AHL Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly

Published on January 7, 2015 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


LAST WEEK

Wed., Dec. 31 - Crunch at Rochester - L, 4-1

Fri., Jan. 2 - Crunch at Albany - W, 2-1 (SO)

Sat., Jan. 3 - Crunch at Binghamton - W, 5-4 (OT)

THIS WEEK

Fri., Jan. 9 - Crunch at Hartford - 7 p.m.

Sat., Jan. 10 - Crunch vs. W-B/Scranton - 7 p.m (TV)

NEED TO KNOW

- Two wins to begin 2015 make the Crunch 22-9-4-0 for 48 points, second in the division and fourth in the conference.

- Mike Blunden recorded his first career hat trick in his 507th pro game Saturday in Binghamton, a 5-4 overtime win.

- Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikita Nesterov will represent Syracuse at the AHL All-Star Classic in Utica Jan. 25-26.

Transactions

01/05/2015 Jerome Samson (RW) DEL Recalled from loan by Tampa Bay (NHL)

01/01/2015 Allen York (G) DEL Returned on loan to Florida (ECHL)

01/01/2015 Andrei Vasilevskiy (G) ADD Returned on loan from Tampa Bay (NHL)

01/01/2015 Jerome Samson (RW) ADD Reassigned by Tampa Bay (NHL) from Team Canada (Spengler Cup)

12/31/2014 Nikita Nesterov (D) DEL Recalled from loan by Tampa Bay (NHL)

Blunden surpasses 200 career points with first hat trick

Forward Mike Blunden netted his first pro hat trick in the Crunch's 5-4, come-from-behind, overtime victory against the Senators Saturday in Binghamton. He pushed Syracuse to 2-0 and 3-0 leads early and tied the score late in the third, 4-4, to open the door for Marchessault's overtime winner. He had been scoreless in four games.

Blunden joins Philippe Paradis as the only hat trick performers for Syracuse this season; Paradis notched three goals Nov. 28 vs. Binghamton. Blunden has 14 points in 24 games this year, and is tied for third in goals with nine.

The hat trick vaults Blunden across the 200-point threshold for his career, pocketing 92 goals and 109 assists in 403 AHL games. The ninth-year pro has eight multi-goal games in his career, but only last year with Hamilton did he record two multi-goal games in the same season. Nine times he's recorded three points in one game.

The Toronto native also has eight points in 104 NHL games. Blunden played his 500th pro game Dec. 19.

Namestnikov and Nesterov selected for AHL All-Star Classic

Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikita Nesterov will represent Syracuse on the Eastern Conference team at the AHL All-Star Classic Jan. 25-26 in Utica. Brett Connolly was Syracuse's lone All-Star last year.

Namestnikov, 22, has 15 points (7g, 8a) in 14 games with the Crunch this season and seven points (3g, 4a) in 24 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He began the 2014-15 campaign with Tampa Bay, recording his first NHL points Oct. 13 with a goal and an assist vs. Montreal. Since joining Syracuse Dec. 5, Namestnikov is the Crunch's leading scorer and the team is 11-2-1-0. He has points in 11 of his 14 games, including three multi-point performances, three power-play goals and two game-winning scores.

Nesterov appeared in each of Syracuse's first 32 games before a Dec. 31 promotion to Tampa Bay when he made his NHL debut for the Lightning. He is plus-1 in two games with the Lightning, averaging 14 minutes of ice time. The second-year pro is plus-4 with the Crunch and is the club's top-scoring defenseman with 14 points (3g, 11a). He's provided nine of his points (2g, 9a) on the power play, second most on the team.

Of the 644 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 94 percent have competed in the NHL, including Crunch/Lightning players Mark Barberio, Tyler Johnson and Radko Gudas.

Mormina finding his groove

Joey Mormina has five points (1g, 4a) in six games since Christmas, including a two-assist effort Saturday in Binghamton, his second multi-point game of the year.

The Montreal native last posted two assists in a game Nov. 29 in Hershey, his first game back from injury and the first game of what would become a 10-game win streak. In 15 games since Mormina's return, the Crunch are 12-2-1-0 while he has collected nine points (1g, 8a). He had zero points in three games prior to the injury.

With nine points in 18 games this season, Mormina is poised for career-high production with a scoring pace double his career average. He's on track for 29 points this year. His strongest AHL season came in 2009-10 with the Adirondack Phantoms, when he posted 23 points (5g, 18a) in 77 games.

Man of the Year Neilson starts 2015 off right

Playing his eighth game of the year and fourth in a row, Eric Neilson notched his first point of the season Saturday against Binghamton, an assist on Cody Kunyk's score that put the Crunch up, 1-0.

The reigning Yanick Dupre Memorial Award winner for Man of the Year last registered a point Jan. 17, 2014, in a 3-2 Crunch victory over Hershey, assisting on a Mike Angelidis goal and fighting Patrick Wellar.

Neilson, in his 10th pro season and seventh exclusively in the AHL, has 17 points (and 821 penalty minutes) in 268 AHL games. The Fredericton, New Brunswick native has two goals and three assists in his Crunch career.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Game 33: Amerks cool off Crunch in final contest of 2014

The Crunch ended 2014 with a thud, falling 4-1 to the Amerks New Year's Eve in Rochester. Syracuse is 2-2 against their traditional rival this year. Syracuse was a season-worst 0-for-8 on the power play.

Crunch rookie Slater Koekkoek opened the scoring 7:58 into the first on a slot shot that deflected past Amerks goalie Andrey Makarov. The goal was Koekkoek's second of the season, and first since Nov. 1, with helpers going to Yanni Gourde and Cody Kunyk. Rochester tied the game later in the period off the stick of Jerome Leduc, and put the game away with two second-period goals scored by Brodie Reid and Zac Dalpe. Brayden Irwin potted the empty-net clincher at the 18:40 mark of the third. All goals were at even strength.

Kristers Gudlevskis took the loss for the Crunch, his second straight, stopping 24 of 27 shots. Makarov won his second game against Syracuse, stopping 30 of 31 shots. The teams next meet Jan. 30 in Syracuse.

Game 34: Crunch outlast Devils in marathon shootout, 2-1

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 35 saves and denied all 10 shootout attempts, and Syracuse defeated Albany, 2-1, Friday at Times Union Center. Kevin Lynch was the only goal scorer in the 10-round shootout, his first attempt in the AHL. The Crunch improved to 4-0 against the Devils, winning each time by one goal, twice in shootouts.

Vladislav Namestnikov scored the only Crunch goal in regulation at 8:09 of the first, his seventh of the season (13 games played) and third against the Devils. Jonathan Marchessault had the primary assist. Ben Thompson evened the score by tipping a Brandon Burlon point drive. Paul Thompson had the second assist.

Andrei Vasilevskiy and Scott Wedgewood were impervious the rest of the way. Wedgewood made 24 saves including a brilliant poke check in overtime to deny a Namestnikov opportunity. Vasilevskiy improved his record to 10-3-4 and his goals-against average to 2.25, 12th best in the AHL. The teams next battle Feb. 20 in Syracuse.

Game 35: Marchessault nets OT winner, Blunden draws hats in 5-4 win over Sens

Jonathan Marchessault scored the game-winning goal in overtime Saturday in Binghamton as Syracuse survived a late rally by the Senators in a 5-4 victory.

Alongside Vladislav Namestnikov during three-on-three play, Marchessault charged end-to-end and unleashed the decisive bid from the right-wing circle with 12 seconds left in extra time. Marchessault's ninth goal-his first marker since Nov. 29 in Hershey-is his first game-winning score of the year, the 11th of his career and first in overtime. He last scored a game winner Apr. 12 vs. Toronto, his fifth of the 2013-14 season and first with Syracuse.

Mike Blunden recorded his first AHL hat trick, scoring two power-play goals, and drawing the hats on a game-tying goal with 1:10 remaining in regulation. Cody Kunyk opened the scoring with his fifth of the season.

The Senators started chipping away at Syracuse's 3-0 lead in the second and rallied for a temporary 4-3 lead at the 16:45 mark of the third with goals from Max McCormick, Cole Schneider, Matt Puempel and Carter Camper.

Kristers Gudlevskis' 24 saves, including two in overtime, were enough for his 12th win of the season. The Crunch offense fired a season-high 46 shots on Peter Mannino, topping their previous best, 44, Oct. 18 vs. Binghamton. Joey Mormina had two assists, his second multi-point game of the year.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Crunch at Hartford- Friday, 7 p.m.

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM & 1200 AM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM & 1440 AM, Oswego

For the second time in three weeks and third time this season, Syracuse heads to XL Center to face the Hartford Wolf Pack, the fifth of eight matchups between the division foes.

Although Hartford (18-12-2-2, 40pts) ranks third in the Northeast Division they trail the second-place Crunch by eight points. The same holds true in the Eastern Conference standings where Syracuse ranks fourth and Hartford fifth.

Former Crunch goaltender Cedrick Desjardins (8-3-1) suffered a season-ending injury Dec. 26 leaving rookie Mackenzie Skapski (8-7-2) as the top goalie. Yann Danis has been picked up to replace Desjardins. The 33-year-old veteran is 5-6-0 with a 2.72 goals-against average for Norfolk.

Hartford won six of 11 December games including a four-game win streak that was ultimately snapped by the Crunch on Dec. 19. The Wolf Pack were victorious in their first January game, skating past St. Johns, 4-2. But one day later, the Ice Caps earned revenge with a 7-3 win.

Eighth-year forward Chris Bourque leads the Pack with 30 points (14g, 16a) and ranks 11th in AHL scoring. The Boston native tallied at least one point in nine of 13 November games, scoring a goal in six of those contests. In the season opener Oct. 12, the 28-year-old had two assists in a 4-3 win against the Crunch, before posting a goal and an assist in a 6-5 losing effort Dec. 5. Bourque was held off the score sheet in Hartford's other two matchups with Syracuse.

The Wolf Pack ventured to the War Memorial for the first game of their season on Oct. 12. Behind an Oscar Lindberg overtime goal, Hartford beat Syracuse, 4-3. Since that win, though, the Crunch have posted a perfect 3-0-0-0 mark against the Wolf Pack. Syracuse's first trip to the XL Center on Nov. 19 resulted in a 5-4 victory behind a pair of multi-goal nights from Mike Angelidis and Yanni Gourde. On Dec. 5, Mike Angelidis replicated his performance, posting another two-goal game in a 6-5 win at the War Memorial before Kristers Gudlevskis shut out the Wolf Pack, 2-0, Dec. 19.

Crunch vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton- Saturday, 7 p.m.

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM Syracuse; 100.1 FM, Oswego | Time Warner Cable Sports Channel (Ch 19)

For the first time this season, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head to the War Memorial to face the Crunch. The game is the third of four matchups between the Eastern Conference rivals, who met 10 times last year in the hunt for an East Division title.

The Penguins (20-12-1-3, 44pts) sit atop the East Division, leading second-place Hershey by five points. Although the Crunch (48 points) own a better record, the Penguins rank ahead of Syracuse (third in the Eastern Conference) by virtue of their division lead.

In two meetings this season, both at the Mohegan Sun Arena, each side has a victory. On Nov. 9, Dalton Smith's two-goal effort wasn't enough as Syracuse lost 5-4 in overtime. On Nov. 15 Yanni Gourde's two-goal night plowed the Crunch to a 3-2 Crunch victory.

Defenseman Derrick Pouliot is the Penguins' leading scorer with 20 points (7g, 13a), but is now playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL after being called up Dec. 20. Rookie center Jean-Sebastien Dea ranks first in scoring among active Penguins, posting 18 points (8g, 10a) in 32 games.

The Penguins are 3-0-0-1 in their last four games, but had a three-game win streak snapped by Hershey Jan. 3 in a 2-1 shootout loss.

Last season, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (42-26-3-5, 92pts) finished second in the East Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference, earning their 12th consecutive Calder Cup Playoffs berth. After defeating Binghamton in the first round, the Pens topped Providence in a seven-game series. Their playoff run came to an end in the Eastern Conference Finals when they lost, in six games, to the St. Johns IceCaps.

The Crunch and Penguins faced off 10 times last season in their 11th and final year as East Division adversaries. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won the majority of those matchups, compiling a 7-2-0-1 mark against Syracuse. At the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, the Pens went 3-2-0-0 in games against the Crunch, scoring an average of 3.2 goals per game while allowing just 2.2 goals.

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 7, 2015


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