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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Weekly

February 11, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Last Week

Wed., Feb. 5 - Crunch at Rochester - W, 4-1

Fri., Feb. 7 - Crunch at Springfield - L, 4-2

Sat., Feb. 8 - Crunch vs. Springfield - OTL, 6-5

This Week

Fri., Feb. 14 - Crunch at Norfolk - 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 15 - Crunch at Norfolk - 7:15 p.m.

Need to Know

- Vladislav Namestnikov became the third Crunch player to make his NHL debut this season Saturday vs. Detroit.

- Crunch Olympians Kristers Gudlevskis (Latvia) and Richard Panik (Slovakia) begin play in Sochi later this week.

- Brett Connolly and Rob Zettler represent Syracuse at the AHL All-Star Classic this week in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Syracuse earned three of six possible points in Week 19, posting a 1-1-0-1 record in the last three games before the AHL All-Star Classic and the Olympic Winter Games. Entering the break, the Crunch are 18-21-3-5, last in the East Division and 13th in the Eastern Conference.

Following the AHL's All-Star game Wednesday in St. John's, where Brett Connolly and Rob Zettler will represent the Crunch, Syracuse resumes play with two games at Norfolk Friday and Saturday. The team will be without Olympians Kristers Gudlevskis (Latvia) and Richard Panik (Slovakia) for the next two weeks. The NHL hiatus for the Winter Games ends Feb. 27 when Tampa Bay visits Nashville.

Transactions

- 02/08/2014 Eric Levine (G) DEL Released from PTO

- 02/08/2014 Jean-Philippe Cote (D) ADD Loaned from Tampa Bay (NHL)

- 02/08/2014 Kristers Gudlevskis (G) ADD Returned on loan from Tampa Bay (NHL)

- 02/08/2014 Vladislav Namestnikov (C) ADD Returned on loan from Tampa Bay (NHL)

- 02/07/2014 Eric Levine (G) ADD Signed to PTO

- 02/07/2014 Kristers Gudlevskis (G) DEL Recalled from loan by Tampa Bay (NHL)

- 02/07/2014 Vladislav Namestnikov (C) DEL Recalled from loan by Tampa Bay (NHL)

Namestnikov makes NHL debut with Tampa Bay

Second-year pro Vladislav Namestnikov appeared in his first NHL contest Saturday when the Lightning defeated the Red Wings Saturday in Tampa Bay. In nearly 12 minutes of ice time, often skating with Crunch line mates Nikita Kucherov and J.T. Brown, Namestnikov landed one hit, managed one takeaway and won three of six face-offs. He was returned to the Crunch by Tampa Bay following Saturday's game.

Twelve players have appeared in contests for both Syracuse and Tampa Bay: Brown, Brett Connolly, J.P. Cote, Cedrick Desjardins, Dmitry Korobov, Kucherov, P.C. Labrie, Namestnikov, Richard Panik, Andrej Sustr, Matt Taormina and Dana Tyrell. Three (Korobov, Kucherov, Namestnikov) made their NHL debuts.

Namestnikov, 21, has skated in 31 games this season with Syracuse, posting 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points to go along with 19 penalty minutes. He is tied for the team lead in assists and second in points. The Zhukovskiy, Russia native also ranks tied for first on the Crunch for power-play goals with six. The 6-foot, 183-pound forward has skated in 75 career AHL games over the past two seasons, all with the Crunch, totaling 20 goals and 51 points. He was originally drafted by the Lightning in the first round, 27th overall, at the 2011 NHL Draft.

Paquette takes over leaderboard

Cedric Paquette took the Syracuse goal-scoring lead with his 13th and 14th of the season Wednesday in Rochester, his eighth multi-point game of the season and first career multi-goal performance. Adding an assist Saturday he has 31 points, tied for the team lead with Brett Connolly who had a goal Wednesday and an assist Saturday.

Evan Rankin recorded his fifth and sixth multi-point games last week with two assists Wednesday and a goal and an assist Saturday. His 21 points (11g, 10a) are fifth most for Syracuse this year. Dana Tyrell has two multi-point games this month and five on the season, including a goal and an assist Saturday. Tanner Richard posted three assists Saturday, his second career multi-point game and first three-point game. He had 16 multi-point games last season, his final year of junior hockey with OHL-Guelph, including nine games with three or more points.

Dmitry Korobov remains Syracuse's top-scoring defenseman with 18 points, including a goal (his first of the year) Wednesday and an assist Saturday. J.P. Cote registered a fight and an assist Saturday in his first game with the Crunch since a callup to Tampa Bay Dec. 18. The 31 year old has 10 points in 20 Crunch games and four assists in 19 games for Tampa Bay.

Two Crunch players, seven alumni, set for Winter Games in Sochi

Syracuse will be without two players for the next two weeks as goalie Kristers Gudlevskis (Latvia) and winger Richard Panik (Slovakia) take part in the Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The only other players who've gone directly from the Crunch to the Olympics were Tuomas Gronman (Finland) in 1998 and Andrei Sryubko (Ukraine) in 2002.

Other Crunch alumni participating in this year's Winter Games are: Radko Gudas, Ondrej Palat and Michal Rozsival for the Czech Republic; Andre Lakos, Brian Lebler and Matthias Trattnig for Austria; Ole-Kristian Tollefsen for Norway.

Panik's Slovakia team opens against the United States Thursday at 7:30 a.m. on NBCSN. Gudlevskis and Latvia play their first game Wednesday against Switzerland at 12 p.m. on MSNBC. The Latvians then take on Gudas, Palat and the Czech Republic Friday at 3 a.m. on MSNBC.

Nine players for one Olympic tournament ranks tied for most in Crunch franchise history, equaling the total from the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. In the six Winter Olympics since the Crunch began play in September, 1994, 28 Syracuse players have represented 11 different countries and collected nine medals: two gold, five silver and two bronze.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Game 45: Syracuse snaps skid with Cedric's superlative scoring

Cedric Paquette scored a pair of goals and the Crunch scored three times in the third period to beat the Americans, 4-1, Wednesday at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. Rookie netminder Kristers Gudlevskis returned from loan in Tampa Bay to make 21 saves in the win, which snapped the Crunch's seven-game losing streak. Syracuse is 4-0 against Rochester and 1-0 at Blue Cross Arena this season.

With 1:54 remaining in the second period, Paquette broke a scoreless tie to give the Crunch a 1-0 lead. After Brett Connolly made it 2-0 4:42 into the third, Paquette added his second of the game just 1:32 later for a 3-0 lead. The goal was Paquette's 14th of the season, taking sole possession of first on the team. Frederick Roy broke Gudlevskis's shutout bid, but Dmitry Korobov's empty-net goal finished off a 4-1 win for the Crunch. Connolly took credit for the game winner, his team-leading fifth, tied for second most in the AHL.

Game 46: Falcons spoil York's return to Springfield

Springfield scored twice in the first and twice in the third to earn a 4-2 win over the Crunch at MassMutual Center Friday, the first match between the clubs since Syracuse swept the Eastern Conference Semifinals last postseason. Mike McKenna, the AHL leader in goals-against average and save percentage, made 27 stops in the win.

The Falcons grabbed a 2-0 lead before the end of the first period on Crunch goaltender Allen York, who played 28 games with Springfield over the last three seasons. He made 23 saves on 27 shots in the game. Jon DiSalvatore registered his first multi-goal game with the Crunch, but Syracuse was never able to draw even. Former Crunch forward J.F. Jacques helped ensure that with a goal and assist in the third period as Springfield earned its 30th win.

Game 47: Crunch comeback produces point, but not victory

The Crunch overcame a three-goal deficit, but fell in overtime to the Falcons, 6-5, Saturday at the War Memorial, the back end of a home-and-home with Springfield. The Crunch finish the season series 0-1-1-0 against the club they swept in the 2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The Falcons built up a 4-1 lead 12:55 into the second period before the Crunch power-play broke out of its slump to begin the comeback. Dana Tyrell's man-up marker in the waning minutes of the second snapped an 0-for-22 drought. Evan Rankin cut the deficit to one with another power-play tally 8:19 into the third; the Crunch finished 2-for-8 with the man advantage. The Falcons scored to build the lead back to two before Mike Angelidis and Joey Mormina scored less than two minutes apart to even the game at 5-5. Dalton Prout scored the overtime winner 3:52 into the extra session.

Tanner Richard set a career high with three assists. Rankin and Tyrell both had one goal one assist games. Syracuse had 29 of the final 33 shots, after starting the game down 19-12 in shots.

THE WEEK AHEAD

AHL All-Star Classic-Skills Competition, Tuesday 6:30 p.m. & All-Star Game, Wednesday 6:30 p.m.

Time Warner Cable Sports Channel (Ch. 19); NHL Network (tape delay at 10 p.m.)

Forward Brett Connolly and head coach Rob Zettler represent the Syracuse Crunch at the AHL All-Star Classic in St. John's, Newfoundland, this week. A new format for the event pins the AHL All-Stars against Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League in the Skills Competition Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and the All-Star Game Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Both events will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel; tape delay broadcasts on the NHL Network air at 10 p.m. each night.

Connolly, who has family in Newfoundland, is a first-time all-star thanks partly to an eight-game scoring streak (Dec. 20-Jan. 8) during which he produced 16 points; he's tied for the Crunch scoring lead at 31 points (13g, 18a). A first-round selection of Tampa Bay-sixth overall-in 2010, Connolly has played in 108 AHL regular season games (44g-50a-94pts) and 17 Calder Cup playoff contests (5g-6a-11pts), all with Syracuse. In 84 games in the NHL with Tampa Bay the 21 year old has 17 points (6g, 11a).

Zettler, who led Syracuse to its first conference championship last spring, coaches the All-Stars alongside Calder Cup Finals foe Jeff Blashill of Grand Rapids. "I'm really excited about working with Jeff and such high-caliber hockey players all in one spot," said Zettler, a 14-year NHL defenseman turned coach who took over the Crunch after Jon Cooper's promotion to Tampa Bay last year. "We've got a nice mix of some guys who can play a bit of a grittier game to go along with our skill, which we need to be competitive against a good team." Färjestad BK is one of the most successful franchises in all of European hockey, playing in 19 league finals and winning nine Swedish league championships, including four since 2002.

The American Hockey League will be offering a live video stream of the 2014 AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 10 a.m.

Crunch at Norfolk-Friday, 7:30 p.m. & Saturday, 7:15 p.m.

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM & 1200 AM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM & 1440 AM, Oswego

The Crunch emerge from the All-Star break with a trip to Norfolk to finish off the eight-game season series against the Admirals. The Crunch have points in four of the first six games (2-2-0-2), but the Admirals have won the last four, all in Syracuse, after the Crunch took the first two in Norfolk.

The Admirals have points in eight of their last ten (5-2-0-3), including a 3-2 shootout win over the Crunch Feb. 1. Norfolk is 25-15-1-7 with 58 points, placing fourth in the East Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference.

Richard Rakell leads the Admirals with 29 points (10g, 19a) in 34 games. Emerson Etem follows with 28 points (11g, 17a) in 25 games and Devante Smith-Pelley has 25 points (16g, 9a). He leads the team with 16 goals.

In goal, rookie John Gibson has 33 appearances for the Admirals, compiling a 15-11-4 record with a 2.38 goal-against average and .920 save percentage. He's one of five goalies with four shutouts, which paces the AHL. He's played in three games against the Crunch, going 0-2-0-0.

Mike Angelidis and Dana Tyrell both have four points (2g, 2a) against the Admirals this season.

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