Crunch, Barons go up

Tyler Johnson did play, and he played in a game that went to the wire before an empty-netter gave Syracuse a 2-0 win over the Penguins and a 2-1 series lead. Richard Panik left early for the Crunch, though.

Oklahoma City took the same series lead with a 4-1 win at home against Grand Rapids. Yann Danis made 20 saves. Tanner House was knocked out of the game, taken off on a stretcher, after an unpenalized hit by Triston Grant; Ben Eager, fighting in retaliation, got a game misconduct for abuse of officials.

Both series resume Friday. Did some cursory research, doubly dangerous at 1 a.m., but it did yield a confirming official release that says Gustav Nyquist, Joakim Andersson and, if healthy, Danny DeKeyser are Griffins-eligible now that the Red Wings are done.

Sacred Heart’s nonleague schedule for 2013-14 includes RPI at home (including locals Ryan Haggerty and Luke Curadi); Yale, Penn State and RPI on the road; and the UConn Classic at holiday time.

And today, really, there was no other way for Pat Leonard to start his story, now, was there?

Michael Fornabaio