AHL Syracuse Crunch

Pandolfo Cashes in on Hot-Hand

Published on March 15, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Left wing Mike Pandolfo continued his strong play this weekend, recording three goals and assist over the weekend to extend his point streak to five games (6g, 4a). Friday night against Albany was the second time in four games that Pandolfo scored two goals in a game. During his streak Pandolfo has posted a +8 rating. One of only two players to appear in all 65 Crunch games this season (Donald MacLean), Pandolfo has recorded career highs in goals (14), assists (16) and points (30) this season. A native of Winchester, MA, Pandolfo was originally drafted by Buffalo with their fifth choice, 77th overall, in the 1998 Entry Draft and acquired by the Blue Jackets from the Sabres along with Detroit's first round pick (previously acquired - later traded to Atlanta) in the 2002 Entry Draft for New Jersey's first round choice in the 2002 Entry Draft (previously acquired - Dan Paille) on June 22, 2002. Pandolfo has appeared in 139 career AHL games, all with Syracuse, recording 23 goals, 25 assists and 58 penalty minutes.

LING MOVES UP CHARTS - RECORDS 300th AHL POINT: With a goal and an assist on Friday night against the River Rats, Ling (118 points) moved into ninth place on the Crunch's all-time point list, moving past Brian Bonin (116). Ling now trails John Namestnikov (126 points) by eight points for eighth place. Ling's third period goal was the 300th point of his AHL career. A veteran of 324 AHL games with Saint John, Fredericton and Syracuse, Ling has 104 goals, 196 assists and 965 penalty minutes.

PLAYOFF RACES HEAT UP: Syracuse (65 games - 75 points) enters this week five points behind Hamilton (68 games - 82 points) for first place in the North Division. The Crunch are six points ahead of Toronto (67 games - 71 points), Cleveland (66 games - 71 points) and Rochester (66 games - 71 points), 15 points ahead of Manitoba (68 games - 62 points) and 17 points ahead of St. John's (65 games - 60 points). Thirteen of the Crunch's 15 remaining games will be against the North Division rivals.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

Friday, March 19:

Kinney Drugs Puck Night: The Syracuse Crunch announced that their Friday, March 19 game against Manitoba will be Kinney Drugs Puck Night. The first 500 fans in attendance that night will receive a 10th Anniversary Crunch puck, courtesy of Kinney Drugs.

Simpson's Night: The Syracuse Crunch, along with WB 43 and Comix Zone, announced that their Friday, March 19 game against Manitoba will be Simpson's Night. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive a Simpson's button, courtesy of WB 43. In addition, Simpson's hats, shirts, figurines and comic books will be given out throughout the night, compliments of Comix Zone.

Brewerton Speedway to Hand out Free Tickets: The Syracuse Crunch announced that Brewerton Speedway will be on hand at the Crunch's March 19 game against the Manitoba Moose.

The first 1,000 fans that enter that night will receive a free general admission ticket (a $12 value) to the Brewerton Speedway, which is good for any race during the months of May or June. Les Hubbard, driver of the Crunch sponsored IMCA race car, will be on hand to sign autographs, and the tracks mascot Lightning will be there to give away prizes throughout the night. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Crunch at 473-4444. Log on to www.brewertonspeedway.com or www.syracusecrunch.com for more information about the upcoming 2004 race season.

Saturday, March 20:

Taco Bell Night at the Crunch: The Syracuse Crunch announced today that the Saturday, March 20 game against the Rochester Americans is Taco Bell Night at the Crunch. Local Taco Bell stores will serve as outlets for vouchers good for discounted tickets to Taco Bell Night at the Crunch, courtesy of Taco Bell.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:

MANITOBA (VANCOUVER CANUCKS): Syracuse hosts Manitoba on Friday, March 19, for the fourth and final regular season meeting between the clubs. The series is tied at 1-1-1, after the Crunch shut the Moose 1-0 in their last meeting on March 6 at Winnipeg Arena. Center Brad Moran (2g, 2a) and left wing Mike Pandolfo (2g, 2a) pace the Crunch in head-to-head scoring with four points. Left wing Ryan Ready leads the Moose with four points (1g, 3a). Pascal Leclaire has appeared in two games for Syracuse, posting a 1-1-0 record, a 2.46 goals against average and .937 save percentage. Tyler Moss posted the victory for Manitoba, recording 18 saves on 22 Syracuse shots. Lifetime, the Crunch are 1-1-1 against the Moose.

ROCHESTER (BUFFALO SABRES): On Saturday, March 20 Syracuse hosts Rochester for the ninth of twelve regular season meetings between the clubs. The series is tied 4-4, after Rochester shut out the Crunch 6-0 in their last meeting on February 29 in Buffalo at HSBC Arena. Right wing Jason Pominville paces all players with eight points (5g, 3a) in head-to-head scoring. Right wing Tim Jackman leads Syracuse with seven points (5g, 2a). Pascal Leclaire has appeared in seven games for Syracuse, posting a 4-2-0 record, a 2.68 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. Ryan Miller has appeared in seven games for Rochester, posting a 3-4-0 record, a 2.14 goals against average and .912 save percentage. Lifetime, the Crunch are 41-54-13 against the Amerks.

TORONTO (EDMONTON OILERS): Syracuse travels to Toronto for the sixth and final regular season meeting between the clubs on Sunday, March 21. The series is tied 2-2-1, after Syracuse defeated Toronto 3-1 in their last meeting on February 25 at the War Memorial at Oncenter. Left wing Nate DiCasmirro (3g, 1a) and center J.J. Hunter (2g, 2a) pace all players with four points in head-to-head scoring. Several Syracuse players lead the team with three points each. Karl Goehring has posted both victories for Syracuse, recording a 1.47 goals against average and a .949 save percentage. Michael Morrison has played in all five games for Toronto, recording a 2.90 goals against average and .895 save percentage. Lifetime, the Crunch are 2-2-1 against the Roadrunners.

NATIONWIDE INSURANCE COLUMBUS UPDATE: The Blue Jackets (20-40-8-4, 52 points) enter this week in fifth place, one point behind Chicago (53) in the Central Division. Left wing Rick Nash is tied with Ilya Kovalchuk (Atlanta) for first in the NHL with 37 goals and paces Columbus with 51 points (37g, 14a). There are currently seven players on the Columbus roster that have appeared in a Crunch jersey (Jody Shelley, Duvie Westcott, Aaron Johnson, Fred Brathwaite, Tim Jackman, Darrel Scoville and Anders Eriksson).

INJURY UPDATE: Left wing Brandon Sugden is expected to miss one to two weeks with a concussion that he suffered on Wednesday, March 10 @ Albany. He has missed two games with the injury... Through 65 games this season the Crunch have lost 87 man-games due to injury (Trent Cull - 19, Paul Traynor - 12, Brandon Sugden - 12, Zenith Komarniski - 8, Ben Knopp - 6, Sean Connolly - 5, Andrej Nedorost -5, Pauli Levokari - 4, Shawn Limpright - 4, Brad Moran - 3, David Ling - 2, Scott Cameron - 2, Joe Motzko - 2, Tyler Sloan - 2 and Lasse Pirjeta - 1).

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

Tuesday, March 16 10:30 a.m. practice @ War Memorial at Oncenter

Wednesday, March 17 10:30 a.m. practice @ War Memorial at Oncenter

Thursday, March 18 10:30 a.m. practice @ War Memorial at Oncenter

Friday, March 19 10:00 a.m. skate @ War Memorial at Oncenter

7:30 p.m. game vs. Manitoba

Saturday, March 20 10:00 a.m. skate @ War Memorial at Oncenter

7:30 p.m. game vs. Rochester

Sunday, March 21 5:00 p.m. game @ Toronto

*All practice times and locations subject to change

CRUNCHABLES: Crunch goaltender Karl Goehring moved into second place on the club's all-time games played list (goaltender), appearing in his 93rd game on Saturday night against St. John's... Left wing Mike Pandolfo was whistled for goalie interference during the third period of Friday night's game vs. Albany. It was the first penalty he has taken since January 10 against Rochester, a 28-game stretch... Syracuse has gone seven games without a power play goal (0-for-25).

2003-04 RECORD: 31-19-10-5, 77 points (17-7-6-3 home, 14-12-4-2 road), second place, North Division

THIS WEEK'S GAMES

Friday, March 19 vs. Manitoba (25-31-10-2), 62 points, sixth place, North Division

Saturday, March 20 vs. Rochester (29-24-9-4), 71 points, tied-third place, North Division

Sunday, March 21 @ Toronto (30-26-8-3), 71 points, tied-third place, North Division

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Wednesday, March 10 Crunch 4 OT ALBANY 3

Friday, March 12 CRUNCH 5 Albany 2

Saturday, March 13 CRUNCH 5 St. John's 3

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 15, 2004


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