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Tampa Bay Lightning AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch to play for Calder Cup

By Chase Kimball

Mar 27, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Yanni Gourde (65) celebrates with teammates after scoring the game winning goal during overtime at Amalie Arena. The Lightning won 5-4 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Yanni Gourde (65) celebrates with teammates after scoring the game winning goal during overtime at Amalie Arena. The Lightning won 5-4 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Tampa Bay Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, will face the Grand Rapid Griffins — farm team for the Detroit Red Wings — in the Calder Cup Finals.

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, will be playing in the AHL Finals, vying for the Calder Cup. After knocking off the Providence Bruins in five games, the Crunch will advance to play for the Calder Cup for the second time in franchise history.

The Crunch will be facing the Grand Rapids Griffins, the AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, in a best-of-seven series for the Calder Cup. While it’s only the Crunch’s second time making it to the Finals, it will be the second time they  will face the Griffins in the Finals. Unfortunately for the Crunch, they lost the previous series in six games the first time around.

Syracuse finished the regular season with a record of 48-29-15. Following one of the most successful seasons in Crunch history has been a successful playoff run so far. In both the Eastern Conference Final and the quarterfinals, the Crunch limited their opponents to just one win.

Highlighting the Crunch’s roster are several familiar faces for Tampa Bay Lightning fans. Cory Conacher, Yanni Gourde, Erik Condra, Gabriel Dumont, Tye McGinn, and Gregg McKegg are just a few players that have spent time on the Lightning’s roster this year. It’s no coincidence that these players are also leading the Crunch statistically as of now. So far in the playoffs, Cory “Honeybadger” Conacher has 9 goals and 11 assists for a total of 20 points. Yanni Gourde and Erik Condra are not far behind with 16 points and 14 points respectively.

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Game 1 of the Calder Cup Playoffs will be played on Friday, June 2nd.  Puck drop is at 7 pm EST. The Griffins will start with home ice advantage, and the series will move to Syracuse for Game 3. The entire series will be available to stream for free on any computer, tablet, or smartphone at ahllive.com.

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