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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Week Nine - Rodney Producing from the Blue Line

November 28, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


The Crunch had high expectations for Bryan Rodney when he was reassigned by Anaheim to join Syracuse at the beginning of the season. In 2010-11, Rodney captained the first-year Charlotte Checkers to an Eastern Conference Final berth in the Calder Cup playoffs. He also finished the regular season 10th in the league among defensemen with 47 points. As Charlotte's power-play quarterback, Rodney helped lead his team to a 21.0% efficiency on the man-advantage, good for third in the league. His 29 points were tied for fourth among AHL defensemen. As we approach the quarter poll of the season, Rodney is meeting those lofty expectations from the start of the season. Despite missing three games due to injury, Rodney is tied for sixth in the AHL in points with 12 (2g, 10a). The Crunch are currently second in the league on the power play at 27.8%, with Rodney second on the team in power-play points with eight (2g, 6a).

BONINO RIDING HIGH: Center Nick Bonino is currently tied for the team's longest assist streak of the season, matching Rodney's streak of four games. Since his return from the NHL, where he played in one game before suffering a knee injury, Bonino has points in four out of five games, collecting two goals and four assists in that span. Bonino is tied for the team lead with 13 assists, having played in just 14 games. His 17 points are tied for second on the team. In 64 career games with the Crunch, the Boston University product has registered 62 points (16g, 46a).

TRANSACTIONS: Left wing Brandon McMillan has been reassigned to the Crunch by Anaheim. McMillan has spent 83 games with the Ducks over the past two seasons, recording 24 points (11g, 13a). He played in 16 games with the Crunch last season, recording six points (4g, 2a). With Anaheim goaltender Dan Ellis out with an injury, Jeff Deslauriers has been recalled by the Ducks. In addition, goaltender Timo Pielmeier has been reassigned by the Ducks from Elmira to Syracuse, while the Crunch recalled Kevin King from Elmira.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS:

ADIRONDACK (PHILADEPHIA FLYERS): The Phantoms and Crunch face off for the fourth time this season on Wednesday. In the previous three meetings, the Crunch are 2-1, with the latest contest a 5-2 setback on November 19 at the War Memorial at Oncenter. Kyle Palmieri leads the way against Adirondack this season with six points (5g, 1a). Patrick Maroon and Nick Bonino have each chipped in with five points each. Denis Hamel and Eric Wellwood have paced the Phantoms against the Crunch with four points. Since their win against the Crunch, Adirondack has gone 2-2 in their next four games, including wins over Springfield and Albany in their two most recent contests. Hamel continues to lead the Phantoms in scoring with nine goals and 16 points. His 77 shots are the fourth highest in the AHL. Out of the team's 11 wins, eight have been earned by 2010 Stanley Cup Finalist Michael Leighton.

HERSHEY (WASHINGTON CAPITALS): Friday will mark the third meeting of six between the Bears and Crunch. The teams have split the first two meetings, with the Crunch taking the November 18 contest, 3-2 in a shootout. It was the first shootout win of the season for the Crunch and Iiro Tarkki's first North American professional shootout win. Kyle Palmieri scored in the shootout, making him 2-for-2 in the skills competition this season. Since their shootout loss to the Crunch, Hershey is 2-2. Three out of their last five games ended in a shootout, with Hershey winning one and losing two. The Bears are led in points by 2010 AHL MVP Keith Aucoin, who has 28 points (4g, 24a), tied for first in the AHL. Chris Bourque is third in the AHL with 26 points (10g, 16a) and Jacob Micflikier is tied for 10th with 20 points. Braden Holtby and Dany Sabourin have split time in goal, with Sabourin going 1-0-1 against the Crunch this season.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (PITTSBURGH PENGUINS): On Saturday, the Crunch and Penguins will face each other for the third time this season, having split the first two games of the season. The Crunch lost 5-3 at home on October 28 and then beat the Penguins the day before Thanksgiving, 7-5, in Wilkes-Barre. Peter Holland has collected five points (3g, 2a) in the two games, while J.F. Jacques has recorded four (2g, 2a) to lead all Crunch players. Jason Williams has picked up four points (1g, 3a) against the Crunch. The loss to the Crunch on Wednesday was their fourth straight on the season. They continued their losing streak on Friday with a 3-2 shootout loss to Hershey, but earned a 3-2 victory against Binghamton on Saturday. Bryan Lerg and Colin McDonald lead the Penguins with 18 points.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

AUTISM AWARENESS NIGHT PRESENTED BY WELLS FARGO LLC: The Crunch's December 3 contest against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will be Autism Awareness night presented by Wells Fargo LLC. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive an exclusive Crunch poster courtesy of Wells Fargo LLC.

DEFENDING THE BLUE LINE BENEFIT CLASSIC PRESENTED BY EASTERN SECURITY SERVICES: The Syracuse Crunch announced today the details of the Defending the Blue Line Benefit Classic presented by Eastern Security Services, a charity hockey game featuring the Fort Drum Mountaineers and the Syracuse Police Department.

The Defending the Blue Line Benefit Classic will feature the Mountaineers and Syracuse Police Department facing off prior to the Crunch's game vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday, December 3 at 3:30 p.m. at the War Memorial Arena. Proceeds from the game, presented by Eastern Security, will benefit Defending the Blue Line.

The Fort Drum Mountaineers team represents the 10th Mountain Division (LI) out of Fort Drum and is composed of soldiers, DOD civilians and Army retirees. The Syracuse Police Department team is composed of current Syracuse Police Officers and Fire Fighters.

Each team will be assigned a member of the Syracuse Crunch coaching staff to serve as honorary coach during the contest.

Tickets to the Defending the Blue Line Benefit Classic presented by Eastern Security are on sale now and include admittance into the Crunch's contest against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 7:30 p.m. A portion of each ticket sold will go directly to Defending the Blue Line. For ticket information contact Maggie Walters at 315-473-4444 or mwalters@syracusecrunch.com .

CRUNCHABLES: Nicolas Deschamps played in his 100th AHL game on Friday...John Mitchell recorded his first multi-point game of the season on Wednesday with two assists...Matt Kennedy recorded his first goal of the season on Wednesday...Mathieu Carle is on a four-game point streak (2g, 4a).

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