AHL Syracuse Crunch

Strong Play Helps Crunch Earn Points In Four Straight

January 27, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


2002-03 RECORD: 14-25-5-2, 35 points (6-14-2-2 home, 8-11-3-0 road), fourth place, Central Division

THIS WEEK'S GAMES

Wednesday, January 29 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (20-21-3-3), 46 points, third place, South Division
Friday, January 31 @ Binghamton (24-14-7-1), 56 points, first place, East Division
Saturday, February 1 vs. Rochester (16-17-11-3), 46 points, second place, South Division

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Friday, January 24 CRUNCH 3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1
Saturday, January 25 Albany 4 OT CRUNCH 3

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

POINTS IN FOUR STRAIGHT: A strong weekend at the War Memorial at Oncenter by the Crunch helped Syracuse extend their point streak to four games (2-0-1-1, 6 points). The Crunch snapped a 10-game home winless streak on Friday night, defeating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-1. The following night, in front of the first War Memorial sell-out of the season, the Crunch battled back from a two-goal, third period deficit, to force overtime, eventually losing 4-3 to the Albany River Rats.

DARCHE CONTINUES SLOW CLIMB: Left wing Mathieu Darche continued his assault on the Crunch's all-times leaders list this weekend, scoring goals in three straight games to move into sole possession of fourth place on the franchise's all-time goals list, passing Rod Stevens (54) and Larry Courville (56). Darche (57) trails Brian Loney (76) by 19 goals for third place. Lonny Bohonos is the club's all-time leading scorer with 104 goals. A native of St. Laurent, Quebec, Darche leads the Crunch with 19 goals this season and is second on the club with 28 points.

COLLEY MAKES STRONG HOME DEBUT: Center Kevin Colley made a strong first impression on Crunch fans Saturday night, assisting on two of the Crunch's three goals. Colley, who the Crunch signed to his second professional try-out contract of the season just prior to game time, has appeared in four games with the Crunch this season, recording one goal, two assists and two penalty minutes. A native of Collingwood, Ontario, Colley has appeared in 41 games with Atlantic City (ECHL), recording 27 goals, 32 assists and 159 penalty minutes.

DiROBERTO RETURNED TO DAYTON: The Crunch announced today that they have returned on loan, left wing Torrey DiRoberto to Dayton (ECHL). DiRoberto has appeared in four games with the Crunch during his two recalls this season, recording one assist and six penalty minutes.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (PITTSBURGH PENGUINS): Syracuse travels to Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday, January 29 for the fourth of eight regular season meetings this season. Syracuse leads the series 2-1-0, after defeating the Penguins 3-1 at home on January 24. Center Blake Bellefeuille (2g, 2a) leads all players in head-to-head scoring with four points. Center Shane Endicott (3a), defenseman Rob Scuderi (3a) and left wing Alexander Zevakhin (3g) lead all Penguin players in head-to-head scoring with three points. Goaltender Sebastien Caron has appeared in two games for the Penguins, with a 1-1-0 mark, posting a 2.01 goals against average and .926 save percentage. Karl Goehring has appeared in two games for Syracuse, with a 2-0-0 mark, posting a 0.50 goals against average and .982 save percentage. Lifetime, the Crunch is 19-9-5 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

BINGHAMTON (OTTAWA SENATORS): The Crunch travel to Binghamton to play the Senators for the sixth of eight regular season meetings on Friday, January 31. Binghamton leads the series 3-1-1. Right wing David Ling (1g, 5a) leads all players in head-to-head scoring with six points. Left wing David Hymovitz (1g, 4a) and right wing Brad Smyth (3g, 2a) pace the Senators with five points. Binghamton Goaltender Ray Emery has appeared in three games, with a 2-1-0 mark, a 2.01 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. Goaltender Karl Goehring also appeared in three games for Syracuse with a 1-2-1 mark, a 1.89 goals against average and a ..939 save percentage. Lifetime, Syracuse is 1-3-1 against Binghamton.

ROCHESTER (BUFFALO SABRES): Syracuse returns home Saturday, February 1 to host the Rochester Americans for the fourth of 12 regular season meetings. Rochester leads the series 2-0-1. Left wing Jason Botterill (3g, 1a) leads all players with four points in head-to- head scoring. Right wing Matt Davidson (1g, 1a) paces the Crunch with two points. Goaltender Ryan Miller has appeared in all three games for Rochester with a 2-0-1 record, posting a 0.98 goals against average. Karl Goehring has appeared in net two times for Syracuse with a 0-2-0 record, posting a 4.02 goals against average and .869 save percentage. Lifetime, Syracuse is 34-45-12 against the Americans.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

Saturday, February 1

BRADLEY'S JEWELERS DIAMOND-IN-A-BAG PROGRAM: On February 1, the Crunch along with Bradley's Jewelers will be giving away a half-carat, heart shaped diamond, valued at over $2,000, through the first-ever Diamond-in- a-Bag program. The first 500 women, age 18 and over, to enter the War Memorial at Oncenter on Saturday, February 1, will receive a half-carat Cubic Zirconia stone, numbered 1 - 500. On Monday, February 3 at 8:45 a.m. Bradley's Jewelers will randomly select the winning number. Fans receiving Cubic Zirconia's can stop in Bradley's Jewelers between February 3 and February 7 to see if they have the winning stone. If the fan doesn't have the winning stone, Bradley's will set that stone in a 14K gold pendant for only $35. Other prizes include a free 14k gold pendant for your stone, a $25.00 gift certificate, a $15.00 gift certificate and $10.00 gift certificate. The winner will be presented with the diamond during an on-ice presentation prior to the Crunch game on Valentine's Day, February 14 against the Rochester Americans.

Bradley's Jewelers, the Official Jeweler of the Syracuse Crunch, will be celebrating their 25th anniversary in March. Stop in and see their beautiful selection of diamond jewelry, as well as colored stones, pearls and unusual estate pieces. Located at 212 S. Warren St. in downtown Syracuse, Bradley's Jewelers is open 9-5 Monday through Friday. (Phone 471-4822.)

Employees of Bradley's Jewelers and the Syracuse Crunch (and their families) are not eligible to win.

CORTLAND NIGHT: On Saturday, February 1, the Syracuse Crunch will host the second annual Cortland Night. All of Cortland County is invited to attend at a special rate of only $10. In addition, at $2 contribution from each ticket purchased throughout Cortland County will be donated to the Cortland County Flames Youth Hockey Association. Tickets are available through various Cortland area locations, including Homer Men's & Boy's Store and Cortland Flames representatives. Discount coupons will also be available at all Cortland area Express Mart locations.

INJURY UPDATE: Defenseman Darrel Scoville is expected to miss two-to-three weeks with a foot injury suffered on January 6 @ Philadelphia... Scoville has missed nine games with the injury... Center Brad Moran is listed as day-to-day with a abdominal injury that he re-injured on January 10 @ Grand Rapids. Moran has missed the last seven games and a total of 27 games with the injury.

INJURIES BY THE NUMBERS: Through 46 games this season, Syracuse has lost 123 man-games due to injuries Darrel Scoville - 40, Brad Moran - 27, Trent Cull - 14, Paul Manning - 9, Pauli Levokari - 8, Blake Bellefeuille & Ben Knopp - 5, Andrej Nedorost - 4, Radim Bicanek & Kent McDonell - 3, Martin Paroulek & Dan Watson - 2, Adam Borzecki & Trevor Ettinger - 1, represent the Crunch's injury list this season.

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2003


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