SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch face a 2-0 North Division Semifinals series deficit after a 5-1 loss to the Cleveland Monsters tonight at the War Memorial Arena.
Goaltender Eddie Pasquale stopped 27-of-30 shots in net for the Crunch, while Brad Thiessen recorded the win with 18 saves. Syracuse went 1-for-4 on the power play and a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
After a scoreless first period, the Monsters capitalized on a turnover 18 seconds into the middle frame when Justin Scott potted a loose puck from the slot. The assist went to Ryan MacInnis.
The Crunch knotted the score with a power-play goal at the 12:36 mark. Quick passing from Carter Verhaeghe and Cory Conacher moved the puck down into the zone for Ross Colton to chip in as he cut across the slot.
Cleveland regained their lead with 2:45 remaining in the second period. Pasquale made the save on Sonny Milano’s shot, but Dan DeSalvo was in front of the net to net the rebound five-hole. Gabriel Carlsson earned the secondary helper.
The Monsters made it a two-goal lead halfway through the third period. Milano knocked down a clearing attempt and centered the puck for Mark Letestu to finish off.
Cleveland added two empty-netters from Milano and Derek Barach late in the frame to secure a Game 2 victory.
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