AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Weekly

Published on March 11, 2013 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Last Week

Wed., Mar. 6 - Crunch at Toronto - L, 6-3

Fri., Mar. 8 - Crunch at St. John's - W, 3-2 SO

Sat., Mar. 9 - Crunch at St. John's - W, 4-2

This Week

Fri., Mar. 15 - Crunch vs. Norfolk, 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Mar. 16 - Crunch vs. Albany, 7:30 p.m.

Need to Know

- Syracuse hold's the AHL greatest point total, 79, with two wins to close Week 22, now at 36-17-3-4.

- Crunch scoring leader Tyler Johnson continues to lead the AHL in goals, 31, posting two in Week 22.

- After a four-game trip, Syracuse is home for two games this week: Friday vs. Norfolk and Saturday vs. Albany.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Game 58: Marlies' masterly morning mellows Crunch

Syracuse's losing streak hit four games with a 6-3 loss Wednesday morning in Toronto. In front of a "School Day" crowd of nearly 8,000, the Crunch started the scoring with a Philip-Michael Devos 4-on-3 power-play goal. He buried a rebound of a Brett Connolly shot to make it 1-0 Syracuse, his first marker since Nov. 30. After a Marlies answer, the two teams swapped four-on-four goals and went into the first intermission tied 2-2. In the second period, Toronto scored twice in the first three minutes to take a 4-2 lead. Paul Ranger and Jesse Blacker finished chances in the middle of what was a five-goal run by the Marlies. Syracuse only snapped that goal-streak with Alex Hutchings' left-wing shot that beat Toronto goalie Drew MacIntyre, the reigning CCM/AHL Player of the Week, with 1:33 left. The Crunch out-shot the Marlies 43 to 19, but struggled on special teams. Toronto finished 3-for-8 on the power play, the second time the Crunch have allowed three man-advantage goals in a game this season, while Syracuse was only 1-for-7. Riku Helenius allowed four goals on seven shots before Pat Nagle, making his AHL debut, replaced him and saved 10 of 11 shots.

Game 59: Syracuse snaps skid with shootout win

The Crunch's four-game skid came to close after a 3-2 shootout win Friday over the IceCaps in Newfoundland. St. John's got the first goal of the game when Jason Jaffray beat Syracuse goalie Riku Helenius on a breakaway with less than a minute left in the first period. Patrice Cormier deflected a power-play point shot home early in the second period to give the IceCaps a 2-0 lead. Then, the Crunch offense battled back. At the 8:15 mark of the second, Tyler Johnson finished a rebound for his league-leading 30th goal. Dana Tyrell tied the game halfway through the third period with a one-timer off a J.T. Brown feed in the slot. In the shootout, Brett Connolly-the Crunch's final shooter-was the only player from either team to score. Two days after he was pulled, Helenius equaled his season high with 33 saves and didn't allow any shootout goals for his second shootout win in as many tries. Syracuse's shootout record improved to 3-4.

Game 60: Another comeback victory for Crunch

Syracuse beat St. John's 4-2, completing a weekend sweep of the IceCaps. For the second straight day, St. John's took a 2-0 lead on the Crunch. Aaron Gagnon scored twice in the first period, but Syracuse answered. Matt Taormina blasted a power-play goal, his fourth marker of the season, early in the second period to get the Crunch on the board. That was Taormina's first goal since returning from an injury that sidelined him for over a month, extending his scoring streak to four games. J.T. Wyman tied the game at two with 8:16 left in the second with a wrister that beat St. John's goalie Eddie Pasquale. Halfway through the third period, Brett Connolly gave Syracuse the lead for good when he tipped a Radko Gudas point shot into the net. Less than two minutes later, Tyler Johnson took a Richard Panik feed and ripped a high shot into the net for his 31st goal of the year. Goalie Riku Helenius started for the second straight day and stopped 23 shots for the win.

Transactions

03/11/2013 Bredan Mickelson (D) ADD Loaned from Tampa Bay (NHL)

03/05/2013 Cedrick Desjardins (G) DEL Recalled from loan by Tampa Bay (NHL)

03/05/2013 Pat Nagle (G) ADD Reassigned by Tampa Bay (NHL) from Florida (ECHL)

03/04/2013 Danick Gauthier (LW) DEL Reassigned by Tampa Bay (NHL) to Florida (ECHL)

Notes

- With two goals in Week 22, Tyler Johnson extended his league lead in goals and has 31 for the season, equaling his 2011-12 total of 31 markers-in 75 games. (Teammate Cory Conacher led the AHL last season with 39.)Johnson's 57 points are second in the AHL behind 60 from Grand Rapids' Gustav Nyquist. Johnson finished seventh in the AHL last year with 68 points.

- Brett Connolly registered the shootout game-winning goal Friday and his AHL-leading seventh conventional game-winner Saturday in St. John's. He had nine shots over the two games, and now has points in 15 of the last 19 games (9g, 9a). The 20-year-old is seventh in AHL scoring at 52 points (24g, 28a).

- Matt Taormina has a four-game scoring streak (1g, 3a), his longest of the season, which began Mar. 3 in Hershey, his third game back from an 18-game absence. His goal Saturday in St. John's was his fourth of the season and second on the power play. He has 20 points (4g, 16a), plus six on the power play (2g, 4a) and a shorthanded goal.

- J.P. Cote missed his first game of the season Friday in St. John's because of an AHL-imposed, one-game suspension for checking to the head. He returned to the lineup Saturday with a fighting major, a plus-1 and a shot on goal. Cote had not missed a team game since Dec. 9, 2011, shortly after joining the Norfolk Admirals from ECHL-Ontario. The only Crunch players who haven't missed a game this season are Mark Barberio and J.T. Wyman. Cote, Brett Connolly and Tyler Johnson have each missed one game.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Crunch vs. Norfolk - Friday, 7:30 p.m.

For the fifth time this season, and first time since early January, the Syracuse Crunch face East Division Rival the Norfolk Admirals Friday night in Syracuse. The Crunch have won each of the four previous meetings, which all took place in a two-week span about the New Year. The most recent match was a 3-2 shootout win for the Crunch on Jan. 11, the second of the four games to require extra time.

The Admirals play five games in an eight-day stretch starting Wednesday in Charlotte. After facing the Crunch on Friday, the Ads visit Binghamton Saturday and return home for a pair against Adirondack Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

With points in three straight (2-0-1-0) Norfolk is 6-2-2-0 in their last 10 games to move to 27-26-4-1. That gives the Admirals 59 points, and places them in fifth place in the East Division and 12th place in the Eastern Conference, five points behind the eighth place Connecticut Whale for the final playoff spot. The Ads are led by last week's CCM/AHL Player of the Week Pat Maroon (17g-19a-36pts), defenseman Sami Vatanen (5g-31a-36pts), and right wing Devante Smith-Pelly (7g-13a-20pts). In goal, Frederik Andersen has seen action in eight of the last nine games, posting a 6-0-1 record over that stretch.

For the Crunch, Tyler Johnson leads active players with four points (2g-2a) in the four games against his former team. There will be a new face in goal for Syracuse, as Dustin Tokarski started and won all four games against Norfolk.

Crunch vs. Albany - Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

The Crunch face the Albany Devils Saturday night, for the seventh time this season, and the fifth time since Feb. 9. They will meet for the last time in the regular season a week from Saturday, also in Syracuse. The Crunch have won four of the six matches this season, but all four wins were in Albany. The Devils have won the two games in Syracuse. In fact, over the last five season, Syracuse is now 12-2-0-0 in Albany compared to just 4-7-0-1 in Syracuse against the Devils. Albany won the last match 3-1 Mar. 1 in Syracuse. Saturday will be the middle game of a three-in-three for the Devils. They start a season-high six-game road trip Friday night in Rochester, then close out the weekend with a game in Bridgeport.

With two straight wins and points in eight of ten games (6-2-0-2), Albany now sits at 26-20-1-10, good for 63 points. That places the Devils in third in the Northeast Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference, just one point behind the Whale for the final playoff spot with four games in hand. No team has played fewer games than Albany's 57. The Devils are led by left wing Joe Whitney (21g-18a-39pts), right wing Matt Anderson (11g-25a-36pts), and center Steve Zalewski (10g-24a-34pts). After a brief stint with the New Jersey Devils in the NHL, Keith Kinkaid and his 17-12-5 record are back with Albany, although Scott Wedgewood has started and won each of the last two Devils victories. Kinkaid has a 4.67 goals against average in four games against Syracuse.

For the Crunch, Tyler Johnson's 11 points (7g-4a) lead the way in six games versus Albany. In goal, Riku Helenius has a pair of victories in two games against the Devils.

Practice Schedule (subject to change):

Tuesday, March 12 11:00 a.m. practice War Memorial Arena

Wednesday, March 13 11:00 a.m. practice War Memorial Arena

Thursday, March 14 11:00 a.m. practice War Memorial Arena

Friday, March 15 9:30 a.m. morning skate War Memorial Arena

7:30 p.m. game vs. NOR War Memorial Arena

Saturday, March 16 9:30 a.m. morning skate War Memorial Arena

7:30 p.m. game vs. ALB War Memorial Arena

Upcoming promotions:

CNY Eye and Tissue Donor Awareness Month

Courtesy of the Central New York Eye and Tissue Bank fans that are registered organ donors are eligible to for $15 tickets to any Crunch home game throughout the month of March. Fans must show valid identification to the Crunch box office to receive the discount. Additionaly, the first 2,000 fans in attendance on March 15 will receive a Crunch mini poster featuring defenseman Matt Taormina with information on eye and tissue donation.

Morrisville State College High School Night: March 16

Any high school student that presents their student ID at the Crunch box office is eligible to recieve a $15 ticket courtesy of Morrisville State College. Morrisville State College will be on hand at the game to answer any questions from prospective students.

Upcoming appearances:

Tuesday, March 12 - Tops Friendly Markets 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. 5335 West Genesee Street

Thursday, March 14 - Celebrity Bartending 5:00-7:00 p.m. Syracuse Suds Factory

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 11, 2013


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