Syracuse Crunch 2010-11 Season in Review
Published on April 12, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release
A NEW BEGINNING: On March 25, 2010, the Syracuse Crunch announced a multi-year affiliation agreement with the NHL's Anaheim Ducks, starting with the 2010-11 season. Since the 2005-06 season, Anaheim's AHL affiliates have posted a record of 203-147-20-30, good for a .580 winning percentage. In addition, since the start of the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs, the Ducks' AHL affiliates have advanced to the Conference Finals twice.
An impressive list of players have graduated from Anaheim's AHL affiliates over the past six years to make their NHL debuts with the Ducks, including Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan, Ryan Carter, Matt Beleskey, Troy Bodie, Brett Festerling, Dustin Penner, Drew Miller, Andrew Ebbett, Shane O'Brien, Curtis Glencross, Kent Huskins, Zenon Konopka, Ryan Shannon and Aaron Rome.
The Syracuse Crunch are tied for the sixth longest tenure of any AHL team and have the league's longest current independent ownership group. Anaheim represents the third primary affiliate in the Crunch's history (Vancouver - 1994-2000 and Columbus 2000-2010). Syracuse had a split affiliation with Vancouver and Pittsburgh during the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons.
YOUNG BLOOD: The Syracuse Crunch saw the maturity of a number of first-year players throughout the 2010-11 season. With 13 rookies on their opening night roster, the Crunch sported the eighth-youngest team in the American Hockey League to start the year. The average age of players on the opening night roster was 23 years, 1 month. A number of Crunch rookies put together outstanding 2010-11 campaigns, including Nick Bonino, Nicolas Deschamps and Kyle Palmieri.
Palmieri, who started the season as a 19-year old, led the team and finished fifth among AHL rookies in scoring with 51 points (29g, 22a). His 29 goals were good enough to lead the Crunch and tie him for first among AHL first-year players along with Portland's Luke Adam. He was twice named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week and capped off the season by being named the Reebok/AHL Rookie of the Month for March after posting 15 points (13g, 3a) in 13 games. In addition, the Smithtown, NY native was selected as the Crunch's lone representative at the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic and won a bronze medal with Team USA at the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo, NY.
Bonino, 22, finished 11th among AHL rookies in scoring with 45 points (12g, 33a) despite playing in just 50 games due in large part to a 26-game stint with Anaheim through most of November and December. His 33 assists led the Crunch and he also proved to be a shootout threat, scoring on all three of his attempts. The Hartford, CT native really caught fire over his last 15 games, tallying 20 points (4g, 16a).
Deschamps, 21, finished tied for fourth on the club in scoring and 10th among all AHL rookies with 46 points (15g, 31a). The Lasalle, Quebec native also made a late season push by finishing the year on a four-game point streak in which he notched seven points (3g, 4a).
Another rookie that noticeably improved throughout the season was left wing John Mitchell, who after tallying just four points (2g, 2a) in his first 29 games, went on to register 15 points (7g, 8a) over his final 31 contests. In addition, fellow first-year left wing John Kurtz also improved markedly throughout the year. Kurtz notched five points (3g, 2a) in his final 19 games after recording just one assist in his first 30 contests.
Maxime Macenauer was also among the rookies on the club that improved as the season went along. After recording 23 points (7g, 16a) in his first 68 games, the Laval, Quebec native was nearly a point-a-game player in his final 11 contests, recording nine points (6g, 3a), including a four game goal and point streak from March 23 - 28.
Likewise, rookie defenseman Mat Clark also matured as the season progressed. After concentrating on his defensive game for the first part of the year, Clark not only improved in that area, but also became a physical presence on the back end. In addition, Clark added a bit of an offensive element to the club in the season's final 14 games, contributing five points (1g, 4a) over that span.
SECOND HALF SURGE: Although the Crunch struggled for most of the first half of the season, they found their way in the second half, putting together a respectable 20-18-2-0 record in their final 40 games. The team was one of the AHL's best over the regular season's final 20 games, putting together a 15-5-0-0 record over that span. Over the final 20 games, the Crunch experienced an offensive surge, scoring 74 goals, an average of 3.70 goals per game. Syracuse also recorded its longest win streak of the season during this span, winning five games in a row from March 25 - April 1.
In addition, the Crunch played some of their best hockey of the season down the stretch at home. The Crunch turned the War Memorial back into a major home-ice advantage, going 8-2-0-0 in their final 10 home contests. Overall, the Crunch went 12-5-0-0 over their last 17 home games, improving from an 8-11-2-2 mark on February 4, to their final home record of 20-16-2-2.
TEN TO REMEMBER - Ten standout games from the 2010-11 season.
October 9 vs. Lake Erie - The Syracuse Crunch skated out on to the War Memorial ice for the first time as the AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks. After dropping a 3-2 decision the night before at Quicken Loans Arena to open the season, the Crunch, wearing commemorative Syracuse Stars jerseys, fell to the Lake Erie Monsters, wearing commemorative Cleveland Barons jerseys, by a 2-1 score in a shootout. Maxime Macenauer scored the Crunch's only goal and J.P. Levasseur stopped 39 of 40 shots in the loss.
October 16 vs. Binghamton - The Crunch picked up their first win of the season and first as Anaheim's AHL affiliate on the strength of first period goals from Brandon McMillan and Nicolas Deschamps. Binghamton's Bobby Butler spoiled Timo Pielmeier's shutout bid with 1:10 remaining in regulation, but Syracuse hung on for the 2-1 victory as the German-born netminder stopped 31 of 32 shots en route to his first AHL victory.
October 23 @ Hartford/Connecticut - The Crunch showed a lot of character in this one. After trailing 1-0, Kyle Palmieri scored with 24 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and force overtime. Just 45 seconds into the extra session, Josh Green netted the game-winner, his first of the season, past Dov Grumet-Morris to catapult the Crunch to a 2-1 win. It marked the first time all year the Crunch went over the .500 mark, pushing the club's record to 3-2-0-1 at the time. Timo Pielmeier stopped 26 of 27 shots in the win and defenseman Luca Sbisa added two assists in the second game of what would be a short eight-game stint with the Crunch in which he tallied nine points (2g, 7a).
November 6 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - Another character win for the Crunch. After trailing 3-1 going into the third period, the Crunch stormed back with three third period goals to beat the undefeated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who were 9-0-0-0 at the time. Brandon McMillan, who would be recalled to Anaheim for the rest of the season a week later, was the first star of the game with three points (1g, 2a), while J.P. Levasseur stopped 42 of 45 shots in the win.
January 15 vs. Rochester - The Crunch came out on top in a thriller of a game in front of a sold out crowd of 6,173 fans at The Oncenter War Memorial Arena. Mark Mitera got the Crunch on the board in the first period, but Rochester's Keaton Ellerby answered with a power play goal in the second. The game stayed tied until late in the third period when the Crunch were given a man-advantage opportunity when A.J. Jenks was called for tripping at the 17:29 mark. Patrick Maroon made the Americans pay, slipping a one-timer past Tyler Plante for the game-winner with 49 seconds left in regulation to send the crowd into a frenzy.
February 19 vs. Rochester - The Crunch exploded for a season-high seven goals and won their most lopsided game of the season in a 7-1 trouncing of arch-rival Rochester in front of a near-sellout crowd at The Oncenter War Memorial Arena. Seven different players scored for the Crunch and 13 players recorded at least a point in the win, including three point efforts each from Matt Kennedy and Maxime Macenauer, who both notched a goal and two assists. Ray Emery stopped 37 of 38 shots he faced in his second game back after missing over a year due to a career-threatening hip injury. It was his first professional victory since February 1, 2010, when he was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.
March 11 vs. Texas - The Crunch battled Texas through 65 minutes of scoreless play, but exploded for four goals in the shootout to edge the Stars by a 1-0 score. Nick Bonino, Kyle Palmieri, Josh Green and Patrick Maroon scored in the tiebreaker and J.P. Levasseur was brilliant, stopping all 34 shots through regulation and overtime to record his fifth shutout of the season, moving him into a tie for fourth on the Crunch's all-time list.
April 1 vs. Binghamton - After falling behind 2-0 after 20 minutes of play, the Crunch rallied with a season-high five goals in the second period and held off the Binghamton Senators for an eventual 6-4 win in front of a sold out crowd of 6,398 fans at The Oncenter War Memorial Arena, the largest home crowd of the season. Nick Bonino picked up three helpers, Josh Green and Patrick Maroon had two points (1g, 1a) each and Kyle Palmieri scored on a penalty shot. The win marked a season-high fifth straight for the Crunch and also snapped a six-game losing skid for Syracuse against Binghamton.
April 7 vs. Norfolk - Crunch fans were treated to two very impressive professional debuts, as 2009 Anaheim first-round pick Peter Holland tallied three points (1g, 2a), including the game-winner and goaltender Igor Bobkov stopped 43 of 46 shots to help the Crunch to a 5-3 win over the Norfolk Admirals. Nicolas Deschamps also recorded three points (1g, 2a) and Patrick Maroon scored two of the Crunch's season-high four power play goals.
April 9 vs. Norfolk - The Crunch special teams were at it again for the second straight game, scoring twice on the power play and twice while shorthanded to lead the club to a 5-4 win in the second of back-to-back games against Norfolk. Josh Green registered a personal season-high three points (1g, 2a), while Igor Bobkov picked up his second win in as many games in the Crunch's home finale. The game marked club's fifth sellout crowd of the season and was the third capacity crowd over the Crunch's final five home games.
2010-11 SYRACUSE CRUNCH TEAM AWARD WINNERS:
Most Valuable Player - JOSH GREEN
Supercuts Rookie of the Year - KYLE PALMIERI
Defenseman of the Year - NATE GUENIN
Eastern Shore Associates Most Improved Player - JOHN MITCHELL
Davis-Ulmer Crunch Protector Award - BRIAN McGRATTAN
Change of Pace Wing of the Year - NICOLAS DESCHAMPS
Gannon Pest Control Pest of the Year - PATRICK MAROON
Outdoor Power Power Player of the Year - JOSH GREEN
Lamacchia Honda Power Forward of the Year - PATRICK MAROON
Bryant & Stratton Smart Player of the Year - NICK BONINO
Team winner of American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year - MAT CLARK
Metalico Scrappiest Player of the Year - JOHN KURTZ
Agway Energy Services Most Energetic Player - JOSH GREEN
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