HERSHEY, Pa. — Yanni Gourde assisted on Syracuse’s first goal and scored the second, and Jonathan Marchessault scored the only tally in a shootout, as Syracuse defeated Hershey, 3-2, Saturday at Giant Center. Two standings points propels Syracuse ahead of Manchester for tops in the Eastern Conference.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 30 of 32 shots in 67 minutes of action and each of three Hershey shootout attempts for his 14th win of the year and third in a row.
Tanner Richard recorded the game’s first goal at 4:22 of the second, jamming the puck under Phoenix Copley after Philippe Paradis and Yanni Gourde created the possession in the trapezoid.
Two minutes later, in the midst of a penalty kill, Gourde started a 2-on-1 rush with Mike Angelidis. Back-and-forth passing finished with Gourde ripping a shorthanded goal past Copley for a 2-0 Crunch lead, Gourde’s team-leading 16th goal of the year. Angelidis improved to 27 points with his 13th assist.
After helping the Crunch build a 2-0 lead in the second period, Gourde completed his first career Gordie Howe hat trick with a fight halfway through the third. When Philippe Paradis was checked by Connor Carrick, Gourde dropped the gloves with Carrick and was charged an extra minor for roughing.
The Bears capitalized on the ensuing power play when a deflected puck fluttered over the Syracuse cage and trickled down Vasilevskiy’s back. Following a video review, Philippe Cornet was awarded the game-tying goal. Stanislav Galiev and Tomas Kundratek garnered assists.
Kris Newbury had drawn the Bears within a goal late in the second with his 14th goal of the year with Dane Byers and Dustin Gazley assisting.
A scoreless overtime led to Syracuse’s third shootout win of the season. Lynch couldn’t solve Copley in the first round, but Marchessault clanked a shot off the pipe to put Syracuse ahead. Vasilevskiy denied Galiev, Cornet and Chris Brown for the win.
Vladislav Namestnikov was denied by Copley on a penalty shot in the second period and the Crunch were 0-for-4 on the power play. Syracuse stopped four of five Hershey power plays.
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