Well that was fun, right?

A near capacity crowd at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena witnessed a seven goal beat down of the Providence Bruins by their Syracuse Crunch on Friday night. Eleven different players registered at least a point in an effort that puts the Bruins on the edge of elimination and Syracuse on the verge of their first Calder Cup Final since 2013.

The home team came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, building a quick 5-0 shot advantage over the Bruins. Moments later, rookie blueliner Ben Thomas found pay dirt. Thomas received a drop pass from Yanni Gourde and placed a perfect shot into the top left corner of the Providence twine.

Cory Conacher registered the secondary assist on the play giving him 5 points in his last two games. Thomas’ goal wouldn’t be the last time Conacher made his presence felt. He ended the night with another four point effort.

Not long after, the Bruins were able to net the equalizer. Jordan Szwarz sniped home his sixth marker of the playoffs with the helper coming from Wayne Simpson. Syracuse Crunch starting goalie Mike McKenna never saw the shot and never had a chance to deny it. McKenna was otherwise solid in the opening frame despite numerous "grade A" chances from the Bruins.

.@JSzwarz pots his third of the series to tie up Game 4. #PROvsSYR pic.twitter.com/RBA1ZukRk0 — AHL (@TheAHL) May 26, 2017

The first period excitement wasn't quite over yet. A late string of Providence penalties gave the Crunch a 5-on-3 that they wouldn't let pass quietly. After struggling to set up the man-advantage, Matt Taormina loaded up a slapshot and didn't miss. Yanni Gourde notched his second point of the game with the primary assist. Like Conacher, Gourde finished the evening with his first four point game in a Crunch uniform.

If you thought the Crunch got off to a quick start in the first period, the beginning of the second was even more impressive. Michael Bournival followed up a shot from Conacher and, after a couple of whacks at the puck, was able to push it past Zane McIntyre to secure a 3-to-1 lead. Bournival’s fifth tally of the postseason would prove to be the eventual game winner.

The frustration and embarrassment would only get worse for McIntyre as the period wore on. The rookie sensation gave up three more goals in the middle stanza and was subject to many different heckles from the Crunch faithful including a deafening “we want Subban” chant. The chant was in reference to Providence back-up goalie Malcolm Subban.

‘Cuse fans got exactly they wanted as PK Subban’s little brother led the Bruins onto the ice for the third period. The bad news for Malcolm? His presence would do little to spark his hockey club. Cory Conacher would add another goal early in the regulation frame to seal the deal once and for all.

Mike McKenna put together another brilliant stat-line on Friday, stopping 33 out of 35 Providence bids. The Crunch are back on home ice Saturday night with a chance to secure an Eastern Conference Championship and a berth into the Calder Cup Finals.

Boxscore