Todd Cross Special to The Plain Dealer
Syracuse, N.Y.
- If you're short on history, the simple recap when it comes to hockey is that it is a game of "little things."
Win a game? It's the little things that were done right. Lose a game? It's the little things that were done wrong (although adaptations of "We stink" can be substituted for the latter statement).
So when the Barons' Hannes Hyvonen high-sticked a Crunch defenseman in overtime and gave the Crunch their ninth power play of the game, it was a little thing. If it weren't for Jeff Jillson it would have turned into a big thing.
But with Vesa Toskala out of position, Jillson turned Brett Harkins' gimmee from the top of the slot into the best save of the night as he preserved a 3-3 tie for the Cleveland Barons against the Syracuse Crunch.
Since his demotion, the American-born youngster, who just turned 21 this July, has been on a point-a-game relationship with his newest teammates. He gathered another assist (his fourth in three games) against the Syracuse Crunch last night and followed it up with solid even-strength play, the killing of a good half-dozen power plays, and the notion that he's playing like a seasoned veteran with quality minutes coming late in the third period and overtime.
"He's gotten better every game. He saves us from an overtime loss. He's not going to be here very long. When [San Jose] signed [holdout defenseman Mike] Rathje up there that made someone expendable. Basically what they wanted to do was see him log a lot of pro minutes and be ready to go when the call comes," said coach Roy Sommer.
With Jillson's solid play and the continued scorching of the net by the Jonathan Cheechoo-Ryan Kraft-Hyvonen line, the Barons had little trouble gaining at least a point with the Crunch.
The line combined for all three Barons' goals. Kraft had a goal and an assist, Hyvonen netted a pair, and Cheechoo tallied two assists.
"That's probably one of the better lines in hockey. That line can do a lot of damage if you leave them unchecked. When you're looking to put lines together if you can find three guys that match that's perfect. It's hard to find three that play well together," Sommer said.
Vesa Toskala got the nod again for the Barons and was good, not great. But he didn't have to be. He faced 38 shots and extended his unbeaten streak to six games with the tie.
The Barons gave up a lead twice and came back from a one-goal deficit.
Two points loomed until Mathieu Darche tied the game with goalie Karl Goehring on the bench for an extra attacker. Darche swatted in a rebound with 38 seconds left to help Syracuse steal a point. Goehring finished with 30 saves.