AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Weekly

April 16, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


BRAD MORAN STRONG IN SECOND SEASON: Last season center Brad Moran led Syracuse in post-season scoring; recording seven points (3g, 4a) in five games. This year he picked up where he left off Saturday, recording two goals in Syracuse's 5-3 win over Philadelphia at the War Memorial. Moran is tied for ninth in points on the Crunch's all-time playoff leaders list and tied for fifth in goals with five. Moran led the regular season 2001-02 team with 25 goals. Moran, an Abbotsford, British Columbia native, got his first-ever National Hockey League call from Columbus on January 28, where he played in three games with the club.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Crunch continues their first round series against the eighth seed Philadelphia Phantoms this week, leading the series 1-0. Center Brad Moran scored twice and defenseman Jamie Heward and right wing Kent McDonell each added two assists in the Crunch's 5-3 Game One victory. Center Greg Koehler (2a) and defenseman Kristian Kudroc (1g, 1a) lead the Phantoms in post-season points against the Crunch. Syracuse won the regular season series 2-1-1. Right wing Pavel Brendl led the Phantoms during the regular season with four points in three games (2g, 2a), while Syracuse center Brett Harkins led all players with six points in three games (2g, 4a).

A FAMILIAR FACE: Former Crunch star Corey Hirsch appeared in five games with the Phantoms after being acquired on loan from the Washington Capitals on March 21, posting a 2-3-0 record with a 2.81 goals against average and a .883 save percentage. Hirsch played for Syracuse during the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. He holds the Crunch record for most wins in a season with 30 (1997-98). The AHL's Rookie of the Year in 1993 and a member of the NHL's All-Rookie Team in 1996, Hirsch won a Silver medal as a member of Team Canada at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

CRUNCH SHAVE PRICES WITH SPECIAL TICKET PROMOTION: The Syracuse Crunch announced that any fan who brings a razor to the box office prior to the Crunch's Wednesday night game against the Philadelphia Phantoms will receive a $2 discount off of any $15 seat. Last week the Crunch organization issued a special playoff challenge to Central New York, asking their fans to stop shaving until the Crunch's playoff run is over, following the habits of many players, who frequently grow playoff beards.

PLAYOFF TICKET INFO: Tickets to Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals are available by calling the Crunch's sales office at (315) 473-4444, stopping by the Oncenter Box Office, located on the State Street side of the War Memorial or by calling TicketMaster at (315) 472-0700. Contact the Crunch sales office at (315) 473-4444 for information on group discounts.

SPECIAL TEAM SUCCESS: Philadelphia led the AHL in penalty killing during the regular season with a 87.1% success rate. Syracuse finished fourth, killing off 86.2% of their opponents' power play opportunities. Both Syracuse (9th - 17.5%) and Philadelphia (8th - 17.7%) finished in the top ten on the power play.

INJURIES/CALL-UPS BY THE NUMBERS: Syracuse lost 520 man-games due to injuries (301) and call-ups (219). Jeff Ware - 57, Paul Manning - 37, Andrej Nedorost - 34, Darrel Scoville - 29, Martin Spanhel 19, Matt Davidson - 16, Jeremy Reich & Martin Paroulek- 15, Brad Moran - 12, J.F. Labbe - 11, Dan Watson - 10, Tim O'Connell - 9, Kent McDonell & Derrick Walser- 6, Blake Bellefeuille - 5, Brett Harkins -- 4, Andrei Sryubko - 3, Adam Borzecki, Trevor Ettinger, Jamie Heward, Paul Traynor & Duvie Westcott - 2, Mathieu Darche, Preston Mizzi & Jody Shelley - 1, represent the Crunch's injury list this season.

CRUNCHABLES: The Crunch were 8-15-7 on December 21, finishing the season 31-13-6... Four Crunch players have been on Calder Cup winning teams, J.F. Labbe (Hershey, 1997 and Hartford, 2000), Jamie Heward (Philadelphia, 1998), Derrick Walser (Saint John, 2001) and Darrel Scoville (Saint John, 2001)... Entering this season the Crunch was winless in its last 17 tries against the Phantoms (0-12-5) before winning the season series 2-1-0... After going 1-for-19 on the power play against the Crunch during the regular season, Philadelphia scored on their first power play opportunity of the post-season... Blake Bellefeuille and Adam Borzecki each recorded their first professional post-season goals in Game One against Philadelphia... Paul Traynor's assist on Sean Pronger's game-winning goal in Game One was his first post-season point... A total of 751 American Hockey League graduates suited up for NHL games during the 2001-02 regular season, or more than 76 percent of the total player pool. Of those, 349 also played in the AHL this season. Sixteen players played for both Syracuse and Columbus this season (Robert Kron, Brett Harkins, Jody Shelley, Chris Nielsen, Sean Pronger, Matt Davidson, Jamie Heward, Mathieu Darche, Andrej Nedorost, Derrick Walser, Martin Spanhel, Blake Bellefeuille, Brad Moran, Duvie Westcott, David Ling and J.F. Labbe).

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