Crunch Defeated By Rocket, 5-1

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch were defeated by the Laval Rocket, 5-1, today at Place Bell.

The loss puts the Crunch on a three-game skid as they move to 17-18-4-1 on the season and 1-3-1-0 in the eight-game season series against the Rocket.

Goaltender Amir Miftakhov stopped 20-of-24 shots in net for the Crunch. Kevin Poulin turned aside 38-of-39 between the pipes for the Rocket. Syracuse went 0-for-3 on the power play, but a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.

The Rocket opened scoring 6:14 into the game. Miftakhov made the initial save on Joel Teasdale’s shot during an odd-man rush, but Justin Ducharme followed behind the play and chipped in the second chance.

Laval doubled their lead during 4-on-4 play at the 14:26 mark. Sami Niku deked around the Crunch defense and cut toward the net to fire a close-range shot on net. His attempt was blocked, but the rebound came out for Jean-Sébastien Dea to send in.

The Rocket continued building their lead 1:34 into the second period. Gabriel Bourque grabbed a misplayed puck along the goal line and centered it for Teasdale to score from between the circles. At 10:43, Bourque made it 4-0 on a shorthanded breakaway.

The Crunch finally responded 8:21 into the final frame. Gabe Fortier ripped a shot from the high slot that went wide and ricocheted off the end boards for Charles Hudon to put into the net.

With 1:36 remaining in the game, Dea hit the empty net to make it a 5-1 victory for the Rocket.

The Crunch and Rocket travel to Syracuse for a fourth consecutive game on Friday.