AHL Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly

Published on March 6, 2015 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


LAST WEEK

Wed., Feb. 25 - Crunch at Rochester - L, 4-1

Fri., Feb. 27 - Crunch vs. Albany - L, 7-6

Sat., Feb. 28 - Crunch vs. Utica - W, 4-3

THIS WEEK

Fri., March 6 - Crunch vs. Portland - 7 p.m.

Sun., March 8 - Crunch at Binghamton - 3:05 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW

- A 4-1 victory Saturday over Utica gives Syracuse a 3-1 lead in the season series against the Comets with two to play.

- Both Vladislav Namestnikov and Jonathan Marchessault are riding six-game scoring streaks, combining for 20 points.

- Syracuse, three points behind the league lead, hosts Portland Friday for the first time since the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Richard back in goal column

Tanner Richard hadn't found the back of the net in a month. Saturday he scored twice in a 4-1 win over Utica. The second-year pro's last goal came Jan. 31 against Hershey. His last multi-point game, two assists, came Dec. 5 at Hartford. Richard's lone two-goal effort prior to Saturday was Nov. 9 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Richard, a 21-year-old center, tallied five multi-point games from mid-November through early December, coinciding with time alongside wingers Yanni Gourde and Philippe Paradis. On Dec. 6, Paradis was injured and missed 10 days. After returning for 11 games, he sustained a season-ending injury Feb. 4.

With Paradis unavailable, Tampa Bay acquired Carter Ashton from Toronto Feb. 6 and Rob Zettlertabbed the  2009 first-round pick for a spot on Richard and Gourde's line. After his clutch performance vs. Utica, Richard attributed his success to getting comfortable with his new winger.

"You're trying to figure out their strengths, where do they like to go, how do they think, what type of plays they like to make," Richard said. "I think with [Ashton] on the wing, he makes a lot of good plays. He's a first-round pick for a reason."

Gudlevskis contributes offensively

Crunch goalie Kristers Gudlevskis notched his second career AHL assist Saturday against Utica, starting a breakout to Vlad Namestnikov that resulted in Yanni Gourde's 21st goal of the season. With the helper, Gudlevskis became the 12th goaltender in Crunch history to notch multiple points in his Syracuse career. The Latvian netminder also had an assist last season, March 9, 2014, against Binghamton. 

Of the 22 goalies in Syracuse's 21-year franchise history to record assists, Gudlevskis is one of six Crunch netminders to tally assists in multiple seasons, joining Greg Gardiner, Kevin LaLande, Pascal Leclaire, Mike Fountain and Karl Goehring. Fountain, the franchise's first starting goalie in 1994, leads all Crunch goalies with seven career points-including four assists in Syracuse's first season.  

The Crunch's record for goalie points in a single season belongs to Christian Bronsard, with six. In addition to notching a Crunch record five assists for a goaltender in the 1999-00 season, Bronsard is the only netminder in franchise history to record a goal, accomplished Oct. 30, 1999, at Rochester. J-F Labbe scored one for Hartford.

Gudlevskis is one of 28 AHL goalies to notch points this year, trailing Milwaukee's Marek Mazanec and Portland's Mike McKenna who each have four assists. Lake Erie's Reto Berra scored a goal Jan. 16, becoming the 11th netminder in AHL history to score a goal and the seventh to actually shoot the puck into the goal.

Koekkoek hits his stride

Out of the three rookie defensemen on the Crunch this season, Slater Koekkoek has produced the biggest numbers, leading all Crunch defensemen in scoring with 19 points (3g, 16a). The Winchester, Ontario native is tied for sixth in scoring among AHL rookie defensemen, eight points behind Rochester's Jake McCabe.

Koekkoek has posted five assists in the past five games, the largest total for any five-game stretch in his rookie season, and has registered a plus-6 in that span. He recorded his first multi-point game Saturday against Utica.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Game 54: Amerks strike back against Crunch, 4-3

Four days after losing to the Crunch on home ice, 4-3, Rochester handed Syracuse a defeat by the same score Feb. 25. Yanni Gourde's 19th goal, assisted by Joey Mormina and Vladislav Namestnikov, put the Crunch ahead 1-0 at 11:34 of the first, but the Amerks scored the next four: Jerome Leduc, Brayden Irwin, Zac Dalpe and a second from Irwin. Tim Schaller, Jerry D'Amigo and Brady Austin each collected two assists.

Syracuse scored twice with Andrei Vasilevskiy on the bench with Jonathan Marchessault assisting on both. Joey Mormina netted his third at 14:52 and Vladislav Namestnikov scored his 13th at 17:15.Mike Angelidis and Jake Dotchin earned helpers. Matt Hackett survived the final surge and secured the win with 27 saves. Vasilevskiy made 30 saves on 34 Rochester shots in a cameo start, coming and going from Tampa Bay the same week. 

Game 55: Devils capture see-saw affair with Crunch, 7-6

The Crunch made three successful comeback attempts to erase deficits Friday against Albany but fell short in the third period when the Devils scored three goals. After trailing 2-0 early in the first, Vladislav Namestnikov and Cody Kunyk scored consecutive goals to tie the score. Albany answered quickly to take a 3-2 lead into the first intermission.

The Crunch outscored the Devils, 3-1, in the middle frame and overcame a 4-3 deficit with back-to-back goals from Jonathan Marchessault and Kunyk.

Albany scored three goals in a seven-minute span to start the third and take a 7-5 lead. Marchessault pulled the Crunch within one midway through the period but Syracuse couldn't score in the final minutes, despite pulling the goalie and spending the final minute playing 6-on-4 hockey.

Both starting goalies were pulled. Scott Wedgewood allowed five goals on 15 shots and was replaced by Maxime Clermont, who stopped 10 of 11 shots. Kristers Gudlevskis played into the third period before exiting after seven goals allowed on 23 shots. Allen York stopped all four shots he faced in relief. 

Game 56: Crunch zoom past Comets, 4-1

Tanner Richard tallied two goals and Kristers Gudlevskis stopped 38 shots in a 4-1 Syracuse victory against Utica Saturday at the War Memorial Arena. The Crunch lead the season series with Utica 3-1 with two games to play.

Slater Koekkoek earned his first multi-point game and Nicolas Deschamps collected his first point with Syracuse in 10 games this year. He last had a point with Syracuse Dec. 28, 2011, scoring a goal vs. Springfield. Koekkoek and Deschamps created Richard's go-ahead rebound goal at 6:24 of the first.

A Utica power-play goal from Hunter Shinkaruk evened the score late in the first. The Crunch went back ahead with their own power-play strike, with Kristers Gudlevskis' breakout pass to Namestnikov ultimately coming to Yanni Gourde for a breakaway goal, his team-leading 21st.

An extended penalty kill late in the second, highlighted by the effort from third star Kevin Lynch, allowed Syracuse to take momentum into the third. Richard extended the lead at 8:27 of the third fromDylan Blujus and Carter Ashton. Jonathan Marchessault extended his scoring streak to six games with an empty-net goal, assisted by Koekkoek and Namestnikov. 

Former Crunch goalie Pat Nagle made 25 saves on 28 shots in his Utica debut.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Crunch vs. Portland - Friday, 7 p.m.

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

Portland makes its lone trip to Syracuse this season on Friday. The Pirates defeated the Crunch 2-1 in Portland Oct. 25. Tobias Rieder scored both of Portland's goals shorthanded. Cody Kunyk scored Syracuse's lone goal, his first professional goal. Jake Dotchin assisted on Kunyk's goal, his first professional point. The Crunch had not played the Pirates since their first round playoff series in 2013, which Syracuse won, 3-0.

Portland comes into Friday's game two points back of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 64 points. The Pirates gained ground on Saturday and Sunday with home wins over Manchester, 4-3, and Springfield, 2-1. Portland's four goals on Saturday marked the first time the team had scored more than three goals in a game in its last seven contests. Ranked 25th in the league in goals per game (2.57), the Pirates have scored four or more goals in six of 23 games in the new calendar year. Portland is fourth overall in the AHL on the penalty kill (86.5%), but just 16th in the league in road penalty killing (84.1%). The Pirates are second in the AHL with eight shorthanded goals.

Alexandre Bolduc leads Portland with 33 points (14g, 19a). The Pirates' lone representative at the AHL All-Star Game played three games with the Arizona Coyotes in February, and has five points (2g, 3a) in 50 career NHL games with the Coyotes and Vancouver Canucks. Brendan Shinnimin is second on the Pirates with 31 points (12g, 19a). Shinnimin has six points in his last six games. The Winnipeg native has played 11 games for the Coyotes this season, and recorded his first professional point Feb. 3 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Mike McKenna is the mainstay in the Portland net, posting a 2.08 goals-against-average and .933 save percentage in 37 games this season. McKenna's save percentage is second best in the AHL, while his goals-against-average is sixth best. McKenna won both of his starts last weekend in his return to the Pirate net after a stint with the Coyotes in the middle of Februrary. The 10-year veteran gave up five goals in a start against Colorado Feb. 16. A slew of moves within the Coyotes organization has netminder Louis Domingue in the NHL and Williamsville, New York native David Leggio moving from Bridgeport to Portland. He was 7-3-0 with the Sound Tigers.

Crunch at Binghamton - Sunday, 3:05 p.m.

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

Syracuse travels to Binghamton for the final time this season Sunday afternoon. The Crunch have won two of the three meetings in Binghamton this season, but fell 5-0 to the Senators in their last trip Jan. 16. Syracuse has taken four of the six total meetings against the Senators, including a 5-3 win at the War Memorial in their last match Feb. 21. Carter Ashton scored his first goal in a Crunch sweater in the victory.

Binghamton enters the week with 52 points, fourth in the East Division and 13th in the Eastern Conference. The Senators lost all three games last weekend and have dropped their last four overall. Binghamton has allowed at least 30 shots in 12 of its last 15 games. The Senators have the third-best power play in the AHL (20.1%), yet have the 15th best road power-play percentage (17.1%). Binghamton is tied for second in the league with eight shorthanded goals.

Defenseman Chris Wideman leads the Senators and all AHL defensemen with 43 points (13g, 30a). The St. Louis native snapped a four-game scoreless streak with an assist against Albany Sunday. Left wing Shane Prince is close behind Wideman with 42 points (18g, 24a). The Rochester native and former Syracuse Star recorded an assist in his NHL debut on Feb. 16 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Peter Mannino and Scott Greenham share time in the Binghamton cage. Mannino started Saturday and Sunday, allowing seven goals (three on Saturday, four on Sunday) in two overtime losses. The University of Denver product from Farmington Hills, Michigan, has not won a start since Feb. 13. He has a 3.95 goals-against-average and a .894 save percentage in 13 games for Binghamton. Mannino, 30, signed a contract with the Senators on Dec. 28. Greenham has a 2.64 goals-against-average and a .916 save percentage in 20 games. Greenham, an Ottawa native who played alongside Cody Kunyk at University of Alaska-Fairbanks, allowed five goals in a loss Feb. 27, snapping his three-game win streak.

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