The Syracuse Crunch did many things right in their game-one loss on the road to the Toronto Marlies, but there are aspects of the game that still need to be shored up.
For a team that was short-handed often during the regular season, giving the Marlies four power plays was an improvement from their regular season average of 4.9 per game. However, the Marlies capitalized twice with the man advantage, both times to give the team the lead in a close match.
“I don’t think four penalties is a lot, but the goals are too much, obviously — it was probably a difference in the game,” said head coach Benoit Groulx after the game.