AHL Syracuse Crunch

Week Seven - Tarkki Top Performer

Published on November 14, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Finnish goaltender Iiro Tarkki continues to impress in his first season playing in North America. In two games over the weekend against Adirondack and Albany, Tarkki went 1-1-0 with a 1.51 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage. Tarkki earned the 3-2 victory and first star honors on Friday in Glens Falls, stopping 26 of 28 Phantoms shots. He followed that up with another superb performance, allowing just one goal on 37 shots against in a 1-0 loss to Albany. Tarkki once again earned the first star of the game, helped by some spectacular saves to keep the Crunch within striking distance. This season, Tarkki is ranked 12th in the league with a 2.23 goals-against average and tenth with a .924 save percentage.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Night in and night out, Crunch captain Nate Guenin proves he is a leader on the ice, but rarely does his work show up on the scoresheet. The league does not keep track of hits, blocked shots or cleared creases, all of which Guenin would be near or at the top of the team leaderboard. But this past weekend, Guenin showed that he has more than just a defensive side to his game. For nearly the entire first period on Friday, the Crunch were unable to create many chances against goaltender Michael Leighton and the Adirondack Phantoms. After Nathan Smith won an offensive zone draw, Guenin tried to get things going by simply tossing the puck towards the goal from the point. J.F. Jacques redirected it and the Crunch were up 1-0. Late in the second period, Guenin did the same thing from an even sharper angle. Once again it worked, with Kyle Palmieri tipping his ninth goal of the season by Leighton. The assists were Guenin's first two points of the season for the Crunch. Guenin tallied his first NHL goal of his career in Finland versus the Buffalo Sabres, while playing for the Anaheim Ducks.

TRANSACTIONS: Defenseman Derrick LaPoint was released from his PTO on Sunday after playing in his second game with the Crunch this season on Saturday. He returned to Reading of the ECHL.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS:

ROCHESTER (BUFFALO SABRES): The Crunch will take on the Rochester Americans for the fourth meeting of the season on Wednesday at the Blue Cross Arena. The Crunch are 1-0-1-1 against the Americans this season, most recently falling in overtime, 6-5, on November 5. It will be the third meeting of the season at the Blue Cross Arena. The Crunch have yet to win in Rochester. The Americans are on a three-game winning streak, with victories last weekend against Grand Rapids and Binghamton. Rookie and Buffalo first-round draft pick Zack Kassian continues to lead the Americans in scoring with 13 points. David Leggio, who has won two games against the Crunch this season, and Drew MacIntyre have split time between the pipes.

HERSHEY (WASHINGTON CAPITALS): The Crunch take on the Hershey Bears for the second time this season. The first meeting was a lopsided 7-0 affair for the Bears at the Giant Center. The Bears have lost three out of their last four games, including a 4-3 setback to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Sunday. Hershey is led by 2010 AHL MVP Keith Aucoin, who is tied for second in the league with 19 points. Chris Bourque and Jacob Micflikier each have 16 points on the season. In goal, Braden Holtby and Dany Sabourin have split time.

ADIRONDACK (PHILADELPHIA FLYERS): The Crunch face the Adirondack Phantoms in the third of 10 meetings on Saturday. The Crunch are 2-0 against their neighbors to the northeast, having out-scored Adirondack 9-4 in their two prior meetings. Patrick Maroon and Kyle Palmieri lead the Crunch with five points in the two contests. After the Crunch defeated the Phantoms in Glens Falls this past Friday, Adirondack bounced back with a 2-1 win at home against the Toronto Marlies on Saturday. They are led offensively by veteran Denis Hamel, who has 14 points on the season.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS: Winners of the Syracuse Crunch Aspen Athletic Get Fit Contest revealed: When the Crunch take on the Hershey Bears Friday November 18 there will be an on-ice weigh-in to conclude the Syracuse Crunch/Aspen Athletic Get Fit Contest. At the Mirabito Home Opener on Oct. 15 six contestants were selected to participate in a month-long 'Get Fit' challenge. With the help of Aspen Athletic these contestants have spent the last month getting fit in hopes of winning a year-long membership to Aspen Athletic Clubs. The winner will be revealed during on on-ice weigh-in on Friday.

Syracuse Stage Fan Appreciation Night: Syracuse Stage Fan Appreciation night scheduled for Friday, November 18 vs. the Hershey Bears. At Friday's home game vs. Hershey, four lucky Crunch fans will be selected to participate in an on-ice contest for the chance to take home a Syracuse Stage prize package in conjunction with Syracuse Stage's upcoming performance of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, running from November 25 through December 31.

Following the game, the Mirabito Ice Girls will be handing out coupons provided by Syracuse Stage for discounted tickets to the November 25 and November 26 showings of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In addition, Syracuse Stage will have a table on the concourse of the War Memorial at Oncenter to distribute information about upcoming performances.

Dunkin' Donuts Rechargeable Card Night: When Crunch take on the Adirondack Phantoms Saturday, November 19th it is Dunkin' Donuts Rechargeable Card Night. Bring your rechargeable gift card to the box office and get $5.00 dollars off your ticket for the November 19th game courtesy of Dunkin' Donuts.

CRUNCHABLES: Peter Holland recorded his first NHL goal in his third career game in Anaheim's 4-3 win over Vancouver on Friday. Holland's goal proved to be the game-winner...Patrick Maroon's 15 points are tied for 13thin the league...Kyle Palmieri is tied for sixth in the league with nine goals...Dan Sexton and Patrick Maroon had their three-game point streaks snapped on Saturday...Saturday was the first time in seven games the Crunch failed to score a power-play goal. The Crunch are still third in the league on the man-advantage at 27.6%.

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from November 14, 2011


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