Submitted by Anonymous on February 21, 2015 - 23:26



By Jeremy Houghtaling



Mike Angelidis didn't pause to think over his answer.

The Crunch captain netted the eventual game-winning power play goal, chipped in a pair of assists, and dropped the gloves in a brawl in the final minute. But Angelidis was most proud of the two points in the standings after a 5-3 win over the Binghamton Senators at the Onondaga County War Memorial Saturday.

"I'm proud the team got two points," Angelidis said. "We've lost a couple games there ... We got two in a row here. So it's key for us to keep going here. I think we've got to get our swagger back. The chemistry is starting to click here, especially offensively, hopefully we can just keep riding it."

Yanni Gourde registered a goal and two assists, Carter Ashton added a goal and an assist, and Jake Dotchin and Joel Vermin rounded out the scoring. Jonathan Marchessault, Henri Ikonen, Slater Koekkoek, Tanner Richard and Vladislav Namestnikov each had one helper. Kristers Gudlevskis made 20 saves for the win.

A little more than three minutes after Binghamton's Carter Camper opened the scoring, Jake Dotchin responded with his fourth goal of the season at the 6:59 mark of the first period.

After some jawing by the benches, Ashton put the Crunch ahead with a goal in the final 15 seconds of the first.

"It was a set face-off play," Ashton said. "It was a great win by Tanner (Richard), it went through the D, and I was fortunate to beat my man to the puck and look far side."

Ashton, acquired in a trade earlier this month, has replaced Philippe Paradis on a line with Gourde and Richard. While Ashton believes there has been a transition process with his new team, he feels he has built chemistry with Gourde and Richard.

"I'm liking that line more and more," said Crunch head coach Rob Zettler of Ashton, Gourde, and Richard. "Carter brings some of the elements that (Philippe) Paradis brought to that line. He has some size and some speed and some puck protection down low. I think they're starting to gel a little bit."

Vermin fought off a Binghamton defender and scored 1:32 into the second, but Garrett Thompson cut the Senators deficit back to one midway through the frame.

Angelidis buried a rebound on the power play less than eight minutes into the third. Colin Greening's shorthanded goal again brought Binghamton back to within one, but a Gourde empty-netter with 23 seconds left sealed the Syracuse win.

After the goal, a slash by Chris Wideman set off a melee in the Senators zone. Joey Mormina paired off with Buddy Robinson for a spirited bout, and Angelidis and Wideman had a brief exchange of blows.

The teams combined for 42 penalty minutes for the brawl.

"We were happy just skating away," Mormina said. "It started with (Angelidis) there, and we're a team and we stick together. We just all jumped in."

The Crunch have earned a point in each of their last nine games on home ice. While some said its the fans or the ability to go through regular routines at home, many pointed to the slightly smaller ice surface in Syracuse.

"We feel like we play really well at home," Mormina said. "The small neutral zone plays well to our game. We try to play North hockey, play in the offensive zone and it really works to our advantage at home."

The Crunch, who are 17-4-4-0 at home, are hoping to find that same consistency on the road. Syracuse (31-13-8-0) plays its third game in three nights Sunday against the Rochester Americans at the Blue Cross Arena.

"We proved that we're team tough today," Ashton said. "We all stood up for each other in battles and fights and every aspect of the game."