Photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Cleveland scored three first-period goals and held on for a 3-2 victory over Syracuse in Game 1 of their North Division semifinal series Friday night.
The series resumes Sunday in Cleveland (4 ET, 
) before switching to Syracuse for the final three games.
Justin Pearson, Will Butcher again Corson Ceulemans score when the Monsters converted three of their six shots in the first period against the Crunch starter Jon Gilliesmaking their first Calder Cup Playoff appearance since 2017.
Dylan Duke again Mitchell Chaffee found Syracuse, but Zach Sawchenko made 16 of 29 saves in the third period to seal the win.
Brandon Halverson stopped all nine shots he faced in two periods of work to help the Crunch, who finished the night with a 31-15 advantage in shots.
(Cleveland leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Friday, April 24 – CLEVELAND 3, Syracuse 2
Game 2 – Sun., April 26 – Syracuse at Cleveland, 4:00
Game 3 – Friday, May 1 – Cleveland at Syracuse, 7:00
*Game 4 – Sun., May 3 – Cleveland at Syracuse, 3:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 9 – Cleveland at Syracuse, 5:00
*if necessary… All times in Mpumalanga
