren to send the Crunch onto the second round.
It was the first point of the season for Dumont, who wore the captain’s “C” in St. John’s in 2015-16 before signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning last summer.
Erik Condra‘s goal late in the first period gave Syracuse a 1-0 lead that would hold up until Stefan Matteau tied it up with just 5:33 left in regulation.
Mike McKenna, 0-4 in five previous starts with a chance to close out a Calder Cup Playoff series, stopped 26 of 27 shots to earn the win for the Crunch. Lindgren finished with 23 saves for the IceCaps.
Syracuse will meet either Toronto or Albany in the North Division Finals beginning next Friday.
North Division Semifinals – Series “C” (best-of-5)
N1-Syracuse Crunch vs. N4-St. John’s IceCaps
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 21 – ST. JOHN’S 2, Syracuse 1
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 22 – Syracuse 4, ST. JOHN’S 3 (2OT)
Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 26 – SYRACUSE 3, St. John’s 2
Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 28 – SYRACUSE 2, St. John’s 1 (OT)
Gabriel Dumont with the overtime goal to send the @SyracuseCrunch to the North Division Finals. #CalderCup pic.twitter.com/iFuQJulLUP
— AHL (@TheAHL) April 29, 2017
