Laval Rocket met Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League on October 2nd, and the visitors took all three points with a 1:0 scoreline. And here's the thing — the match opened the new campaign for both sides, and Syracuse were the ones who got off to a better start.
There were no goals in the first period, and the deadlock held through the second. To be fair, the home side had periods of pressure but could not find the net. The decisive moment came late — a quick break, a clean pass, and Syracuse finished it.
The result puts Syracuse at the top of the table on three points, while Laval remain on zero after their first defeat. By then the visitors had already shown they could handle the pressure of an away game, and they did not need more than one shot on target to seal it.
Looking at the numbers, the visitors outshot the hosts 28 to 19 and kept their keeper busy with a high volume of shots in the final period. And here's the thing — the hosts had nothing to do all evening once the goal fell, and the visitors never got going until the decisive phase.
My forecast called for an away win at 43 per cent confidence, and it came in. To be fair, the visitors had been the steadier side in recent meetings, and this result confirms they can take points on the road when it matters.
