AHL Syracuse Crunch

LaCosta Limiting the Opposition; Crunch Record 500th Win in Franchise History

Published on January 26, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


2008-09 RECORD: 22-18-3-2, 49 points, (12-6-1-0 home, 10-12-2-2 road), fifth place, North Division

THIS WEEK'S GAMES

Friday, January 30 vs. Lake Erie (17-22-1-5, 40 points), sixth place, North Division

Saturday, January 31 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (27-16-1-2, 57 points), third place, East Division

LAST WEEK'S RESULT

Monday, January 19 CRUNCH 6 Hamilton 3

Thursday, January 22 Crunch 4 ROCHESTER 0

Friday, January 23 CRUNCH 3 Toronto 1

Saturday, January 24 Manitoba 3 CRUNCH 2 OT

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

LACOSTA LIMITING THE OPPOSITION: Crunch number one netminder Dan LaCosta has been on fire since being assigned from Columbus on January 17, going 3-0-1-0 with a 1.75 goals against average and .941 save percentage in four games last week.

LaCosta picked up the win on Monday vs. Hamilton, stopping 28 of 31 shots in a 6-3 decision after not playing a game in 13 days. He was outstanding Thursday night in Rochester, picking up second star honors and turning aside all 29 shots he faced in a 4-0 blanking of the Amerks, his second shutout of the season.

LaCosta was also excellent in Friday night's victory over Toronto, stopping 35 of 36 bids en route to being named the game's first star. Saturday night vs. Manitoba, he kept the Crunch in the game long enough to battle back from a 2-0 deficit and tie the game with 47 seconds remaining in regulation to force an eventual overtime loss which saw the Crunch earn a hard-fought point in the standings.

The third year professional has appeared in 32 games for the Crunch this season, going 15-12-2 with a 2.59 goals against average, .917 save percentage and two shutouts. A native of Labrador City, Newfoundland, LaCosta was drafted by Columbus in the third round, 93rd overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

CRUNCH RECORD 500TH WIN IN FRANCHISE HISTORY: After a 46-26-2-6 record last season, that put the Crunch at 480 all-time wins in franchise history heading into this season, needing 20 more wins to record 500 in their 15-year history.

Last Monday, the Crunch defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs, 6-3 to notch their 20th win of the 2008-09 campaign and 500th in team history. The Crunch currently have 502 all-time wins, behind only Albany, Hartford, Hershey, Philadelphia, Portland, Providence and Rochester among active American Hockey League teams.

JANUARY JOLT: After a 14-7-0-1 start through November, the Syracuse Crunch were not blessed with much holiday spirit as the team went on an 11-game winless skid and posted a 1-8-1-1 record in the month of December. Since that point, however, Syracuse has turned their season back in the opposite direction, with a 7-3-2-0 record so far in the month of January.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:

LAKE ERIE MONSTERS (COLORADO AVALANCHE): The Crunch welcome in the Lake Erie Monsters to the War Memorial at Oncenter Friday for the fourth of eight meetings this season. Each club has won one game in regulation and Lake Erie defeated the Crunch in overtime on January 3 to hold a slight edge in the season series. Petr Pohl (1g, 1a) and Trevor Frischmon (2a) lead the Crunch in scoring against Lake Erie with two points each, while 10 other players have notched at least one point each in the series. Marty Sertich has notched two goals while six other Monsters players have also tallied two points.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS (PITTSBURGH PENGUINS): The Crunch welcome in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night for the second of four meetings at the War Memorial at Oncenter and fifth of eight overall match-ups between these two clubs. The Crunch are 3-2-0-0 against the Penguins this season, winning the last game on January 10 in a six-round shootout thanks to two goals from Steve Kelly. Mike York has put up an impressive eight points (2g, 6a) and leads all players on both clubs in scoring in the season series. Janne Pesonen leads all Penguins skaters with four points (3g, 1a).

PRACTICE SCHEDULE: The Crunch's weekly schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, January 27 OFF

Wednesday, January 28 OFF

Thursday, January 29 10:30 a.m. Practice @ War Memorial at Oncenter

Friday, January 30 10:00 a.m. Skate @ War Memorial at Oncenter

Game vs. Lake Erie 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 31 10:00 a.m. Skate @ War Memorial at Oncenter

Game vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, February 1 TBD

CRUNCHABLES: Lone Crunch all-star representative Derek MacKenzie is currently riding a team and individual season-high eight game point streak...Left wing Jon Mirasty appeared in his 100th AHL and Crunch game Saturday night vs. Manitoba...With his start Saturday night, Dan LaCosta is now tied with Tomas Popperle for fifth all-time in games played by a Crunch goaltender (66)...LaCosta tied Andrew Penner for seventh all-time in wins (28) on Friday night vs. Toronto...The Crunch are currently riding a four-game points streak (3-0-1-0)...Mike York had his season individual and team-high five game assist streak snapped Saturday night vs. Toronto.

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