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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Week One: Defense First--Mace on a Good Pace--Surfin' Syr

October 11, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


THIS WEEK'S GAMES

Friday, October 15 @ Adirondack (1-1-0-0, 2 points), fifth place, East Division

Saturday, October 16 vs. Binghamton (1-1-0-0, 2 points), fourth place, East Division

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Friday, October 8 @ Lake Erie LAKE ERIE 3 Crunch 2

Saturday, October 9 vs. Lake Erie Lake Erie 2 CRUNCH 1 SO

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

DEFENSE FIRST: Although the Crunch offense struggled to find the back of the net this past weekend, the defense played well, only allowing four regulation goals in two contests. The Crunch penalty kill was a bright spot, killing off all 12 penalties the team took. Syracuse is tied for the league lead and is one of only seven teams in the AHL that has not yet given up a power play goal. In addition, the Crunch got solid goaltending from its netminders on both nights. AHL Rookie Timo Pielmeier stopped 35 of 38 shots on Friday night in the 3-2 loss. J.P. Levasseur was excellent in the Crunch's home opener on Saturday, denying 39 of 40 Lake Erie bids in regulation and overtime before eventually falling 2-1 in a shootout.

MACE ON A GOOD PACE: Center Maxime Macenauer was one of the last cuts from Anaheim's training camp roster and made a case for himself to be one of the first recalls this past week, as he led the team in scoring with two points (1g, 1a) in two games. He set up the Crunch's first goal of the season on Friday at Lake Erie by racing down the left wing and finding Trevor Smith, who re-directed the puck past Jason Bacashihua for the 1-0 lead. On Saturday, he scored Syracuse's only goal of the night in a 2-1 shootout loss in the second game of the home-and-home series with Lake Erie. A native of Laval, Quebec, Macenauer was selected by Anaheim in the third round, 63rd overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: The Crunch started the season with 13 AHL rookies on their opening night roster. Seven players had never played professionally before Friday, including Rob Bordson, Josh Brittain, Brian Lebler, Brandon McMillan, John Mitchell, Jake Newton and Kyle Palmieri. The Crunch fielded the eighth-youngest opening night roster in the AHL (23 years, 1 month). The average age of an AHL player to start the 2010-11 season was 24 years and 3 months. In addition, the club's average height was 73.58 inches (about 6-1 and a half) and average weight was 202.04 lbs. The players on the opening night roster had an average of 73.2 games of AHL experience.

UPCOMING GAMES:

ADIRONDACK PHANTOMS (PHILADELPHIA FLYERS): The Crunch travel to Glens Falls, NY on Friday for the first of eight contests against East Division opponent Adirondack this season. The Crunch won five of six games against the Phantoms in 2009-10, including two out of three at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Syracuse is 22-17-9 in 48 all-time meetings dating back to when Adirondack played as the Philadelphia Phantoms. Former Crunch player Stefan Legein, now with Adirondack, had four points (3g, 1a) while teammate Patrick Maroon also collected four points (1g, 3a) against Syracuse in the season series last year. The Crunch also took the only preseason meeting between the two clubs back on October 3 at the War Memorial at Oncenter, with rookie center Nick Bonino contributing two goals and defenseman Danny Syvret tallying three assists in the 5-4 win.

BINGHAMTON SENATORS (OTTAWA SENATORS): The Crunch come home Saturday night to take on I-81 rival Binghamton in the first of eight games between the two this season. Syracuse went 5-3-0-0 against the Senators in eight meetings last season and are 28-32-4 in 64 all-time meetings. Former Crunch player and current Binghamton captain Ryan Keller has three points (1g, 2a) while Andre Benoit leads the team in scoring with four assists in the Senators' first two games.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

SURFIN' SYR: The Syracuse Crunch announced today that The Little Surf Band will perform at the Crunch's Saturday, October 16 game vs. Binghamton in honor of the club's new affiliation with the California-based Anaheim Ducks.

The Little Surf Band is a popular beach party band with a cool California look and sound. They bring a high-energy show and have performed at casinos, festivals, car shows, special events, theaters and fairs all over North America. They will be performing on the War Memorial at Oncenter stage during the first and second intermissions.

Every member of The Little Surf Band has an affection for the great surf sounds of the 60's, with its' rich, layered vocals and upbeat musical harmonies. The Little Surf Band covers music by The Beach Boys, Jan & Dean and Rock n' Roll classics from the 50's, 60's and today, inspiring folks of all ages get on their feet and dance.

CRUNCHABLES: Friday night's season opener at Lake Erie marked the first official game for the Crunch under the Anaheim affiliation. Since the 2005-06 season, Anaheim's AHL affiliates have posted a record of 168-109-17-26.Stanley Cup and Calder Cup champion Joe DiPenta was named the 12th captain in Syracuse Crunch history prior to Friday's game at Lake Erie.Brandon McMillan's goal Friday night was his first as a professional.The Crunch are 7-5-4-1 (W-L-T-SOL) all-time in home openers...The Crunch entered the 2010-11 season as the fifth-longest tenured team in the American Hockey League. Only Hershey, Portland, Providence and Rochester have been in the league longer than the Crunch.

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