Griffins fall to Crunch in Game 3

By @MichaelCaples –

Well, it won’t be a sweep.

Wednesday night, the Crunch recorded their first win in their AHL Final series with the Griffins, as they posted a 5-3 win in Syracuse.

The Griffins now hold a 2-1 series lead after Wednesday night’s contest – the first game away from Van Andel Arena.

A pivotal Game 4 will take place Friday night. If the Griffins win, they take a 3-1 series lead. If Syracuse wins, the series is tied at two games apiece, with one more game in New York before if-necessary Games 6 and 7 take place back in Grand Rapids.

In Game 3, the Griffins fell behind early. Byron Froese scored the game’s first goal for the home team at the 7:00 mark of the first period. While Tyler Bertuzzi scored two minutes later, Joel Vermin scored twice for the Crunch before the first intermission to give Syracuse a 3-1 lead.

Dominic Turgeon scored his first goal of the postseason in the second period, but that was answered by strikes from Tye McGinn and Cory Conacher.

Kyle Criscuolo scored for the Griffins late in the second, but that was it for the red-light activities.

Jared Coreau stopped 27 of the 32 shots sent his way, while Mike McKenna stopped 32 of 35 for the Crunch.