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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Weekly

April 16, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Last Week

Fri., Apr. 11 - Crunch vs. W-B/Scranton - SOL, 3-2

Sat., Apr. 12 - Crunch vs. Toronto - W, 6-3

Sun., Apr. 13 - Crunch at Albany - L, 4-0

This Week

Wed., Apr. 16 - Crunch vs. Adirondack - 7 p.m. (TV)

Fri., Apr. 18 - Crunch at Rochester - 7:05 p.m.

Sat., Apr. 19 - Crunch at Hamilton - 7 p.m.

Need to Know

- Crunch rookies Kristers Gudlevskis and Cedric Paquette made their NHL debuts Friday with Tampa Bay.

- Syracuse plays its final home game of the season Wednesday vs. Adirondack; two road games end the schedule.

- Parent club Tampa Bay begins the Stanley Cup Playoffs Wednesday vs. Montreal with 13 Crunch players.

Syracuse enters the final week of the regular season at 30-31-4-8, 72 points, 12th in the Eastern Conference. The team's final three games include Wednesday's home finale vs. Adirondack; road games follow Friday and Saturday in Rochester and Hamilton, respectively.

Crunch impact on Tampa Bay postseason

Though the Crunch will not participate in postseason play, the team's NHL affiliate Tampa Bay will host Montreal in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs starting Wednesday. Among the components to the Lightning's 101-point season are 13 active players who've spent time in Syracuse: forwards J.T. Brown, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Richard Panik, Cedric Paquette; defensemen Keith Aulie, Mark Barberio, Radko Gudas, Andrej Sustr; goalies Kristers Gudlevskis and Anders Lindback. Among Lightning staff who worked in Syracuse previously are head coach Jon Cooper, assistant coach Steve Thomas and video coordinator Brian Garlock. An additional 19 former Crunch players are active on Stanley Cup Playoff rosters around the NHL for a total of 32, including five with Anaheim and one with Columbus.

Transactions

- 04/11/2014 Cedric Paquette (C) DEL Recalled from loan by Tampa Bay (NHL)

- 04/11/2014 Charles Lavigne (G) ADD Signed to ATO

- 04/09/2014 Kristers Gudlevskis (G) DEL Recalled from loan by Tampa Bay (NHL)

Gudlevskis, Paquette play first NHL games

Goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis and forward Cedric Paquette became the 14th and 15th players to appear in a game for both Syracuse and Tampa Bay this season when they suited up for the Lightning in a 3-2 victory Friday vs. Columbus. The game marked the NHL debuts for both rookies.

Gudlevskis, 21, collected 36 saves on 38 shots en route to his first NHL victory; his season high for saves had been 34 with Syracuse. The Latvian allowed goals on a power-play tip-in to Boone Jenner in the second and a David Savard wrist shot at even strength in the game's final four minutes. Gudlevskis is the first goalie in history to play in the ECHL, AHL, NHL and Olympics in the same season.

Paquette, 20, registered an assist, a hit and two blocked shots in his NHL debut Friday. His first NHL point came by winning a faceoff cleanly to Eric Brewer whose goal put Tampa Bay in the lead for good. Paquette recorded 12:46 of ice time and won 64% of faceoffs, victorious in a game-high nine draws in 14 attempts.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Game 71: Penguins escape Syracuse with shootout victory

The Crunch earned a standings point for the third consecutive game, but fell, 3-2, in a shootout to the Penguins Friday at the War Memorial Arena. In the tenth and final matchup of the season series, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton extended its head-to-head advantage to 7-2-0-1 and moved into the East Division lead.

In the first period, Vlad Namestnikov and Jon DiSalvatore tallied power-play goals. Namestnikov's 19th marker and seventh on the man advantage provided Brett Connolly with his team-leading 32nd assist, while DiSalvatore's score increased Jonathan Marchessault's assist total to 32 as well. Chuck Kobasew notched both Penguins goals on the power play before Anton Zlobin and Spencer Machacek netted the only goals in the skills competition.

Cedrick Desjardins, in his first start since March 22, denied 29 of 31 W-B/Scranton shots. The Crunch beat NHL veteran Tomas Vokoun (on a conditioning assignment from Pittsburgh), twice on 25 shots, but were 0-for-4 in the shootout. Syracuse has lost eight consecutive shootouts and is scoreless in the last 25 shootout attempts.

Game 72: Crunch delight fans on Fan Appreciation Night

Syracuse raced out to a 3-0 lead and defeated the Toronto Marlies, 6-3, Saturday at the War Memorial. The Crunch sweep the two-game season series with the North Division champions, twice winning 6-3.

Brett Connolly turned in a four-point night, the second of his career (Mar. 16, 2013 vs. Albany) with a goal and three assists. The only other player to post four points in a game for Syracuse this season is Nikita Kucherov who managed the feat three times in 17 games before his November promotion to Tampa Bay.

Also among the five multi-point performers were Mike Angelidis (1g, 1a), Jon DiSalvatore (2a), Jonathan Marchessault (2g) and Henri Ikonen (2a) who collected his first two AHL points in his second game with Syracuse. Yanni Gourde and Phil Paradis also scored goals for the Crunch.

Three Syracuse goals came on special teams. The power-play was 2-for-8 and the penalty kill succeeded on its lone chance with Marchessault scoring with a man down for the third time in a week. The Marlies committed 19 penalties for 85 minutes, the most for a Crunch opponent this year, including three game misconducts with one against Toronto head coach Steve Spott. The game had three fights, including the 19th and 20th for Dalton Smith and the first of the year for Namestnikov.

With 33 saves on 36 shots, Cedrick Desjardins earned his eighth win (8-17-3), his first since Mar. 1.

Game 73: Devils blank Crunch in Albany

The Albany Devils ended Syracuse's streak of standings points at four games, shutting out the Crunch 4-0 Sunday at Times Union Center. Scott Wedgewood collected his fourth shutout and second against Syracuse with 20 saves. Charles Lavigne, making his pro debut in net for Syracuse, turned aside 16 of 20 Devils shots.

The Crunch penalty kill allowed two power-play goals for the third time in the last four games, with the Devils capitalizing on two of eight chances. Syracuse was held scoreless on the power play for the second time in 11 games (0-for-4) having entered the game 15 for their last 43 (34.9%).

With three points each, Devils Reid Boucher (2g, 1a) and Henri Pesonen (3a) led all scorers. P.C. Labrie became the seventh Crunch player to surpass 100 penalty minutes thanks to a minor and misconduct. Syracuse averages 23.19 penalty minutes per game, third most in the AHL; its 99 majors are second most in the league.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Crunch vs. Adirondack-Wednesday, 7 p.m.

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM & 1200 AM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM & 1440 AM, Oswego - Time Warner Sports Channel (Ch. 19)

The Crunch and Phantoms meet for the sixth and final time when Adirondack comes into the War Memorial on Wednesday night. Syracuse holds the upper hand in the season series winning four of the five contests, and shutting out the Phantoms twice.

The Phantoms (29-37-1-6) have won four of their last five games including a 4-2 victory over Bridgeport on Monday. Monday's contest was the first of four games in six days to end the season for Adirondack. At 65 points they have been eliminated from the postseason and sit in fifth in the Northeast Division and 13th in the Eastern Conference.

Leading scorer Jason Akeson, who ranked tenth in the AHL in points, recorded 64 points (24g, 40a) prior to being recalled to Philadelphia Saturday. Philadelphia has recalled the Phantoms top three scorers leaving Ben Holmstrom (12g, 19a) and Brandon Manning (8g, 23a) tied for the team lead with 31 points. Rookie Brandon Alderson leads all active Phantoms with 13 goals.

In addition to Akeson, Philadelphia recalled netminder Cal Heeter Saturday. With Yann Dannis out for the remainder of the season with injury the Phantoms signed goaltender Tony Capobianco to an ATO Monday. Chubak has started the last two games since Heeter's recall recording wins in both. In then games this season he is 4-2-0-0 with a 2.30 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage. Capobianco appeared in two games for the ECHL-Elmira Jackals after completing his collegiate career at Canisius College. In 30 games with the Griffins he was 13-14-2 with a 2.88 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.

Crunch at Rochester-Friday, 7:05 p.m.

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

The Crunch meet their oldest rival Rochester Friday. The Amerks (35-27-6-5) hold the seventh spot in the Western Conference and can clinch a playoff spot with one point against Utica Wednesday. The Amerks, 81 points, sit two points ahead of eight place Oklahoma City and four ahead of Charlotte and Rockford who sit in ninth and tenth place at 77 points. Syracuse has won four of the seven games between the teams this season but Rochester has taken three straight.

Since the end of the NHL regular season the Amerks have seen their roster bolstered with the return of several players. Phil Varone leads the Amerks with 58 points (16g, 42a) and is the only player to eclipse 50 points. Luke Adam is second with 48 points (28g, 20a). Nick Deslauriers is third after recording 39 points in 60 games with the Monarchs prior to being traded to Buffalo March 5. He has one assist in two games with Rochester since being reassigned to the Amerks from Buffalo Sunday. Buffalo's first-round pick in 2013 defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was reassigned to Rochester Sunday. Ristolainen has recorded 18 points (6g, 12a) in 31 games for the Amerks this season. The Turku, Finland native also appeared in 34 games for the Sabres.

After injuries in Buffalo depleted the Amerks goaltending depth they now have four goalies on the roster, Andrey Makarov, Nathan Lieuwen, Connor Knapp, and Kevin Kapalka. Prior to being recalled to Buffalo March 16 Lieuwen played in 32 games for Rochester posting the sixth lowest goals-against average among active AHL goaltenders (2.34). While in Buffalo Lieuwen appeared in seven games going 1-4-0-0 with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. The rookie goaltender has appeared in five of the seven games against Syracuse this season. He is 2-2-0 against the Crunch with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.

Crunch at Hamilton-Saturday, 7 p.m.

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

Syracuse finishes its 20th regular season with a trip to Hamilton to take on the Bulldogs Saturday. In three games against Hamilton the Syracuse offense has been held in check as the Bulldogs have won the three games by a combined score of 9-2. The Bulldogs have recorded a point in five of their last six games despite only winning twice. Hamilton is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with 72 points, seven points behind eighth place Oklahoma City.

Former Crunch netminder Dustin Tokarski has appeared in the majority of games for the Bulldogs this season. Both Robert Mayer and Devan Dubnyk have also seen time in net. Tokarski, who recently signed a two-year contract extension, has played in 40 games for Hamilton and ranks seventh among active goaltenders with a 2.36 goals-against average. He has a 20-15-3-1 record as well as a .920 save percentage. Mayer has appeared in 28 games posting a 9-14-4-0 record alongside a 2.86 goals-against average a .906 save percentage. Devan Dubnyk has started two of the last three games for the Bulldogs while Tokarski was recalled to Montreal. Since being acquired from Nashville on March 5 Dubynk has appeared in eight games recording a 2-5-0-0 record with a 3.33 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage. Tokarski and Mayer have combined to hold the Crunch to two goals in three games this year.

Martin St. Pierre paces the Bulldog offense with 47 points (10g, 27a) in 69 games and is averaging a point per game in three games against the Crunch this season (3a).

Rookie Sven Andrighetto is the only other Bulldog with more than 40 points at 43 (17g, 26a). In addition to St. Pierre Morgan Ellis (1g, 2a) and Mike Blunden (2g, 1a) also lead the team with three points in three games against Syracuse. Blunden (18g, 18a) is tied with center Gabriel Dumont (19g, 17a) for third on the team with 36 points.

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