AHL Syracuse Crunch

Week Nine: Smith Piling up Points

Published on December 6, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


2010-11 RECORD: 8-11-1-3, 20 points, (4-4-1-2 home, 4-7-0-1 road), seventh place, East Division

THIS WEEK'S GAMES

Monday, December 6 @ Charlotte (13-9-1-2, 29 points), fourth place, East Division

Wednesday, December 8 @ Norfolk (15-6-3-1, 34 points), second place, East Division

Friday, December 10 vs. Adirondack (3-20-2-0, 8 points), eighth place, East Division

Saturday, December 11 vs. Bridgeport (11-12-1-1, 24 points), sixth place, Atlantic Division

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Friday, December 3 @ Rochester ROCHESTER 6 Crunch 5

Sunday, December 5 @ Charlotte Crunch 3 CHARLOTTE 2

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

SMITH PILING UP POINTS: Crunch center Trevor Smith has been piling up the points lately, after being held to just one assist in seven games from November 13-27. He appeared in both games for the Crunch this past week and led the team in scoring with four points (3g, 1a). He tallied a season-high three points (2g, 1a) in a back-and-forth 6-5 loss to Rochester on Friday, December 3. He re-directed Mat Clark's point shot past Jacob Markstrom at the 18:32 mark of the first period to get the Crunch on the board and make it a 2-1 game. Smith then scored again at the 12:55 mark of the second period when he calmly corralled a rebound in front and slipped a backhand past Markstrom to tie the game at 4-4.

Smith contributed the game-tying goal on Sunday in a 3-2 win over division foe Charlotte, knotting the score at 2-2 at the 2:37 mark of the third period before Stefan Chaput's tally with 2:23 left in regulation won it for the Crunch. Smith now has six points (3g, 3a) over his last three games and currently leads the team in scoring with 16 points (5g, 11a) in 22 games. A native of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Smith was signed by Anaheim as a free agent on July 2, 2010.

ONE BY ONE: The Syracuse Crunch have played 23 games so far this season, with 17 of those contests being decided by one goal, more than any other American Hockey League team. The Crunch have gone 6-7-1-3 in those 17 games with all but two of the club's eight wins on the year being decided by just a goal. All of the club's first 11 games this year were decided by one goal. The average amount of one-goal games played by the AHL's other 29 teams is 11.55. In addition, the Crunch are 3-1-1-2 at home and 3-6-0-1 on the road in one-goal games this season.

UPCOMING GAMES:

CHARLOTTE CHECKERS (CAROLINA HURRICANES): The Crunch finish up a set of back-to-back games on Monday, December 6 and look to take a 2-0 lead in the season series against Charlotte after a 3-2 victory over the Checkers on Sunday, December 5. Patrick Maroon and Trevor Smith scored for the Crunch before former Checker Stefan Chaput tallied the game-winner with 2:23 left in regulation. Timo Pielmeier stopped 34 of 36 shots he faced to earn first star of the game honors. Jerome Samson and Chris Terry scored the goals for Charlotte.

NORFOLK ADMIRALS (TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING): The Crunch travel to Norfolk to take on the Admirals on Wednesday, December 8 in the second of eight meetings between the two clubs this season. The Crunch won the last game back on October 22 by a 3-1 score. Nicolas Deschamps tallied two goals while defenseman Brett Festerling notched two assists and Timo Pielmeier stopped 37 of 38 shots en route to the win. Marc-Antoine Pouliot scored Norfolk's only goal. Johan Harju paces the Admirals in scoring on the season with 23 points (13g, 10a) in 17 games.

ADIRONDACK PHANTOMS (PHILADELPHIA FLYERS): The Crunch finally return home from a four-game road trip on Friday, December 10 to face Adirondack in the second of eight meetings against the Phantoms this year. The Crunch dropped the only other meeting of the season between these two clubs back on October 15 by a 3-2 score at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Kyle Palmieri and Joe DiPenta each scored for the Crunch, while Patrick Maroon (now a member of the Crunch), Jonathon Kalinski and Eric Wellwood each tallied for Adirondack. J.P. Levasseur stopped 26 of 29 shots for the Crunch and Johan Backlund turned away 17 of 19 Syracuse bids to pick up the win.

BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS (NEW YORK ISLANDERS): The Crunch welcome in the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday, December 11 for that team's only visit to The Oncenter War Memorial and first of two meetings between the two clubs this season. The Crunch were 0-2-0-0 in two meetings against the Sound Tigers last year and are 2-4-2 in eight all-time contests against Bridgeport. Rhett Rakhshani paces the Sound Tigers and ranks second in the AHL among rookies in scoring with 20 points (8g, 12a) in 25 games. Fellow rookies Mikko Koskinen and Kevin Poulin have seen the bulk of the time in between the pipes for Bridgeport this season, with each playing in nine games. Poulin is 6-3-0 with a 1.98 goals against average and .939 save percentage.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

CRUNCH PLAYERS TO SIGN AUTOGRAPHS AT TULLY'S GOOD TIMES ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14: The Syracuse Crunch announced today that Crunch players Josh Green, Matt Kennedy and Maxime Macenauer are scheduled to sign autographs at Tully's Good Times in North Syracuse on Tuesday, December 14.

Green, Kennedy and Macenauer are scheduled to sign autographs from 5 - 7 p.m. Tully's Good Times is located at 7838 Brewerton Rd. in North Syracuse. For directions, please call 315-452-5656. Players are subject to change.

RIUNITE WINE SAMPLING THIS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11: Fans 21 and over will have the opportunity to sample Riunite Lambrusco and Riunite D'Oro, America's all-time favorite wine at the Crunch's Saturday, December 11 game vs. Bridgeport. Sampling will take place beginning at 6:30 p.m. when doors open through the second intermission, outside of Memorial Hall located on the first floor of The Oncenter War Memorial Arena

SYRACUSE CRUNCH HOLIDAY PACKS ON SALE NOW: The Syracuse Crunch Holiday Pack includes two (2) ticket vouchers (valid for any 2010-11 regular season home game), one (1) exclusive autographed Crunch holiday puck and a $5 coupon for Crunch merchandise (expires 4/15/11), for just $36. Syracuse Crunch Holiday Packs are on sale now and are available for pick-up at the Crunch offices at The Oncenter War Memorial Arena. Limited quantities will be available; subject to availability. To order the Syracuse Crunch Holiday Pack, call (315) 473-4444.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2010


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