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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Making Some Noise With Four-Game Winning Streak

March 10, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


EMERGENCE OF LECLAIRE: Rookie goaltender Pascal Leclaire turned his strong performance in Binghamton on March 2 (33 saves on 35 shots) into stronger games on March 5 vs. Philadelphia (29/30) and March 7 @ St. John's (30/32), extending his win streak to a personal best three games (3-0-0, 1.67 goals against average and a .948 save percentage). A native of Repentigny, Quebec, Leclaire has appeared in 34 games with the Crunch this season recording a 8-19-3 record, a 3.48 goals against average and a .891 save percentage. Columbus selected Leclaire with their first pick, 8th overall, in the 2001 Entry Draft.

SYRACUSE MAKING SOME NOISE: The Crunch enters this five-game week on a season high four-game winning streak after defeating St. John's 7-4 on March 8. The seven goals scored during that game was the most by Syracuse this season. Seven players recorded two points for the Crunch.

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?: The Crunch has earned at least one point, and nine of a potential ten, (4-0-0-1) since center Donald MacLean returned from a neck injury that forced him out of the teams' first 61 games. A native of Sydney, Nova Scotia, MacLean has three goals and three assists through his first five games in a Crunch uniform.

SETTING THE BAR HIGHER: With a goal and an assist on March 8 @ St. John's, left wing Mathieu Darche established a career high in points (46). With a two assist effort in the same contest, right wing Kent McDonell set a new personal mark for most points in a season (33). Left wing Jeremy Reich tied his career mark for goals in a season (9) in the same game.

SCOVILLE/PANDOLFO SHINE DURING TRIP TO THE ROCK: Defenseman Darrel Scoville and right wing Mike Pandolfo were both major factors in the Crunch's sweep of the St. John's Maple Leafs over the weekend. Scoville scored once with two assists while Pandolfo tallied once with an assist. With the points Scoville ended a five-game point streak and Pandolfo snapped a four-game drought.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

Friday, March 14

Cintas Rally Towel Night: On Friday, March 14 the first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a Crunch rally towel, courtesy of Cintas.

Saturday, March 15

Empire Vision Centers Poster Night II: One of the most popular giveaways in team history returns on Saturday, March 15, when each fan in attendance will receive the ninth-annual Empire Vision Centers Crunch poster. This year's poster depicts the team surrounding a F- 16C Fighting Falcon from the 174th Fighter Wing New York Air National Guard in Syracuse, NY, wearing Empire Vision sunglasses.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (PITTSBURGH PENGUINS): Syracuse travels to Wilkes-Barre to play the Penguins tonight for the fifth of eight regular season meetings. The series is tied at two a piece. Center Blake Bellefeuille (2g, 3a) leads all players in head-to-head scoring with five points. Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi (4a) leads the Penguins with four points. Robbie Tallas (1-1-0, 2.01 gaa, .926 spct) and Sebastien Caron (1-1-0, 2.54 gaa, .925 spct) have split time in net for the Penguins. Karl Goehring has appeared in three games for Syracuse with a 2-1-0 record, 2.25 goals against average and .934 save percentage. Lifetime, Syracuse is 19-10-5 against Wilkes- Barre/Scranton.

ALBANY (NEW JERSEY DEVILS): The Crunch conclude their four-game road trip in Albany on Wednesday, March 12 for the final of six regular season meetings. Albany leads the series 3-1-1, after defeating Syracuse 4-2 in their last meeting on February 26. River Rats center Craig Darby (2g, 5a) leads all players in head-to-head scoring with seven points. Left wing Mathieu Darche (3g, 2a) leads the Crunch with five points. Ari Ahonen has appeared three times between the pipes for Albany with a 2-1-0 record, a 2.28 goals against average and .927 save percentage. Karl Goehring has appeared three times in net for Syracuse with a 1-2-0 record, a 2.68 goals against average and .911 save percentage. Lifetime, Syracuse is 31-32-9 against the River Rats.

ROCHESTER (BUFFALO SABRES): Syracuse finishes the week with a three-game series against the Rochester Americans. The Crunch will host Rochester on Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15, before traveling to Rochester on Sunday, March 16 for the eighth, ninth and tenth of 12 regular season meetings between the clubs. Rochester leads the series 4-2-1, after defeating Syracuse 3-2 in overtime in their last meeting on February 28. Rochester center Chris Taylor (1g, 7a) leads all players in head-to-head scoring with eight points. Right wing Matt Davidson (4g, 3a) leads all Crunch players with seven points. Rochester goaltender Ryan Miller has appeared in five games, with a 4-0-1 record, 1.37 goals against average and .955 save percentage. Karl Goehring has appeared in five games for Syracuse with a 2-3-0 record, 2.77 goals against average and .902 save percentage. Lifetime, Syracuse is 36-47-12 against the Amerks.

INJURY UPDATE: Defenseman Trent Cull is listed as day-to-day with a groin injury, suffered February 14 vs. St. John's. Cull has missed the last 12 games with the injury.

INJURIES BY THE NUMBERS: Through 66 games this season, Syracuse has lost 175 man-games due to injuries Darrel Scoville - 50, Trent Cull - 27, Brad Moran - 20, Paul Manning & Duvie Westcott - 13, Pauli Levokari - 8, Blake Bellefeuille & Donald MacLean - 6, Ben Knopp - 5, Andrej Nedorost - 4, Radim Bicanek & Kent McDonell - 3, Matt Dzieduszycki, Trevor Ettinger, Martin Paroulek & Dan Watson - 2, Adam Borzecki - 1, represent the Crunch's injury list this season.

CRUNCHABLES: Right wing Kent McDonell has points in five of his last six games (8a), including a team-high four-game assist streak... Center Brad Moran is one point away from 100 in a Crunch uniform... Adam Borzecki appeared in his 150th Syracuse game on March 8 @ St. John's... Right wing Matt Davidson is three games away from his 400th AHL contest.

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