AHL Syracuse Crunch

Week 18 - Crunch Closing in on Playoff Position

Published on January 30, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Before the start of the weekend, the Crunch were six points back of the eighth and final playoff position. After earning three out of a possible four points on the weekend at home, the Crunch are within three points of the eighth-place Portland Pirates. On Friday, the Crunch improved to 2-0 on home ice against Rochester this season with a convincing 4-0 win over their in-state rivals. Luca Caputi and Mark Bell each recorded a goal and an assist, while Iiro Tarkki pitched his second shutout of the season. The following night, the Crunch took on the hottest team in the league, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, who had won nine out of their last 10 games. The Crunch looked to be in control of the game, leading by scores of 3-1 and 4-2, as late as 13 minutes into the third period. However, Bridgeport scored twice, including once in the final minute to send the game into a shootout, where they eventually topped the Crunch with a final score of 5-4. Peter Holland chipped in with two power-play goals and Kyle Palmieri scored his 25th goal of the season, tying him for the league lead with Norfolk's Cory Conacher. The Crunch have 34 games remaining in the regular season.

CATCH KYLE AT THE ALL-STAR CLASSIC: For the second season in a row, Kyle Palmieri is representing the Crunch at the AHL All-Star Classic. Tonight at 7 p.m., Palmieri will play for the Eastern Conference squad in his home state of New Jersey. The game takes place at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, 147 miles south of his hometown of Montvale. Last season, Palmieri contributed a goal and an assist, en route to the Eastern Conference's 11-8 win. Last night, Palmieri participated in three events in the Skills Competition. In the rapid fire, Palmieri scored twice in five chances on Peoria's Ben Bishop, who was ultimately crowned top goaltender in the competition. In the Pass and Score event, the tandem of Palmieri, Hershey's Keith Aucoin and Albany's Alexander Urbom scored once on three tries against Houston's Matt Hacket. Palmieri was then stopped in the Breakaway Relay by Bishop.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS:

TORONTO (TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS): The Crunch and Toronto Marlies complete their two-game season series on Friday at the War Memorial Arena. On January 3, Toronto won 2-0 at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto. It will be a homecoming for former Crunch left wing Nicolas Deschamps, who was traded to the Toronto organization for Luca Caputi just hours before the first contest of the season. The trade has paid off for both teams. Deschamps has nine points (2g, 7a) in 11 games with Toronto, while Caputi has 12 points (4g, 8a) in 11 games with the Crunch. Despite being in first place in the North Division, the Marlies are coming off of a pair of losses to division rivals Hamilton and Rochester. The Marlies are led offensively by Toronto native Mike Zigomanis, who has 40 points (11g, 29a) in 42 games. Cornell grad Ben Scrivens leads Toronto with 10 wins.

ROCHESTER (BUFFALO SABRES): The Rochester Americans and Syracuse Crunch meet for the sixth time in their 10-game season series. In the previous five contests, the Crunch have gone 2-1-1-1. Each team has six points in the five games played. The latest meeting was a 4-0 Crunch shutout over the Americans on Friday at the War Memorial Arena. Iiro Tarkki pitched his second shutout of the season, stopping all 31 shots he faced. Rochester followed up their loss with a 2-1 win over the Marlies at the Ricoh Coliseum. The Crunch have gone 2-0 against goaltender Drew MacIntyre. Conversely, David Leggio is 3-0 against the Crunch this season.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

WIN AN IPOD NANO: When the Crunch take on the Rochester Americans on February 4, fans will have the chance to win an IPod Nano courtesy of Haagen Dazs Ice Cream. At select stoppages of play the Mirabito Ice Girls will be tossing ice cream cups into the stands, one of the ice cream cups will contain a certificate for an Ipod Nano. Additionally, all Haagen Dazs Ice Cream Cups will cost $1 at the War Memorial Arena concession stands.

BROWN AND BROWN EMPIRE STATE CROUSE HOSPITAL HOCKEY CLASSIC: The Syracuse Crunch announced today, that the Crunch Foundation the club's charitable arm, is partnering with Crouse Hospital to host the second annual 'Brown & Brown Empire State Crouse Hospital Hockey Classic,' presented by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, to be held Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012.

At 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Feb. 4 the Brown & Brown Selects and three additional Syracuse area teams will compete in a tournament in the War Memorial Arena, culminating in a championship game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by the Syracuse Crunch vs. the Rochester Americans game at 7:30 p.m.

Between Saturday's games, a reception will also be held in the lower level of the War Memorial featuring family-friendly activities, a bounce house, food and refreshments.

The event will also include a silent auction, which will be located on the second floor concourse of the War Memorial. Additionally, a limited number of special edition mystery pucks will be available for purchase. Each mystery puck is autographed by a Syracuse Crunch player and will be available for $10.

CRUNCHABLES: Kyle Palmieri has scored eight first-goals on the season...Saturday marked the first time a Crunch player scored two power-play goals in a games (Peter Holland)...The Crunch have points in five out of their last six games (3-1-1-1) on home ice.

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 30, 2012


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