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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly

October 16, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Last Week

Fri., Oct. 12 - Crunch at Rochester - L, 6-5 SO

Sat., Oct. 13 - Crunch vs. Hershey - W, 4-3

This Week

Fri., Oct. 19 - Crunch at Albany, 7:00 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 20 - Crunch at Binghamton, 7:05 p.m.

Sun., Oct. 21 - Crunch at WB/Scranton, 5:05 p.m.

Need to Know

- Crunch earn points in both Opening Weekend contests, improving to 1-0-0-1.

- Cory Conacher named CCM/AHL Player of the Week with five points Opening Weekend.

- Syracuse plays all three Week 2 games on the road, returning home Oct. 27.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Game 1: Crunch overcome 4-1 deficit, but fall 6-5 in shootout at Rochester

The first game of the 2012-13 season - the 19th year of Crunch hockey - ended in a shootout loss for Syracuse, 6-5, at Rochester Friday. Falling behind 1-0 in the first minute, and eventually trailing 4-1, the Crunch rallied for four consecutive goals to take a 5-4 lead, but relinquished that edge during a late Amerk 5-on-3 power play.

A second-period, 5-on-3 Crunch power play turned the momentum in favor of Syracuse, and though no goals were scored on that two-man advantage, shortly thereafter Mike Angelidis scored a rebound goal (following up on a J.T. Wyman brekaway) to ignite the four-goal flurry. Cory Conacher scored Syracuse's third goal early in the third period and posted primary assists on the following two goals from Tyler Johnson (one on the power play) to tie, 4-4, and take the lead, 5-4.

Rochester's Mark Mancari posted his second point of the game with a power play goal late in the third to force overtime. Following a scoreless extra frame, Mancari notched the lone tally in the final stanza of a five-round shootout to secure two points for the Amerks. The Crunch's Dustin Tokarski - who won a league-best 32 games last year - made 19 saves in the loss, while David Leggio stopped 29 of 34 Syracuse shots.

Game 2: Syracuse wins first home game before sellout crowd, 4-3

Nearly 6,500 fans packed the sold out War Memorial Saturday to see the unveiling of Syracuse's new jerseys, new mascot and new prospects via the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Crunch never trailied and topped the Hershey Bears, 4-3. Cory Conacher was the game's first star with three points (1g, 2a).

In the first period, Mike Angelidis scored his second goal of the season thanks to his aggressive shorthanded forechecking; following a turnover, J.T. Wyman's point shot was tipped by Angelidis past goalie Braden Holtby for a 1-0 lead. Tyler Johnson's third score of the season - with assists from Cory Conacher and Ondrej Palat - put Syracuse ahead 2-0 in the second. Garrett Mitchell and Barry Almeida tied the game for Hershey, but the middle frame ended with Syracuse taking a 3-2 edge as Conacher controlled the long rebound of a Matt Taormina drive and beat Holtby on a turnaround shot.

Syracuse and Hershey traded power play goals in the third (Brett Connolly and Jon DiSalvatore, respectively)but the Crunch secured their first win of the season, 4-3. Riku Helenius earned his first AHL victory since December '09, making 23 saves.

Conacher Receives League Honor

Cory Conacher earned CCM/AHL Player of the Week honors (for the week ending Oct. 14) with two goals and three assists in the season's first two games. The left winger's five points are the most in the AHL.

At Rochester Friday, Conacher helped the Crunch overcome a 4-1 deficit in the third period with a goal and two assists, followed by an assist and the game-winning strike Saturday vs. Hershey.

As a rookie in 2011-12, Conacher led the AHL with 39 goals and ranked second with 80 points in the regular season, then added two goals and 13 assists for 15 points in 18 playoff games to help Norfolk to a Calder Cup championship. Despite leading the league in goals and finishing second in points Conacher never received player of the week honors during 2011-12. The 22-year-old has 45 goals and 46 assists for 91 points in 84 career AHL games with Syracuse, Norfolk, Milwaukee and Rochester.

Notes

- The line of Cory Conacher, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat combined for 11 points (5g, 6a) Opening Weekend. Frequently playing as a group last year in Norfolk, the trio amassed 178 points (79g, 99a) in the '11-12 regular season.

- The Crunch power play was 3-for-14 to begin the year - 2-for-7 Friday at Rochester (Mark Barberio and Tyler Johnson), 1-for-7 Saturday vs. Hershey (Brett Connolly) - for a 21.4% conversion rate, ninth best in the AHL. Syracuse also allowed one shorthanded goal.

- The Crunch penalty kill allowed two goals in 15 chances - one Friday at Rochester, one Saturday vs. Hershey - while scoring one shorthanded goal - Mike Angelidis Saturday vs. Hershey.

- Ten players recorded points for Syracuse in the first two games: Cory Conacher, 5; Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat, 3; Mike Angelidis, Mark Barberio, Vlad Namestnikov, Matt Taormina and J.T. Wyman, 2; and Brett Connolly and Alex Killorn, 1.

- Saturday, Riku Helenius won his first AHL game since Dec. 12, 2009 with Norfolk. The Palkane, Finland native now has a career AHL record of 15-22-0. Helenius was 17-9-5 last year for JYP Jyvaskyla, Finland with seven shutouts and 1.94 GAA in 33 games.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Crunch at Albany Devils - Friday, 7:00 p.m.

Syracuse begins a three-in-three Friday at Times Union Center in Albany against the Albany Devils (New Jersey). Albany played one game last week, falling at home to Manchester, 2-1. AHL veteran Chad Wiseman scored the loan goal. and second-year pro Keith Kinkaid made 25 saves on 27 shots. NHLers on the Albany roster include Adam Larsson, Adam Henrique and Jacob Josefson, along with Syracuse native Jay Leach.

Crunch at Binghamton Senators - Saturday, 7:05 p.m.

Syracuse travels to Binghamton Saturday for its first meeting with the Senators (Ottawa). New head coach Luke Richardson earned his first AHL win with his team's 2-1 season-opening win vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 2-1. Netminder Robin Lehner made 35 saves while Jakob Silfverberg and Hugh Jessiman provided the scoring. Monday the B-Sens signed 2012 AHL All-Star Game MVP Ben Bishop, a goaltender who was 26-15-0 in 38 AHL games last season. Bingamton plays Rochester Tuesday and Hershey Friday before hosting Syracuse Saturday.

Crunch at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins - Sunday, 5:05 p.m.

An afternoon game in Wilkes-Barre against the Penguins (Pittsburgh) caps a three-game road trip for the Crunch. Trevor Smith posted the Penguins' lone goal in a 2-1 loss vs. Bingamton to start the season, as Jeff Zatkoff suffered the loss with 23 saves on 25 shots. Before battling the Crunch Sunday, WB/Scranton plays at Springfield Friday and home vs. Bridgeport Saturday.

Upcoming Promotions

Molson Canadian and Miller Lite Carol Grow Schedule Poster Giveaway

The first 1,500 fans in attendance at the Crunch's Saturday Oct. 27 game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will receive a Carol Grow schedule poster courtesy of Molson Canadian/Miller Lite. On Friday, Oct. 26 Carol will be visiting Nibsy's from 5:00-6:45, Steve's from 7:00-8:45 p.m. and Blarney Stone from 9:00-11:00 p.m. Stay tuned to www.syracusecrunch.com to learn more!

Pink in the Rink presented by SUNY Upstate Medical University

The Crunch Foundation, the club's charitable arm, is partnering with SUNY Upstate Medical University to host 'Pink in the Rink', a breast cancer awareness night to benefit the Upstate Cancer Center and Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund on Saturday October 27 as the team takes on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:30 p.m. A portion of each ticket purchased with the code "PinkRink" will be donated to the Upstate Cancer Center and Carol M. Baldwin Research Fund.

The foundation will host a silent auction and mystery puck sale on the upper conconcourse during the game with proceeds benefiting Upstate Cancer Center and the Carol M. Baldwin Research Fund.

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