AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Look To Find Winning Ways

Published on December 9, 2002 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


LOOKING FOR A CURE ON THE ROAD: Syracuse turns to the road this week to try and a find a way to break their current slide in which they have lost five of their last six games. The Crunch travels to Cleveland on Tuesday, Cincinnati on Wednesday and Rochester on Friday, before returning to the War Memorial on Saturday to face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Syracuse has performed better on the road to this point, posting a .500 winning percentage (4-4-1-0). The Crunch has played .385 hockey at home (5-8-0-0).

SIMILAR START TO LAST YEAR: Through 22 games this season, the Crunch have 19 points (9-12-1-0) the same total they had this time last year during their record breaking season. The 2001-02 version of the Crunch, which went onto a franchise high 96 points, had a 6-9-5-2 record through 22 games.

WHY DON'T YOU STAY AWHILE: Former Crunch defenseman Derrick Walser continues to shine for the Columbus Blue Jackets this season, scoring his second game-winning goal of the year on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings. Walser, who appeared in the Crunch's season opener, has played in 23 games for the Blue Jackets, netting four goals, five assist and 18 penalty minutes. He is third on Columbus in defenseman scoring with nine points, trailing Jaroslav Spacek (16 points) and Rotislav Klesla (10 points). Walser, 23, appeared in 73 games with Syracuse last season, recording 23 goals, 38 assists and 70 penalty minutes. The Crunch's lone AHL All-Star in 2001-02, Walser's 61 points was a team-high. Walser made his NHL debut on April 10, 2002 against San Jose and scored his first NHL goal on April 12, 2002 vs. Atlanta. A native of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Walser was originally signed as a free agent by Columbus on September 12, 2002.

NICE DEBUT: Crunch defenseman Pauli Levokari made a nice first impression with his new club last week, recording his first professional goal and an assist on Wednesday night vs. Cincinnati. Levokari was acquired in a trade along with right wing Tomi Kalio by Columbus from Atlanta for right wing Chris Nielsen and the rights to defenseman Petteri Nummelin on December 2. Prior to joining the Crunch, Levokari, 24, tallied one assist and 12 penalty minutes in six games with the Chicago Wolves and eight penalty minutes in four games with the Greenville Grrrowl (ECHL). A native of Luvia, Finland, the 6-foot-7, 260 pound defensman spent the previous eight years playing in Finland, registering 64 points (35g, 39a) and 577 penalty minutes in 309 games. He appeared in 29 games with HIFK Helsinki in 2001-02, posting eight points (3g, 5a) and 86 penalty minutes. Levokari represented Finland at the Under-20 World Championships in 1998 and the Under-19 World Championships in 1997. He was Atlanta's 10th pick, 257th overall, in the 2002 Entry Draft.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:

CLEVELAND (SAN JOSE SHARKS): The Crunch travel to Cleveland to begin their three-game road trip, for the second of six regular season meetings. Cleveland leads the series 1-0, after defeating Syracuse, 7-2 at home on November 27. Right Wing Niko Dimitrakos leads all players in head-to-head scoring with four points (2g, 2a). Vesa Toskala posted the victory for Cleveland, stopping 21 of 23 Syracuse shots. Lifetime Syracuse is 6-4-1 against Cleveland.

CINCINNATI (MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM): Syracuse then travels to Cincinnati on Wednesday, December 11 for the fourth of six regular season meetings this season. Syracuse leads the series 2-1, after defeating Cincinnati at home 4-3 in overtime on December 4. Right wing Jonathan Hedstrom leads the Mighty Ducks with 4 points (2g, 2a) in head-to-head scoring. Right wing Kent McDonell (1g, 3a) and center Andrej Nedorost (4g) lead all Crunch players against Cincinnati in scoring with four points. Goaltender Karl Goehring has appeared twice in net for Syracuse, posting a 1-1-0 record, a 2.93 goals against average and .897 save percentage. Lifetime, Syracuse is 9-18-2 against Cincinnati.

ROCHESTER (BUFFALO SABRES): Syracuse ends their three-game road trip in Rochester on Friday night for the first of 12 regular season meetings. Left wing Jason Botterill (14g, 7a) and right wing Norm Milley (6g, 15a) lead all Rochester players with 21 points in 26 games. Goaltender Ryan Miller has appeared in 18 games for Rochester, posting a 7-9-2 record, a 2.37 goals against average and .917 save percentage. Lifetime, Syracuse is 34-43-11 against the Americans.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (PITTSBURGH PENGUINS): Syracuse returns home on Saturday, December 14 to host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the second of eight regular season meetings. Syracuse leads the series 1-0, after defeating Wilkes-Barre 2-0 on November 9. Left wing Mathieu Darche and defenseman Dan Watson scored Syracuse's two goals. Goaltender Karl Goehring appeared in net, posting his first of four shutouts on the season, stopping all 31 Penguin shots. Lifetime, Syracuse is 18-8-5 against the Penguins.

INJURY UPDATE: Defenseman Darrel Scoville is expected to miss four to six weeks with an abdominal tear. Scoville, who suffered his injury on October 26 vs. Grand Rapids, underwent surgery the week of November 11 and has missed 18 games... Center Brad Moran is listed as day-to-day with an abdominal strain suffered on November 22. Moran has missed eight games with the injury... Defenseman Paul Manning is listed as day-to-day after suffering a groin injury on November 27 vs. Cleveland. Manning has missed five games with the injury.

INJURIES BY THE NUMBERS: Through 22 games this season, Syracuse has lost 41 man-games due to injuries Darrel Scoville – 18, Brad Moran – 9, Paul Manning - 5 Radim Bicanek – 3, Blake Bellefeuille & Martin Paroulek – 2 and Trent Cull & Adam Borzecki – 1, represent the Crunch's injury list this season.

CRUNCHABLES: Rookie right wing Tim Jackman is currently on a two game point streak with three points (2g, 1a). He scored the only two goals in a 4-2 loss to Albany on Saturday night... Defenseman Pauli Levokari made his Crunch debut on Wednesday, December 4 recording his first professional goal and first Crunch assist... Former Crunch defenseman Derrick Walser scored his second game-winning goal of the year for Columbus in their 4-2 victory over Los Angeles on Saturday night.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 9, 2002


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