Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 31, No. 7
November 26, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release
CRUNCH DROP A PAIR OF HOME GAMES
The Crunch were upended in two one-goal games at Upstate Medical University in Week 7.
Syracuse entered the week with points in three straight games, but that ended on Friday with a 4-3 loss to the Utica Comets. The Crunch erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 before a Utica power-play goal with 1:13 to play in regulation doomed the Crunch. The next night, the Crunch were again forced to overcome a two-goal deficit. Two goals in the final six minutes of regulation sent the game to overtime, but the Crunch lost to the Hershey Bears in a shootout, 5-4.
The Crunch are 2-1-0-2 over the last five games and sit at 7-6-1-2 overall this season. They are in sixth place in the North Division with 17 points.
TOP PERFORMERS
Niko Huuhtanen maintained his scoring touch in Week 7 by pacing the Crunch with three goals in two games.
Huuhtanen began his week by scoring a game-tying power-play goal in the third period of Friday's 4-3 setback against the Utica Comets. He followed that with a two-goal performance to spark a comeback bid that netted the Crunch a valuable standings point in Saturday's shootout loss to the Hershey Bears.
The Finnish forward has scored five goals over the last five games. He has a pair of two-goal games in that span; he has recorded half of the team's four multi-goal games this season. His seven goals this season rank third in the AHL among rookies.
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.
***
Derrick Pouliot continues to find the scoresheet for the Crunch and he notched two multi-point outings in Week 7.
The defenseman had two third period helpers as the Crunch erased two deficits before losing to the Comets. He then had two more assists on Saturday, including the primary assist on the Crunch's game-tying goal late in the third period which forced overtime.
Pouliot leads the Crunch with five multi-point games this season, and he paces the Crunch in scoring with 14 points (3g, 11a) in 16 games. He ranks fourth in the AHL among defensemen in scoring.
The veteran is coming off a career-high 46 points (9g, 37a) in 64 games last season for the Texas Stars.
SYRACUSE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME
The Crunch held the induction ceremony for the inaugural class of the Syracuse Hockey Hall of Fame on Saturday prior to their game against the Hershey Bears.
The Inaugural Class enshrined 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 wall is located on the second floor of the Upstate Medical University Arena, on the Montgomery Street side of the building.
UPCOMING WEEK
Wednesday, Nov. 27 vs. Belleville | 7 p.m.
The Crunch and Belleville Senators square off for the fourth time this season Wednesday at Upstate Medical University Arena. The Crunch have won three of the first four meetings, handing Belleville two of its three regulation losses (7-3-0-4) this season.
Derrick Pouliot leads the Crunch with seven points (3g, 4a) through four games. He is matched by Belleville's Garrett Pilon (1g, 6a). Pouliot and Angus Crookshank top the series with three goals apiece.
Friday, Nov. 29 at Rochester | 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 30 vs. Rochester | 5 p.m.
The Crunch and Rochester Americans face off for the first two times this season in a home-and-home set Friday (at Rochester) and Saturday (in Syracuse).
The teams are slated for 12 meetings this season. They have played 34 times - regular season and playoffs - over the last two campaigns. The Crunch have won 18 of those meetings and the Amerks have claimed 16. Both teams earned a playoff series win against the other; Syracuse won a Game 5 in Rochester last year after the Amerks won a Game 5 in Syracuse two years ago.
Rochester is off to an 8-6-3-0 starts under head coach Michael Leone, who was hired in June to replace Seth Appert, who was promoted to Buffalo.
WEEK 7 RESULTS
Friday, Nov. 22 | Game 15 vs. Utica | L, 4-3
Utica 1 1 2 - 4 Shots: 13-10-10-33 PP: 2/3
Syracuse 0 1 2 - 3 Shots: 10-8-11-29 PP: 2/3
2nd Period-Ylonen 1 (Teasdale, Carlile), 10:13 (PP). 3rd Period-Huuhtanen 5 (Brown, Pouliot), 6:04. Sheary 2 (Duke, Pouliot), 15:20.. .. Tomkins 3-5-0 (33 shots-29 saves) A-5,033
Saturday, Nov. 23 | Game 16 vs. Hershey | SOL, 5-4
Hershey 2 0 2 0 1 - 5 Shots: 13-12-9-1-1-36 PP: 1/4
Syracuse 0 1 3 0 0 - 4 Shots: 3-7-10-5-0-25 PP: 0/2
2nd Period-Huuhtanen 6 (Pouliot), 15:59. 3rd Period-Huuhtanen 7 (Unassisted), 11:59. Bisson 2 (Gill, Duke), 14:20. Duke 6 (Pouliot, Sheary), 17:34.. .. Halverson 4-1-3 (35 shots-31 saves) A-5,558
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 17.2% (10-for-58) 16th (T-23rd)
Penalty Kill 80.3% (53-for-66) 20th (13th)
Goals For 2.63 GFA (42) 28th (30th)
Goals Against 2.56 GAA (41) 7th (4th)
Shots For 27.75 SF/G (444) 23rd (22nd)
Shots Against 28.13 SA/G (450) 14th (9th)
Penalty Minutes 14.44 PIM/G (231) 12th (10th)
Category Leader
Points 14 Pouliot
Goals 7 Huuhtanen
Assists 11 Pouliot
PIM 29 Crozier
Plus/Minus +8 Szturc
Wins 4 Halverson
GAA 1.59 Halverson
Save % .941 Halverson
North Division GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT GF GA PIM HOME ROAD LAST 10 STREAK S/O
1. Laval 17 13 3 1 0 27 0.794 54 38 266 6-1-1-0 7-2-0-0 7-2-1-0 1-0-0-0 2-0
2. Cleveland 17 12 4 0 1 25 0.735 62 53 197 5-1-0-1 7-3-0-0 9-1-0-0 8-0-0-0 1-1
3. Toronto 16 10 1 2 3 25 0.781 49 38 138 8-0-0-2 2-1-2-1 4-1-2-3 4-0-2-2 1-3
4. Rochester 17 8 6 3 0 19 0.559 52 48 193 2-4-2-0 6-2-1-0 4-3-3-0 0-1-1-0 2-0
5. Belleville 14 7 3 0 4 18 0.643 40 41 179 3-3-0-2 4-0-0-2 5-2-0-3 0-1-0-0 2-4
6. Syracuse 16 7 6 1 2 17 0.531 42 41 231 3-3-0-2 4-3-1-0 3-4-1-2 0-1-0-1 1-2
7. Utica 15 2 10 1 2 7 0.233 30 57 196 0-6-0-2 2-4-1-0 2-5-1-2 2-0-0-0 0-2
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