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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Weekly

December 10, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


LAST WEEK

Wed., Dec. 4 - Crunch vs. Charlotte - L, 5-1 Fri., Dec. 6 - Crunch vs. Laval - W, 5-2 Sat., Dec. 7 - Crunch vs. Bridgeport - W, 5-2

THIS WEEK

Wed., Dec. 11 - Crunch at Providence - 6:05 p.m. Fri., Dec. 13 - Crunch at Charlotte - 7 p.m. Sat., Dec. 14 - Crunch at Charlotte - 6 p.m.

Crunch respond with two wins in Week 10

The Crunch hosted three games in Week 10, capping the week with back-to-back wins to open December with two wins in three games. They kept pace in the North Division, improving to 13-9-2-0 and sitting in sixth place with 28 points.

After dropping the opening game of the week to Charlotte, 5-1, to begin the homestand, the Crunch skated away with two straight 5-2 wins over Laval and Bridgeport. It was the first time this season the Crunch have scored at least five goals in back-to-back games; they accomplished that four times in 2018-19. In Saturday's win, Cameron Gaunce sparked the team's ninth annual Stanley Steemer Tired Teddy Toss, which netted a team record 4,895 stuffed animals.

The Crunch turn their attention to a four-game road trip, which begins with three matches in Week 11.

Top Performers

Third-year-pro Alex Volkov had his breakout game Saturday night. He matched his career high with four points (1g, 3a) and he scored his first goal of the season on a shorthanded breakaway.

The Russian winger has tallied 23 goals in each of his first two AHL seasons. In 14 games this season, Volkov has nine points (1g, 8a); through Dec. 10 last season, he had six goals-including three empty-netters-in 21 games.

***

Taylor Raddysh logged his first career multi-goal game Saturday night on the way to a three-point game. The second-year-pro's fourth and fifth goals give him 12 points (5g, 7a) in 24 games. Last year, the rookie had 46 points (18g, 28a) in 70 games.

Raddysh has dominated teams from Connecticut; he has combined for eight points (3g, 5a) in four games against Hartford and Bridgeport.

Call him captain

Defenseman Luke Witkowski was named Syracuse Crunch captain for the second time in his career last Thursday. His first stint came in the 2016-17 season, when he held the "C" until his permanent recall to Tampa Bay at the turn of the calendar. The veteran was selected captain through a vote by the players.

Head coach Ben Groulx later announced six rotating alternate captains among Cory Conacher, Cameron Gaunce, Chris Mueller, Daniel Walcott, Danick Martel and Ross Colton.

Stephens gets the call

Mitchell Stephens earned his first NHL recall Monday morning. The 22-year-old went on to make his NHL debut for the Tampa Bay Lightning that night at home against the New York Islanders.

The Peterborough, Ontario native becomes the 59th player-the fourth this season-to make the jump from Syracuse to Tampa Bay during the affiliation. He joins Carter Verhaeghe and Alex Volkov as the players to make their NHL debuts this season. Stephens has skated in 131 career AHL games, logging 76 points.

Upcoming: Providence, Charlotte

The Crunch begin a four-game, eight-day road trip with three games in Week 11.

The Crunch's voyage begins Wednesday night in Providence with their first match of the season against the Providence Bruins. Last season, the Bruins were the only team on the Crunch's schedule to go unbeaten against Syracuse. This season, the Bruins (16-8-1-2) have picked up where they left off and are tied for the Atlantic Division lead with 35 points.

The Crunch swing down to Charlotte to conclude their season series with the Checkers Friday and Saturday night. The defending Calder Cup champions are 10-11-3-0 and sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division with 23 points. The Checkers have scored a pair of wins over the Crunch with decisions of 7-3 and 5-1 at the War Memorial Arena.

WEEK 10 RESULTS

Wednesday, Dec. 4 | Game 22 vs. Charlotte | L, 5-1 Charlotte 2 2 1 - 5 Shots: 9-11-14-34 PP: 2/5 Syracuse 1 0 0 - 1 Shots: 8-6-4-18 PP: 0/3 1st Period-Colton 3 (Gaunce, Witkowski), 15:55. . . . Martin 3-4-1 (34 shots-29 saves). A-3,868

Friday, Dec. 6 | Game 23 vs. Laval | W, 5-2 Laval 0 2 0 - 2 Shots: 7-9-5-21 PP: 1/4 Syracuse 4 0 1 - 5 Shots: 11-6-12-29 PP: 1/5 1st Period-Smith 4 (Colton, Conacher), 0:19. Gaunce 2 (Martel, Abbandonato), 9:13. Katchouk 5 (Abbandonato, Stephens), 10:50. Conacher 7 (Mueller), 14:49. 3rd Period-Conacher 8 (Foote, Mueller), 3:50 (PP). . . . Wedgewood 7-4-1 (17 shots-15 saves); Martin ND (4 shots-4 saves). A-4,371

Saturday, Dec. 7 | Game 24 vs. Bridgeport | W, 5-2 Bridgeport 0 1 1 - 2 Shots: 9-14-8-31 PP: 0/4 Syracuse 2 1 2 - 5 Shots: 13-9-10-32 PP: 1/3 1st Period-Gaunce 3 (Volkov, Thomas), 1:44. Raddysh 4 (Volkov, Gaunce), 7:22. 2nd Period-Volkov 1 (Mueller, Thomas), 17:07 (SH). 3rd Period-Raddysh 5 (Foote, Conacher), 11:17 (PP). Mueller 8 (Raddysh, Volkov), 12:07. . . . Martin 4-4-0 (31 shots-29 saves). A-5,420

Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev) Power Play 18.8% (21-for-112) T-14th (T-13th) Penalty Kill 86.5% (90-for-104) T-4th (3rd) Goals For 3.25 GFA (78) 11th (10th) Goals Against 3.25 GAA (78) 21st (25th) Shots For 28.33 SF/G (680) 27th (24th) Shots Against 27.33 SA/G (656) 4th (2nd) Penalty Minutes 13.79 PIM/G (331) 9th (13th)

Category

Leader Points 19 Barré-Boulet, Mueller Goals 10 Barré-Boulet, Martel Assists 15 Gaunce PIM 45 Masin Plus/Minus +10 Gaunce Wins 7 Wedgewood GAA 2.78 Martin Save % 0.894 Martin

Ticket packages and single game tickets for the 2019-20 season are on sale now and can be purchased in person at the Crunch office located inside the War Memorial Arena at 800 S. State St. in Syracuse, by calling the office at 315-473-4444 or online through Ticketmaster. For the latest Crunch news, visit www.syracusecrunch.com or follow the club on Facebook (www.facebook.com/syracusecrunch), Twitter (@SyracuseCrunch) and Instagram (@syracusecrunch) using #SyrCrunch.

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