Syracuse, NY (June 15, 2009) - Former Syracuse Crunch left wing Matt Cooke became the club's tenth alumnus to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup on Friday night, as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Cooke, 30, skated in 55 games for the Crunch from 1998-2000, compiling 20 goals, 26 assists and 146 penalty minutes. In parts of 10 professional seasons, Cooke has appeared in 659 NHL games with Vancouver, Washington and Pittsburgh, notching 99 goals 142 assists and 753 penalty minutes.
A native of Belleville, Ontario, Cooke appeared in all 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games with Pittsburgh this season, chipping in seven points (1g, 6a). He was originally drafted by Vancouver in the sixth round, 144th overall, in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.
Cooke joins Francois Beauchemin (2006-07 - Anaheim), Jassen Cullimore (2003-04 - Tampa Bay), Anders Eriksson (1997-98 - Detroit), Steve Kelly (1999-00 - New Jersey), Joe Motzko (2006-07 - Anaheim), Dana Murzyn (1988-89 - Calgary), Jamie Pushor (1996-97 - Detroit), Mike Rupp (2002-03 - New Jersey) and Corey Schwab (2002-03 - New Jersey) as former members of the Crunch to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.
Mark Hartigan, (2006-07 - Anaheim, 2007-08 - Detroit), Deron Quint (1999-00 - New Jersey) and Aaron Rome (2006-07 - Anaheim), are all former Crunch members who were on the active rosters for their respective championship teams, but did not appear in enough regular season games or in a Stanley Cup Finals game in order to have their names engraved on the trophy.
Season tickets for the 2009-10 season are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Crunch office at (315) 473- 4444 or by stopping by the Crunch office in the War Memorial at Oncenter.
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