Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 31, No. 6
November 19, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release
CRUNCH EARN POINTS IN THREE STRAIGHT
The Crunch collected five of six possible points, and won twice on the road, in Week 6.
Syracuse started its second three-game week of the season Wednesday in Belleville. The Crunch handed the Senators a 4-1 loss behind a two-goal, three-point performance from Niko Huuhtanen. Friday saw a back-and-forth tilt between the Crunch and Laval Rocket require a shootout; Laval prevailed with a 4-3 win. The Crunch rebounded the following night with a 25-save shutout effort from Matt Tomkins in a 2-0 win against the Utica Comets.
This is the first time this season the Crunch have earn points in three straight games. The Crunch are 7-5-1-1 this season and have 16 points, placing them in a three-way tie for fourth place in the North Division.
TOP PERFORMERS
Niko Huuhtanen powered the Crunch to their victory against the Belleville Senators Wednesday at CAA Arena. The rookie notched two goals and one assist to help the Crunch bust a three-game losing streak.
After earning an assist on the team's opening goal, Huuhtanen cashed in twice during the second period to open a 3-0 Crunch lead. It marked the 21-year-old's first two-goal game in the AHL. The Finnish forward has seven points (4g, 3a) in 14 games this season.
Huuhtanen was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the last pick, 224th overall, in the 2021 NHL Draft. He spent the past two seasons playing in Finland's Liiga, and he earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2022-23.
***
Matt Tomkins righted the ship with a 25-save shutout Saturday against the Utica Comets at the Adirondack Bank Center. It was his first win since Oct. 20, snapping a personal three-game losing streak, and marked his second career AHL shutout (also March 30, 2024 vs. Providence).
Tomkins, 30, is 3-4-0 with a 2.99 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage in seven appearances this season.
It was the second time in two meetings that the Crunch blanked the Comets (also Oct. 11 at Utica). Their respective parent clubs squared off the same night in the NHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New Jersey Devils, 4-0. It's the first time the Crunch and their NHL affiliate have shut out an AHL team and its parent club on the same day.
SYRACUSE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME
The Crunch will recognize and induct the inaugural class of the Syracuse Hockey Hall of Fame on Saturday prior to their game against the Hershey Bears.
The Inaugural Class will enshrine Scott Walker, Howard Dolgon, Ed Kochian, Alan Taylor and Brian Elwell for their outstanding achievements and contributions to hockey in Syracuse.
The Hall of Fame will be located on the second floor of the Upstate Medical University Arena, on the Montgomery Street side of the building. Fans are asked to be seated by 7 p.m. for the pregame ceremony.
UPCOMING WEEK
Friday, Nov. 22 vs. Utica | 7 p.m.
The Crunch and Utica Comets face off for the second time in less than a week Friday at Upstate Medical University Arena. It's the third match up this season between the clubs, and the first in Syracuse. The Crunch have blanked the Comets in the two previous meetings, including a 2-0 win Saturday in Utica.
The Comets are winless through their first 13 games (0-10-1-2). They have been shut out in two straight games and have scored a league-low 21 goals in 13 games, a 1.62 goals per game clip.
Saturday, Nov. 23 vs. Hershey | 7 p.m.
The Crunch take on the reigning Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears Saturday in Syracuse in the first of four matches between the teams. They split a two-game series last year, with the home team winning both games.
On a quest for a three-peat, the Bears are 11-4-1-0, including a perfect 6-0-0-0 mark on the road.
WEEK 6 RESULTS
Wednesday, Nov. 13 | Game 12 at Belleville | W, 4-1
Syracuse 1 2 1 - 4 Shots: 3-13-12-28 PP: 2/2
Belleville 0 0 1 - 1 Shots: 17-6-5-28 PP: 1/6
1st Period-Carlile 1 (Pouliot, Huuhtanen), 8:59 (PP). 2nd Period-Huuhtanen 3 (Sheary, Roelens), 5:38. Huuhtanen 4 (Pouliot, Teasdale), 16:47 (PP). 3rd Period-Walcott 1 (Unassisted), 19:30 (EN)(SH).. .. Halverson 4-1-1 (28 shots-27 saves) A-1,852
Friday, Nov. 15 | Game 13 vs. Laval | SOL, 4-3
Laval 0 3 0 0 1 - 4 Shots: 13-13-10-6-1-43 PP: 1/5
Syracuse 0 2 1 0 0 - 3 Shots: 9-13-8-0-0-30 PP: 0/6
2nd Period-Brown 1 (Pouliot, Bisson), 1:41. Bisson 1 (Edmonds, Kessy), 3:29. 3rd Period-Roelens 2 (Ylonen, Schmidt), 4:57.. .. Halverson 4-1-2 (42 shots-39 saves) A-5,892
Saturday, Nov. 16 | Game 14 at Utica | W, 2-0
Syracuse 1 1 0 - 2 Shots: 11-8-7-26 PP: 0/4
Utica 0 0 0 - 0 Shots: 7-9-9-25 PP: 0/3
1st Period-Duke 5 (Unassisted), 2:08. 2nd Period-Groshev 3 (Szturc), 9:27 (SH).. .. Tomkins 3-4-0 (25 shots-25 saves) A-3,249
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 15.1% (8-for-53) T-23rd (T-24th)
Penalty Kill 83.1% (49-for-59) 13th (16th)
Goals For 2.50 GFA (35) 30th (28th)
Goals Against 2.29 GAA (32) 4th (8th)
Shots For 27.86 SF/G (390) 22nd (23rd)
Shots Against 27.21 SA/G (381) 9th (3rd)
Penalty Minutes 15.00 PIM/G (210) 10th (10th)
Category Leader
Points 10 Pouliot
Goals 5 Duke
Assists 7 Pouliot|Szturc
PIM 29 Crozier
Plus/Minus +6 Bisson
Wins 4 Halverson
GAA 1.27 Halverson
Save % .951 Halverson
North Division GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT GF GA PIM HOME ROAD LAST 10 STREAK S/O
1. Laval 14 12 2 0 0 24 0.857 48 31 214 6-0-0-0 6-2-0-0 9-1-0-0 3-0-0-0 2-0
2. Cleveland 15 10 4 0 1 21 0.700 52 47 172 3-1-0-1 7-3-0-0 8-1-0-1 6-0-0-0 1-1
3. Toronto 13 8 1 2 2 20 0.769 41 33 110 6-0-0-1 2-1-2-1 5-1-2-2 2-0-2-1 1-2
4. Syracuse 14 7 5 1 1 16 0.571 35 32 210 3-2-0-1 4-3-1-0 5-3-1-1 2-0-0-1 1-1
5. Rochester 14 7 5 2 0 16 0.571 46 38 147 2-3-1-0 5-2-1-0 6-2-2-0 0-2-2-0 2-0
6. Belleville 12 6 2 0 4 16 0.667 35 36 156 3-2-0-2 3-0-0-2 5-2-0-3 1-0-0-0 2-4
7. Utica 13 0 10 1 2 3 0.115 21 53 178 0-6-0-2 0-4-1-0 0-7-1-2 0-10-1-2 0-2
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