As expected, game one between Syracuse (1st seed) and St. John’s (4th seed) started off with a bang last night. The game was intense and physical, and Syracuse clearly struggled from the start with keeping the IceCaps out of their heads. St. John’s took the game from a (surprisingly?) disorganized, undisciplined Crunch with a 2-1 final. The series continues tonight in Newfoundland for game two before shifting to Syracuse on Wednesday.
Bottom line:
A best-of-three series obviously has less room for error than a best-of-four. The Crunch doesn’t want to come back to Syracuse staring down three elimination games in a row, even on home ice.