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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Weekly

April 24, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Last Week

Wed., Apr. 16 - Crunch vs. Adirondack - SOL, 5-4

Fri., Apr. 18 - Crunch at Rochester - L, 5-1

Sat., Apr. 19 - Crunch at Hamilton - W, 3-1

Need to Know

- Syracuse ends the 2013-14 season 31-32-4-9 (75 points), fifth in the East Division and 12th in the Eastern Conference.

- Eric Neilson won the Yanick Dupr Memorial Award as 2013-14 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year.

- Brett Connolly was Syracuse's leading scorer at 57 points (21g, 36a) in 66 games, tied for 21st in the AHL.

The 20th season in Syracuse Crunch history ended Saturday with a 3-1 victory at Hamilton. The 76-game slate left the Crunch 31-32-4-9, 15 points short of a playoff spot. Syracuse finished fifth in the East Division, 12th in the Eastern Conference and 24th in the American Hockey League.

This year ranks 13th in Crunch history by points percentage (0.493) and marks the club's seventh sub-0.500 season and ninth year without Calder Cup Playoffs contention. Syracuse's all-time record is 700-663-79-50 in 1,588 regular season games, a 0.512 points percentage.

Syracuse crowds largest in 17 years

An average of 5,574 fans attended Crunch home games in 2013-14, the fourth highest average in team history and greatest since the organization's first three seasons: 5,888 in 1994-95, 5,948 in 1995-96 and 5,809 in 1996-97. Since then, the Crunch broke 5,550 once with 5,504 in 2004-05. This season's average is 175 greater than last year's 5,399. Compared to the rest of the AHL, Syracuse ranked 14th in attendance with a 211,815 total. By percent of capacity (86.7%) Syracuse ranked fifth in the league behind San Antonio, St. John's, Hershey and Utica.

Neilson named AHL's Man of the Year

Last week Syracuse Crunch forward Eric Neilson was selected Yanick Dupr Memorial Award winner as the 2013-14 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year.

A six-time recipient of his team's Yanick Dupr Award nomination (in five different AHL cities), Neilson has continued an impressive tradition of community service that has been a hallmark of his career. Since joining the Crunch organization in 2012, Neilson has gone above and beyond in his efforts to give back to the Syracuse community.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Game 74: Phantoms pull off shootout victory in last meeting with Crunch

Joel Vermin and Adam Erne each netted their first career AHL goals but the Phantoms defeated the Crunch 5-4 in the skills competition Wednesday. Cedrick Desjardins made 22 saves on 26 shots, taking the loss, while Carsen Chubak made 13 saves on 14 shots in the first before Tony Capobianco made 24 saves on 27 shots getting his first professional win. Goals from Brett Connolly and Evan Rankin gave the Crunch a 4-3 lead halfway thru the third period before Robert Hagg tied the game at 4-4 for the Phantoms four minutes later.

Syracuse scored for the first time in 25 attempts in the skills competition when Evan Rankin beat Capobianco in the first round. The Crunch scored three more times in the next eight rounds but the Phantoms took a 5-4 victory in the shootout and 5-4 victory in the game.

Game 75: Amerks strike early and often vs. Syracuse

Jonathan Marchessault scored his 22nd goal, but Rochester downed Syracuse for the fourth consecutive matchup, 5-1, Friday at Blue Cross Arena. Brett Connolly had the lone assist on Marchessault's goal in transition for a team-best 57 points. Cedrick Desjardins suffered the loss for Syracuse (8-18-4) with the Amerks potting three goals in the first period and one in the second frame before the Crunch finally answered. Desjardins made 19 saves on 24 shots while his counterpart Andrey Makarov made 22 saves for his seventh consecutive victory. Phil Varone and Brayden Irwin had two points each for the playoff-bound Americans.

Game 76: Crunch close season with 3-1 win over Tokarski, Bulldogs

Syracuse ended the 2013-14 season with a 3-1 victory over the Bulldogs in Hamilton, Ontario. The win is the 700th in Crunch regular season history. In a matchup of goalies traded for each other, Cedrick Desjardins earned his ninth win of the year with 22 saves on 23 shots while Dustin Tokarski allowed three goals on 26 Syracuse shots. Both netminders also earned their first assists of the year. Partners on defense Joey Mormina and J.P. Cote aided Desjardins with blocks and game-high plus-2s.

Nathan Beaulieu put Hamilton ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal in the first, but Syracuse surged ahead with two second-period tallies. At 15:07 Evan Rankin notched his 16th when a centering pass went off Joel Chouinard's skate and into the goal. A minute later Luke Witkowski got his second of the year when his point shot deflected off Beauleiu and past Tokarski. Jonathan Marchessault provided insurance in the third with an unassisted breakaway goal, his team-leading 23rd of the year. Vlad Namestnikov and Phil Paradis also had assists in the game.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

A tale of three seasons

The Crunch surged early, then slumped, but showed promise to close the 2013-14 season. The team raced out to a first-place start with a 9-3-1-0 record through 13 games. Syracuse averaged 3.46 goals per game (45 total) while allowing 2.46 per game (32 total). A top line of Nikita Kucherov, J.T. Brown and Vlad Namestnikov-along with a potent power play (17-for-65)-fueled the hot start.

The rapid decline came with the disassembly of that trio. When Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos suffered a broken leg Nov. 11, Brown was promoted the following day. Namestnikov (along with three teammates) suffered injuries Nov. 22 in Montreal; he would miss the next 14 games. Kucherov got the call to Tampa Nov. 24. Neither Brown or Kucherov returned to Syracuse, and when Namestnikov came back to the lineup New Year's Eve the team had collected only four wins since his injury. That night in Wilkes-Barre, Syracuse slipped under 0.500 for the first time, 13-14-1-3. Namestnikov's return helped the Crunch collect points in the next six games, but six regulation losses followed.

By the time March rolled around, the Crunch had sunk to 22-26-4-6. The addition of veteran scorer Jon DiSalvatore and an eight-game scoring streak from Brett Connolly couldn't propel the Crunch in the standings. The prolonged midseason slump lasted 44 games, 13-23-3-5 in that span, with 2.27 goals per game (102 total) and 3.11 goals against (140 total). But the March arrival of new acquisitions Jonathan Marchessault and Yanni Gourde stemmed the tide.

From March 9 (the date of Marchessault's third game and signing of Gourde) through the end of the season, Syracuse was 9-6-0-4. Up-and-coming prospects Adam Erne, Joel Vermin and Henri Ikonen potted their first AHL points while veteran defensemen J.P. Cote and Joey Mormina returned from prolonged absences due to injury. The rebound finish included a memorable 6-5 overtime win vs. Utica and a jumpstarted power play (15-for-64, 23.4%) resulting in points in the last eight home games.

Player Notes

- Forty-six players donned a Crunch uniform during the 2013-14 season, 44 of whom saw game action. Among those, 15 also played for Tampa Bay: J.T. Brown, Brett Connolly, J.P. Cote, Cedrick Desjardins, Kristers Gudlevskis, Dmitry Korobov, Nikita Kucherov, P.C. Labrie, Anders Lindback, Vlad Namestnikov, Richard Panik, Cedric Paquette, Andrej Sustr, Matt Taormina and Dana Tyrell. A total of 26 players have played for Syracuse and Tampa Bay since last year's affiliation.

- Brett Connolly led the Crunch and was 21st in the AHL with 57 points (21g, 36a) in 66 games. He scored his 100th career AHL point with an assist March 9 vs. Binghamton, in his 119th career AHL game. Connolly's six game-winning goals led the Crunch, upping his two-season total in Syracuse to 14. He enjoyed a stretch of 16 points in eight games Dec. 20-Jan. 8 including five of his 14 multi-point efforts which tied for the team lead.

- Vlad Namestnikov also had 14 multi-point efforts and his 48 points (19g, 29a) in 56 games equals the same points per game as Connolly, 0.86, second only to Nikita Kucherov's 1.41 in 17 games. Playing alongside Kucherov to begin the year, Namestnikov had a 13-game scoring streak (8g-13a-21pts) Oct. 13-Nov. 5, second longest in the AHL. A broken hand Nov. 23 snapped the streak, sidelined him for 14 games and separated him from Kucherov until the pair reunited in Namestnikov's NHL debut Feb. 9 vs. Detroit. Namestnikov was Crunch co-MVP.

- Rookie Cedric Paquette was also Crunch co-MVP, totaling 44 points. He appeared in each of Syracuse's first 70 games and, at the time of his April 11 promotion to Tampa Bay, he led the Crunch with 20 goals; he had one assist in two Lightning regular season games and two helpers in four Stanley Cup playoff contests. In AHL rookie scoring he ranked 16th while his four shorthanded points (2g, 2a) led Syracuse and was second among rookies. He was fifth among first-year players at 153 penalty minutes, trailing teammate Luke Witkowski and three others.

- Luke Witkowski is the only player to appear in each of Syracuse's 76 games and was the team's leader in penalty minutes, 204, tied for tenth in the AHL, most among rookies and second among defensemen. His 2.68 penalty minutes per game, however, was 50th. He had 37 minors (most among rookies) and 12 majors. He was minus-1 with two goals (both game-winners) and 10 assists.

- Mike Angelidis appeared in the first 74 games until an illness kept him out of Friday's contest; the captain returned for the season finale Saturday. During the month of March Angelidis hit a pair of AHL milestones. When the Crunch hosted Hamilton on Mar. 15 the captain played in his 500th AHL game. Eleven days later he recorded his 200th AHL point, an assist, during a two-point effort against St. John's. He set career highs in assists, 21, and power-play goals, three. His total of 33 points is the second most in his eight pro seasons.

- Defenseman J.P. Cote also marked career milestones. He reached 100 AHL points with a goal and assist Oct. 26 vs. Bridgeport, including his only game-winning goal of the season and his second multi-point game in his Crunch career. He ended the season as a plus-10, the best on the team, upping his rating to plus-37 in two seasons with the Crunch. The Crunch alternate captain made his Tampa Bay debut Dec. 19, going on to 19 Lightning appearances, his first NHL action since Feb. 4, 2006, when he played his last of eight games for Montreal.

- Defenseman Dmitry Korobov reached the NHL for the first time, making his Tampa Bay debut Nov. 19 in Los Angeles. He appeared in 71 Crunch games, third most on the team, totaling 26 points (3g, 23a), the most of any Syracuse defenseman. He played in his 100th career AHL game Jan. 24 against Hershey.

- Yanni Gourde appeared in his 100th AHL contest Friday in Rochester. The second-year winger, who signed with the Crunch March 10 after finishing a 24-point-in-25-game PTO with Worcester, added eight points (2g, 6a) in 18 games with the Crunch; four of the eight points (2g, 2a) came on the power play which was 15-for-64 (23.4%) with him in the lineup.

- Jonathan Marchessault, another spring pickup thanks to a March 5 trade with Springfield, scored 15 points (9g, 6a) in 21 Crunch games. Overall he had 56 points, a point behind Brett Connolly for the Crunch lead, but his 23 goals were first. He also tied Connolly for the team lead in power-play points, 24 (8g, 16a). His three shorthanded goals, including two in 15 seconds in a comeback win vs. Utica Apr. 5, led Syracuse and was topped by only one player (John Albert, 6) in the entire league. With the benefit of the trade, Marchessault played in 77 games. He missed one contest with the Falcons, but played in every game after being acquired by the Crunch.

- Goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis spent most of his historic season with the Crunch, playing in 34 games with Syracuse (18-11-4). He became the first goalie in history to play in the ECHL, AHL, NHL, and Olympics in the same season, which he accomplished after making his NHL debut April 11 vs. Columbus. His five shutouts for the Crunch were third most in the AHL while posting a 2.68 goals-against average and 0.901 save percentage.

- Cedrick Desjardins played his first full season with the Crunch and went 9-18-4. He recorded his 100th AHL victory and 21st career shutout Nov. 30 at Adirondack; a month later he appeared in his 200th AHL game Dec. 31 at W-B/Scranton. He had three different stints in the NHL, appearing in one Lightning game Feb. 6.

Team Notes

- Out of 30 American Hockey League teams, the Crunch ranked 23rd in goals per game, 2.61 (198 total), and 22nd in goals against, 3.05 (232 total). A season ago Syracuse led the league with 3.25 goals per game (247) and ranked 10th with 2.64 goals against per contest (201).

- Syracuse and Texas tied for the AHL shutouts lead with nine each. Four Crunch goalies contributed: Kristers Gudlevskis (5), Cedrick Desjardins (2), Anders Lindback (1) and Allen York (1). Ironically, York also had a shutout for Texas.

- Syracuse's special teams were average for 2013-14, finishing 15th on the power play, 17.4% (57-for-328), and 17th on the penalty kill, 82.1% (285-for-347). The penalty kill was two-faced: 4th best in road games (86.7%) but 29th at home (77.9%). The power play was similarly but conversely disparate: 24th on the road (13.9%) and ninth in home games (20.6%). The Crunch scored 11 shorthanded goals, fourth most in the AHL, and their nine at home ranked second in the league. Eight shorthanded goals against tied for 15th.

- The Crunch were third in the AHL in penalty minutes with 1,751; only Bridgeport (1,832) and Adirondack (1,822) had more than Syracuse. The Crunch total was bolstered, in part, by 103 major penalties, second most in the league behind Bridgeport's 112; no other team eclipsed 100 majors. Seven players had at least 100 penalty minutes, including Luke Witkowski (204), Mike Angelidis (161), Cedric Paquette (153), Dalton Smith (150), Phil Paradis (118), P.C. Labrie (112) and Eric Neilson (100). Last season the Crunch also finished third in penalty minutes with 1,612 and were second with 102 major penalties.

- No team with so many shootout games experienced as much difficulty as Syracuse. In 12 shootouts the Crunch were 3-9, winning their first three but falling in their last nine. They succumbed to an 0-for-25 skid over the course of shootout losses five through eight, and ended the season with a 0.211 team shootout rate (15-for-71) second to last in the AHL.

- When scoring a game's first goal Syracuse earned a 0.790 points percentage, ninth in the AHL. In 2012-13 the Crunch had a league-best 0.864 mark while scoring first in 44 of 76 games, fifth most frequently in the AHL. This season's Crunch team scored first in 31 of 76 contests, 27th out of the 30 AHL teams.

- Syracuse's worst statistical period was the first, scoring 52 goals-compared to 72 last season-vs. 71 for opponents-compared to 44 last season-a 57-goal swing from plus-28 to minus-29. The Crunch were minus-8 in this year's second period (68 to 76) and even in the third (72 for and against).

- The Crunch finished the season with standings points in their final eight home games (5-0-0-3), the longest streak of the season for Syracuse, pushing the team's final home record to 17-12-2-7. The 43 points collected at the War Memorial were two off last season's pace of 45, when Syracuse concluded with a 19-12-4-3 record. This season's road record was 14-20-2-2.

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