SEVEN DEADLY SECONDS

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Syracuse Crunch scored twice in a seven-second span of the first period - the fastest two goals against in Griffins history - and made them stand up for a 2-1 victory Saturday at Van Andel Arena, breaking Grand Rapids’ three-game winning streak.

The Griffins (10-13-1-2), who also suffered their first regulation loss in their last five home games, will continue their season-high six-game home stand next week by hosting a pair against the defending Calder Cup champion Hamilton Bulldogs on Wednesday and Friday. Game time each night is 7 p.m.

The chippy play from Friday’s 2-0 Griffins win carried over into tonight’s affair, as Syracuse’s Marc Methot initiated some shenanigans during the pre-game warmup and Adam Keefe out-pointed Tom Sestito in a brawl just 2:05 into the contest.

At the 12:26 mark of the first period, after Jimmy Howard had denied Syracuse’s initial shot from the left goal line and a rebound attempt from point-blank range, Andrew Murray finally deposited the visitors’ third attempt from the right side. The Crunch then won the ensuing draw at center ice and Jeffrey Szwez sped in ahead of the Griffins’ defense, sliding a shot inside the right post for Syracuse’s second goal in just seven seconds.

It took 34 shots and 56:44 for the Griffins to finally light the lamp behind Crunch netminder Tomas Popperle. During a power play, Mattias Ritola rang a shot off the right post, but Carl Corazzini cashed in the rebound from just outside the crease to extend his goal streak to three games.

Grand Rapids applied heavy pressure in the Syracuse end during the final minutes but could not net the equalizer. Popperle followed up Friday’s solid relief performance by making 34 saves, while Howard saw his three-game winning streak come to an end in a 16-save effort.

A crowd of 9,262, the Griffins’ largest since opening night, witnessed the game, raising the team’s average attendance through 12 games to 5,671, a year-to-date increase of 17.2%.