After the Norfolk Admirals came back from down two goals to tie the game in the third period, the Syracuse Crunch needed a game-saving performance to revive its play.
The Crunch received two such efforts from a rather unlikely source – two 20-year-olds playing in their first professional games.
Igor Bobkov made 43 saves and Peter Holland scored the game winner in the final period to lift Syracuse to a 5-3 victory over the Admirals Thursday night at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Both Bobkov and Holland joined the Crunch Tuesday after finishing the season with their respective OHL teams. The two are playing to determine their spot in the Anaheim organization next season.
Bobkov, who learned he was starting this morning, settled into a rhythm as the game progressed.
“I was really nervous at the beginning,” Bobkov said. “The players helped me and the first shots came from long distance from the blue line.”