AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Weekly

Published on November 19, 2014 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


LAST WEEK

Wed., Nov. 12 - Crunch at Albany - W, 3-2 (SO)

Fri., Nov. 14 - Crunch vs. Hershey - W, 5-1

Sat., Nov. 15 - Crunch at W-B/Scranton - W, 3-2

THIS WEEK

Wed., Nov. 19 - Crunch at Hartford - 7 p.m.

Fri., Nov. 21 - Crunch at Adirondack - 7 p.m.

Sat., Nov. 22 - Crunch vs. Utica - 7 p.m. (Carrier Dome)

NEED TO KNOW

- Saturday's Toyota Frozen Dome Classic, featuring Syracuse and Utica, is the Carrier Dome's first-ever hockey event.

- Syracuse has three straight wins and points in its last seven games for an 8-4-3-0 record, fourth in the East.

- Yanni Gourde has eight points (5g, 3a) in a five-game scoring streak; his 10 points trail only Jonathan Marchessault's 15.

Freezing the Dome

The transformation of Syracuse University's iconic Carrier Dome into a hockey venue began Sunday night after a Syracuse Orange basketball doubleheader. The conversion for ice hockey is a Carrier Dome first; though ice has been installed for figure skating events, hockey has never been played in the Dome, which opened Sept. 20, 1980.

Celebrity guests for the Toyota Frozen Dome Classic include SU legends Derrick Coleman and Joe Morris, hockey stars Glenn Anderson and Pat Verbeek, Crunch alumni Zenon Konopka and Jon Mirasty, and MTV's Steve-O. The Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit presented by Crouse Hospital, headlines the fan fest in the back-ice area. The experience features nine interactive games and some of hockey's most famous trophies.

The schedule of events for the Toyota Frozen Dome Classic is as follows:

Friday, Nov. 21

6 p.m. - Cicero-North Syracuse vs. Baldwinsville

9 p.m. - Syracuse University club hockey team vs. West Virginia

Saturday, Nov. 22

12 p.m. - Carrier Dome doors open; Hall of Fame exhibit and back-ice area open

1 p.m. - SERVPRO Fire & Police Classic

3 p.m. - Oswego State vs. Utica College

3-6 p.m. - Pregame Party at Crowne Plaza Syracuse (701 E Genesee Street)

7 p.m. - Syracuse Crunch vs. Utica Comets

Yanni be Good

Crunch forward Yanni Gourde is on a five-game point streak in which he's racked up eight points (5g, 3a). The 22-year old tallied the game-winning goal against Norfolk on Nov. 8, before netting a critical shootout goal versus Albany on Nov. 12. Gourde's power-play goal at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Nov. 15 tied the score the game and led to a 3-2 Crunch victory.

The St. Narcisse, Quebec native ranks second on the team with 10 points (5g, 5a) and has totaled 18 points (7g, 11a) in 33 games with the Crunch. Before Tampa Bay signed Gourde March 10, he skated in 25 games with the Worcester Sharks, posting 24 points (4g, 21a). When Gourde's PTO expired in Worcester, the Lightning signed him to an AHL contract for the remainder of the 2013-14 season and a two-way NHL contract through the 2015-16 season. Between the AHL and ECHL Gourde has 103 points (39g, 64a) in 154 pro games.

Before turning pro, Gourde played four seasons with the Victoriaville Tigers in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In his fourth and final season with Victoriaville, he led the QMJHL with 124 points (37g, 87a).

First goals

Crunch forwards Kevin Lynch and Henri Ikonen each scored their first AHL goals in Saturday's 5-1 victory over the Hershey Bears.

Lynch has appeared in each of Syracuse's three games since signing a professional tryout contract with the Crunch last week. In his second game, Saturday, he scored the game-winning tally off a Jerome Samson feed to give Syracuse a 2-1 advantage. The University of Michigan grad has six points (1g, 5a) in nine games for the Everblades this season. A 6-foot-1, 205-pound center, Lynch joined Florida this season after totaling 35 points in 63 ECHL games between the Toledo Walleye and the Evansville Icemen in 2013-14.

Ikonen, in his first full season with Syracuse, an insurance goal for the Crunch in Saturday's second period. It was his first goal in 20 games with Syracuse. Ikonen, a Savonlinna, Finland native, played six games with Syracuse at the end of last season (2a) and has played every game this year (1g, 2a)

WEEK IN REVIEW

Game 13: Crunch seize win in their first shootout, 3-2, in Albany

Tanner Richard's shootout winner propelled Syracuse to a 3-2 win in Albany Wednesday, christening a new Northeast Division rivalry. The win was Syracuse's first in a shootout since Nov. 6, 2013.

Yanni Gourde scored his third goal of the season unassisted early in the first to tie the Devils, 1-1. The Crunch took the lead early in the second when Joel Vermin potted his fourth goal of the season, with assists from Jake Dotchin and Jonathan Marchessault.

Albany knotted the score, 2-2, in the third on Rome, New York native Tim Sestito's third goal of the year. The game remained tied until the shootout, when Gourde and Richard scored the difference-making markers.

Kristers Gudlevskis notched his fifth win, stopping 20 of 22 Albany shots and two of three shootout attempts. Scott Wedgewood took the loss, stopping 23 of 25 Syracuse shots. The teams next meet Dec. 20.

Game 14: Syracuse dominates Hershey, 5-1

Kevin Lynch potted his first AHL goal and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 21 shots in a 5-1 Syracuse win over Hershey Friday at the War Memorial. The win pushed the Crunch's point-streak to six games.

After Hershey's Kris Newbury opened the scoring 5:58 into the first, Syracuse captain Mike Angelidis tied the game two minutes later off a feed from Yanni Gourde. Lynch gave Syracuse the lead late in the first; Jerome Samson and Dalton Smith had the helpers. Henri Ikonen, Nikita Nesterov, and Jonathan Marchessault later added goals, and Vasilevskiy shut down the Bears to earn his second AHL win.

The win was the fourth straight for Syracuse over Hershey dating back to last season. The two teams next skate against each other Nov. 29 in Hershey.

Game 15: Crunch rally for 3-2 win at Penguins

Syracuse erased an early two-goal deficit and defeated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 3-2, at Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday. The win extended the Crunch's point streak to seven games, the longest streak since an eight-game run in February of 2013.

After the Penguins opened the scoring with first-period goals from Conor Sheary and Andrew Ebbett, Yanni Gourde cut the lead in half late in the second; Slater Koekkoek and Philip Paradis assisted. Gourde tied the game with a power-play goal early in the third with Nikita Nesterov and Jonathan Marchessault garnering helpers. Mike Angelidis put the Crunch ahead for the first time midway through the third, converting a rebound of a Jake Dotchin point blast. The goal was the second in as many games for the Crunch captain.

Kristers Gudlevskis stopped 27 shots for his sixth win. Marchessault's scoring streak stands at seven games (4g, 4a) and Gourde's at five games (5g, 3a). The teams next face off Jan. 10 at the War Memorial.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Crunch at Hartford-Wednesday, 7 p.m.

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

Syracuse looks to continue its season-best, seven-game point streak Wednesday against the Hartford Wolf Pack and extend their win streak to four. The Crunch earned a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to Hartford Oct. 12, the second game of the regular season. Jonathan Marchessault had two assists in the game, and Slater Koekkoek earned his first professional point, an assist. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves in his first AHL start, but lost to former Crunch netminder Cedrick Desjardins who made 29 saves.

The Wolf Pack (8-5-2-2) have lost their last three games (0-2-1-0), but their 18 points are one behind Syracuse and three short of division-leading Bridgeport. The New York Rangers' affiliate is 4-2-2-0 at home. J.T. Miller leads the Wolf Pack in scoring with 13 points (5g, 8a). Mat Bodie has 10 points (1g, 9a), 13th most among AHL defensemen. Mackenzie Skapski has the AHL's 13th-best goals-against average at 2.30 in six games; he's 3-1-1 with one shutout. Desjardins, who did not dress for three games because of an injury, is 4-2-0 in seven appearances.

Hartford has allowed nine more third-period goals than it has scored. Syracuse third periods are the opposite, with 20 for and 10 against, tied for third-best goal differential.

Crunch at Adirondack-Friday, 7 p.m.

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

The last time Syracuse traveled to Glens Falls was March 23, but the home team that day, the Phantoms, now resides in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. Friday will be Syracuse's first matchup with Glens Falls Civic Center's new tenant, the Adirondack Flames. Calgary relocated its AHL affiliate from Abbotsford, British Columbia, to New York this year.

It's been eight years since the Crunch last played a Flames affiliate. In 2006, the Crunch were affiliated with Columbus when they played Calgary's Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. It's been even longer since affiliates of Tampa Bay and Calgary squared off. It was April 4, 2003, when the Lightning's AHL franchise was in Springfield and the Flames were in Saint John, New Brunswick

The Adirondack Flames have an 8-6-1-0 record 15 games into their inaugural season, sixth in the Western Conference. In their only prior meeting with a Northeast Division club, the Flames suffered a 5-1 loss to Albany Oct. 11.

Ben Hanowski and Bill Arnold lead the Flames in points with nine each. Goalie Joni Ortio (6-3-1) has a 3.91 goals against average in 11 starts. Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton netminder Brad Thiessen started the most recent game for Adirondack, a 33-save, 3-2 shootout win vs. Lake Erie.

Crunch vs. Utica-Saturday, 7 p.m. (Carrier Dome)

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

The Crunch face the Western Conference-leading Utica Comets (11-2-2-0) Saturday in the Toyota Frozen Dome Classic, the first-ever pro hockey game to be played in the Carrier Dome. The main event will be preceded by several amateur games, including a high school game, college games and a charity match.

Syracuse and Utica, meeting for the first of six times this season, split four contests last year, the Comets inaugural campaign. The Canucks' affiliate has yet to play a Northeast Division opponent this year, while the Crunch were shut out, 3-0, by Rochester in their only meeting with a North Division foe prior to this week.

Cal O'Reilly leads the Comets with 16 points (1g, 15a), tied for fifth in the league. Jacob Markstrom is top two in all major goaltending categories: He's first in shutouts (4) and wins (7), and is second in goals-against average (1.24) and save percentage (.955).

The Frozen Dome Classic has broken the AHL indoor attendance record of 20,672 from Jan. 18, 1997, when the Carolina Monarchs hosted the Kentucky Thoroughblades at the Greensboro Coliseum. The highest attendance for an indoor hockey game in the United States is 28,183 set April 23, 1996, when the Tampa Bay Lighting hosted the Philadelphia Flyers in a Stanley Cup Playoff game at the Thunderdome.

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics

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