The Syracuse Crunch were the first in the North Division to qualify for the playoffs, but had to wait until the final day of the regular season to decide who they would play. The Crunch had a chance to take the North outright with just one point, but the Crunch lost 5-2 to the Utica Comets in the final regular season game on Saturday (April 20). They finished the 2023-24 regular season with 39 wins, 24 losses, 4 draws, and 5 losses, with 87 points.
Due to the unique composition of each American Hockey League (AHL) division, the 23 teams that qualify for the playoffs are comprised of the top six teams from the Atlantic Division, the top five teams from the North and Central Divisions, and the top three teams. will be done. Seven people completed the race in the Pacific division. The first round will be a best-of-three game, the division semifinals and finals will be a best-of-five game, and the conference finals and Calder Cup final will be a best-of-seven game.
The Rochester Americans and Cleveland Monsters won their final regular season game (April 21st). This leaves the Monsters in first place in the North Division, with the Americans finishing in second place and hosting the Crunch when the regional semifinals begin. The first game of the series will be played on Friday, April 25th at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.
Let's take a look at how the Crunch and Americans stack up against each other heading into the playoffs.
Key Crunch Players Are Losing Time
Late in the regular season, the Crunch were without key players, and it's unclear if any of them will be available for the first game of the playoffs. Cole Koepke, who led the Crunch in goals this season with 20, hasn't played since April 6. Felix Robert has not played in the last three games and the team lost captain Gabriel Dumont in March, but remains in good form for the remainder of the season. Surgery to repair a torn ACL. With the status of Koepke and Roberto unknown, the team will move on to Gage Goncalves, who led the team in scoring this season, and Alex Barre-Boulet, who led the team in scoring in 2022-23 and spent the majority of the season. You may have to rely on it. Tampa Bay Lightning season.
The Crunch also made several roster changes, one of which was due to a trade the Lightning made at the trade deadline. All-Star Jack Thompson was traded to the San Jose Sharks by his parent club, the Lightning, for forward Anthony Duclair and a 2025 seventh-round NHL Draft pick. On March 15, the Crunch made two trades, acquiring forward Jordy Bellerive from the San Jose Barracuda in exchange for forward Joe Carroll and then defenseman Quinn Schmiemann from the Abbotsford Canucks in exchange for future considerations. obtained.
syracuse goaltending
Head coach Joel Bouchard will make the decision on who will start in net for the Crunch in the first game of the playoffs. In Friday's (April 19) 4-3 win over the Comets, goaltender Hugo Arnefeldt stopped 10 of 13 shots before being replaced by Brandon Halverson early in the second period. Halvorson stopped all 19 shots he faced on Friday, but only stopped 13 of 17 shots in Saturday's loss.
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The team will be without Matt Tompkins, who was the starter for most of the season. The 29-year-old had a 15-12-2 record with a 2.53 GAA before being called up by the Lightning on April 2 to replace the injured Jonas Johansson. Tomkins is the Lightning's backup goaltender in the first round of their series against the Florida Panthers.
Americans finish strong
The Americans finished the regular season with an 8-1 record, helping them advance to the tiebreaker for second place in the division. Mason Jobst and Isaac Rosen led the team in scoring, with Jiri Klich, one of the top prospects in the Buffalo Sabers organization, right behind them. The Sabers' 2022 first-round pick missed part of the AHL schedule to help the Czech Republic win a bronze medal at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, but the Amerks earned 45 points this season. was. He tied for the tournament's top score with 12 points (six goals, six assists), including two goals, in seven games, earning him selection to the tournament's All-Star team.
Devon Levi and Dustin Tokarski form one of the best goaltending duos in the AHL. The Sabers demoted Levi in December. Levi struggled at the beginning of the season, but he achieved good results wearing the American sweater. He posted a 16-6-4 record with a 2.42 GAA and .927 save percentage (SV%) in 26 games. Tokarski returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins organization after a year in the organization and posted an 11-9-3 record, 3.32 GAA, and .890 SV% in 24 games.
Syracuse has a 7-2-2-1 record against the Amerks this season, but the rivals, who are only 88 miles apart, are headed for another epic showdown in the AHL playoffs.
