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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Hartigan Has Record Week

January 5, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Crunch center Mark Hartigan entered last week with seven goals in his first 28 games with Syracuse. He enters this week of play with 14 goals, doubling his total in just four games. After scoring once on Wednesday night vs. Hamilton and adding an assist Friday night @ Hamilton, Hartigan tied a Syracuse franchise mark (Steve Kariya - February 8, 2000) with four goals on Saturday night against the Albany River Rats, including the game-winner. He would then add two more goals in the Crunch's 6-4 victory over Cleveland on Sunday night. Hartigan finished the week with a +8 rating, including a +6 in Saturday night's contest against Albany. A native of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Hartigan took over the club lead in goals (14) and is third on the club in scoring with 26 points. The first player in St. Cloud State history to become a Hobey Baker Award

(2001-02) finalist and win the WCHA Player of the Year award (during the 2001-02 season), Columbus signed Hartigan as a free agent on August 15, 2003.

MacLEAN EXTENDS STREAK TO SEVEN: Crunch center Donald MacLean extended his point streak to seven games (12/20 - 1/4) on Sunday night with two goals against the Cleveland Barons. MacLean has five goals and four assists during the streak. MacLean (11g, 18a) leads the Crunch in scoring with 29 points. A native of Sydney, Nova Scotia, MacLean led the AHL in scoring (87 points) during the 2001-02 season as a member of the St. John's Maple Leafs. Originally drafted by Los Angeles with their second selection (33rd overall) in the 1995 Entry Draft, Columbus signed MacLean as a free agent on July 17, 2002. In 327 career AHL games with Fredericton, Springfield, St. John's, Lowell and Syracuse, MacLean has 118 goals, 163 assists and 215 penalty minutes.

ROOKIES HELP LEAD THE WAY: Rookies Joe Motzko and Shawn Limpright, playing along side of center Mark Hartigan both had break-out weekends, helping the Crunch to three consecutive wins for the first time since they had a five-game winning streak October 17 - 25. Motzko, finished the weekend with two goals, five assists and a +8 rating and Limpright, playing in his first American Hockey League action, recorded two assists with a +7 rating.

SUGDEN NETS FIRST AHL GOAL: Left wing Brandon Sugden scored his first American Hockey League goal, adding an assist during the Crunch's 6-4 victory over the Cleveland Barons on Sunday night. Sugden leads the Crunch with 118 penalty minutes this season. Originally drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs with their fifth choice, 111th overall, in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, Sugden signed an American Hockey League contract with the Crunch on December 12 after signing a P.T.O. with Syracuse earlier this

season. In 38 career AHL games with Worcester and Syracuse, Sugden has one goal, two assists and 174 penalty minutes.

TRANSACTIONS: Through January 5 the Crunch have had 69 player transactions. Through the same time frame last season Syracuse had 53 player moves.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES:

Wednesday, January 7:

Labatt's Celebrity Bartending: Crunch players Brad Moran, Jeremy Reich and Darrel Scoville will serve as celebrity bartenders at Crossroads Tavern from 5 - 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 7. Crossroads Tavern is located on 7th North Street in Liverpool.

All tips generated by the players that night will be donated to the Francis House. Established in January 1991, Francis House has become the home of hundreds of people with terminal illnesses, whose families could no longer care for them.

Monday, January 12:

Autograph Signing at Saturn: On Monday, January 12, Crunch players Karl Goehring and Donald MacLean and the Crunch's mascot, Al will be at Saturn on W. Genesse Street, from 5-6 p.m. to sign autographs.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

January

Coleman's 'Dinner and a Game' Program: During the month of January any party that orders two (2) dinner entrees will receive a Crunch ticket voucher valid for two (2) tickets to a future Crunch home game, of the customer's choice.

Coleman's Authentic Irish Pub and Restaurant is located on the corner of Tompkins Street and Lowell Avenue on Syracuse's Tipperary Hill. For directions call 476-1933. At this Irish Pub, atmosphere is just as important as flavor. Here you'll find custom crafted stained glass windows with intricate designs from the Book of Kells, paintings from the Irish National Gallery, and a dark oak bar patterned after the original Jury's in Dublin.

Coleman's Authentic Irish Pub - Celebrating 70 years of business.

Friday, January 9:

East Syracuse Chevrolet Ice Scraper Night: Friday, January 9 against Hershey will be East Syracuse Chevrolet Ice Scraper Night at the Crunch.

The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive an ice scraper, courtesy of East Syracuse Chevrolet. The ice scrapers are blue in color featuring the East Syracuse Chevrolet and Syracuse Crunch logos.

In addition, any person that stops by East Syracuse Chevrolet will receive a voucher good for $5 off a regular $15 ticket for the January 9 game against Hershey.

East Syracuse Chevrolet is located at 1 Chevy Dr., East Syracuse. For more information and directions, call 437-3311. East Syracuse Chevrolet will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2004.

Friday, January 9:

New York State Lottery Night: New York State Lottery will be on hand January 9, when the Crunch host the Hershey Bears, to distribute lotto coupons, to the first 500 people in attendance, redeemable for $1 off a New York Lottery's Free Play game.

During the game, fans will be selected at random to participate in the New York State Lottery intermission puck shoot-out. The two shoot-out winners will receive 25 "Money Tree" Instant Game Tickets. "Money Tree" offers players a chance to win a top prize of $25,000 on each ticket.

The New York State Lottery will also be on hand on February 13.

Friday, January 9:

Baldwinsville School District Night: The Syracuse Crunch will host the first-ever Baldwinsville School District Night on Friday, January 9. The C.W. Baker High School sports and entertainment marketing class is assisting in promoting the game throughout the school district as part of a project for their class. The game will also serve as a benefit for Baldwinsville native Breanna Bartelli, a seventh-grader at Ray Middle School. Bartelli suffers from neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer, which affects the nervous system. The Crunch will donate one dollar from each ticket sold within the Baldwinsville school district to assist the Bartelli family with medical expenses. Discount tickets for the game are available throughout the district until Thursday, January 8.

Saturday, January 10:

Kinney Drugs Night At The Crunch: Saturday, January 10 will be Kinney Drugs Night at the Crunch.

The first 500 fans that enter the building will receive a 100th Anniversary, ten minute, long distance phone card,

compliments of Kinney Drugs.

In addition, any person that stops by any Kinney Drugs locations will receive a voucher good for $5 off a regular $15 ticket for the January 10 game against Rochester, while supplies last.

Kinney Drugs - Celebrating 100 Years of Caring

Friday, January 9 and Saturday, January 10:

Action Motor Sports To Host Yamaha Snowmobile Show: Action Motor Sports will be hosting a Yamaha Snowmobile Show on Friday, January 9 and Saturday, January 10.

The Yamaha Snowmobile Show will take place in the basement level of the War Memorial at Oncenter during both Crunch home games on Friday, January 9 and Saturday, January 10. Action Motor Sports will be displaying the newest line of Yamaha snowmobiles and ATVs.

Also on display will be the 2004 Yamaha Kodiak 400 'Crunch Mobile', which can be seen at all Crunch home games. Raffle tickets for the 'Crunch Mobile' are available for $2 each with proceeds benefiting the Crunch Foundation.

In addition, the first person to purchase a vehicle during each of the games will receive a prize package, courtesy of the Syracuse Crunch.

Action Motor Sports is located at 8932 Brewerton Rd., Brewerton, NY. For directions call 699-6484.

Friday, January 16:

Empire Vision Poster Night Returns Friday, January 16: One of the most popular giveaways in team history returns on Friday, January 16, when each fan in attendance will receive the tenth-annual Empire Vision Centers Crunch poster.

This year's poster depicts the team, dressed in tuxedo's, celebrating the franchises 10th anniversary in Clinton Square at night, wearing Empire Vision sunglasses.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:

HERSHEY (COLORADO AVALANCHE): Syracuse hosts Hershey on Friday, January 9 for the third of four regular season meetings between the clubs. Hershey leads the series 1-0-1, after defeating Syracuse 3-2 at the GIANT Center in their last meeting on December 7. Center Brad Moran leads the Crunch in head-to-head scoring with three points (1g, 2a). Right wings Steve Brule (2g, 1a) and Sheldon Keefe (1g, 2a) lead the Bears in head-to-head scoring with three points. Pascal Leclaire took the loss for Syracuse despite recording 40 saves. Tom Lawson was credited with the win, stopping 35 saves. Lifetime, the Crunch are 21-30-11 against the Bears.

ROCHESTER (BUFFALO SABRES): Rochester visits the War Memorial at Oncenter on Saturday, January 10 for the fifth of 12 regular season meetings between the clubs. The series is tied at two a piece, after Rochester defeated Syracuse 4-2 in their last meeting on December 28 at Rochester. Right wing Tim Jackman (3g, 1a) and center Brad Moran (2g, 2a) lead the Crunch in head-to-head scoring with four points. Center Derek Roy (2g, 2a) and right wing Jason Pominville (1g, 3a) lead Rochester with four points. Pascal Leclaire has appeared in four games posting a 2-1-0 record, a 2.11 goals against average and a .944 save percentage. Ryan Miller has appeared in three games for Rochester, posting a 1-2-0 record, a 2.68 goals against average and .881 save percentage. Lifetime, the Crunch are 39-52-13 against Rochester.

NATIONWIDE INSURANCE COLUMBUS UPDATE: The Blue Jackets (10-22-4-3) enter this week fifth in the Central Division, four points behind Chicago (31 points). Left wing Rick Nash leads the NHL with 23 goals and paces Columbus with 27 points (23g, 4a). There are currently seven players on the Columbus roster that have appeared in a Crunch jersey (Jody Shelley, Duvie Westcott, David Ling, Todd Rohloff, Anders Eriksson, Tim Jackman and Zenith Komarniski).

INJURY UPDATE: Left wing Brandon Sugden suffered a separated shoulder on Sunday, January 4 vs. Cleveland. He is expected to miss two-to-four weeks with the injury. Through 33 games this season the Crunch have lost 42 man-games due to injury (Trent Cull - 16, Paul Traynor - 7, Sean Connolly - 5, Brandon Sugden - 5, Andrej Nedorost -5 and Pauli Levokari - 4).

PRACTICE SCHEDULE: The Crunch's weekly schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, January 6 10:30 a.m. practice @ War Memorial at Oncenter

Wednesday, January 7 10:30 a.m. practice @ War Memorial at Oncenter

Thursday, January 8 10:30 a.m. practice @ War Memorial at Oncenter

Friday, January 9 10:00 a.m. skate @ War Memorial at Oncenter

7:30 p.m. game vs. Hershey

Saturday, January 10 10:00 a.m. skate @ War Memorial at Oncenter

7:30 p.m. game vs. Rochester

Sunday, January 11 Off

*All practice times and locations subject to change

CRUNCHABLES: The Crunch set a season high for most goals in a period (5 - third period) and most shots in a game (39) on Sunday night vs. Cleveland... Sunday's victory over Cleveland extended the Crunch's home unbeaten streak to a season high six-games (3-0-3-0)... Center Mark Hartigan set a team high for shots in a game with eight Sunday night vs. Cleveland... Left wing Jeremy Reich set a career high for assists in a season (14) vs. Cleveland on Sunday night... Center Mark Hartigan's four-goal game, which tied Steve Kariya (February 18, 2000) for the franchise mark, came against the same team (Albany), with the same final score (7-4), as Karyia's four-goal game. Ironically, Kariya is a member of the River Rats but did not play against the Crunch Saturday night because of injury.

2003-04 RECORD: 15-11-5-2, 37 points (10-3-4-1 home, 5-8-1-1 road), tied - fourth place, North Division

THIS WEEK'S GAMES

Friday, January 9 vs. Hershey (17-13-7-3), 44 points, second place, East Division

Saturday, January 10 vs. Rochester (17-10-5-3), 42 points, second place, North Division

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Wednesday, December 31 CRUNCH 3 OT Hamilton 3

Friday, January 2 CRUNCH 3 Hamilton 2

Saturday, January 3 CRUNCH 7 Albany 4

Sunday, January 4 CRUNCH 6 Cleveland 4

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

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