AHL Syracuse Crunch

Week Twenty Three: Flyin' Brian

Published on March 15, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Crunch right wing Brian McGrattan appeared in all four games for the Crunch this past week, helping his new club to a 3-1-0-0 record and leading the team in scoring with four goals and a plus-5 rating. McGrattan started the week with a goal in a 3-1 win at Texas on Monday, March 7. After being kept off the score sheet on Friday in a 1-0 shootout win over the Stars, McGrattan scored two of the Crunch's three tallies in a 3-2 win over Rochester on Saturday at The Oncenter War Memorial Arena.

During the process, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound winger racked up an astounding 13 shots on goal, which surpassed David Ling's previous club record of 12 shots in a game, set on November 24, 2001 at Cleveland. He was named the game's first star for his effort. In addition, McGrattan notched the Crunch's lone tally and picked up another five shots on goal in a 4-1 loss at Albany on Sunday.

Since being acquired by Anaheim along with Sean Zimmerman from Boston in exchange for Stefan Chaput and David Laliberte on February 28, McGrattan has appeared in six games for the Crunch, recording five goals and a plus-4 rating.

PK IS OK: One area of the Crunch's special teams that has seen steady improvement lately is the penalty kill. Over the last seven games, the Crunch penalty killing unit has only allowed three goals while being shorthanded 35 times, good for a 91.4% success rate. Prior to that seven-game stretch, the Crunch were ranked 24th in the AHL with an 80.3% overall success rate on the penalty kill. Since that time, Syracuse has climbed five spots and now ranks 19th in the league, allowing 54 power play goals on 294 times shorthanded, good for an 81.6% rating.

A HELPING HAND: Although Crunch rookie center Nick Bonino hasn't scored a goal in 10 games, he has certainly been an effective player, racking up seven assists over that span. Although he has appeared in just 37 games this season, Bonino ranks third on the club in assists with 19. After putting together a three-game assist streak from February 22 - 26, Bonino recorded two helpers in a 4-1 win at San Antonio on March 5 and set up another two tallies in a 3-2 win over Rochester on March 12. A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Bonino is tied for fifth on the club in scoring with 27 points (8g, 17a).

UPCOMING GAMES:

ALBANY DEVILS (NEW JERSEY DEVILS): The Syracuse Crunch welcome in the Albany Devils on Wednesday for the seventh of eight meetings between these two clubs this year. The Crunch are 3-2-0-1 against Albany this season and are coming off a fight-filled 4-1 loss this past Sunday at the Times Union Center that featured eight fights and 122 combined penalty minutes. Matt Beleskey, who is currently out with a shoulder injury, leads all active Crunch players in scoring against the Devils this year with four points (2g, 2a), in just two games. In addition, Nicolas Deschamps has three points (1g, 2a), while Timo Pielmeier is 2-0-0 with a 2.25 goals against average and .918 save percentage in the season series. For Albany, Matt Anderson and Adam Henrique lead the way for their club with five points (2g, 3a) each, while Mike McKenna is 2-2-0-0 with a 2.26 goals against average and .915 save percentage against the Crunch this season.

TORONTO MARLIES (TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS): The Crunch welcome Toronto to The Oncenter War Memorial on Friday for the third of four games between the two clubs this year. The Crunch are looking to secure their first win of the season series against the Marlies, as they dropped a 2-1 decision at Ricoh Coliseum on November 27 and a 5-2 decision on January 28 in Syracuse. Current injured defenseman Nathan Paetsch leads the Crunch with two goals against Toronto this season, while Simon Gysbers leads the Marlies and all players in the season series with three points (1g, 2a). Goaltender Ben Scrivens is 2-0-0 with a 1.51 goals against average and .963 save percentage against the Crunch this season.

CHARLOTTE CHECKERS (CAROLINA HURRICANES): The Charlotte Checkers make their way north to Syracuse to battle the Crunch for the third of four games between the two teams this season on Saturday at The Oncenter War Memorial Arena. The Crunch have won two of the first three games against Charlotte this year, including the most recent meeting, a 4-3 shootout victory back on February 22. Patrick Maroon (2g, 1a), Josh Green (1g, 2a) and Kyle Palmieri (1g, 2a) all have three points vs. Charlotte in the season series, while Chris Terry (2g, 3a), Zach Boychuk (1g, 4a) and Oskar Osala (1g, 4a) each have five points for the Checkers against the Crunch this year.

HERSHEY BEARS (WASHINGTON CAPITALS): The Crunch travel to Central Pennsylvania to take on division-rival Hershey on Sunday at 5 p.m. to finish up a stretch of four games in five days. The Crunch are 1-2-1-0 against the Bears this year, winning the most recent meeting at Hershey by a 4-2 score back in a New Year's Eve tilt on December 31. Patrick Maroon leads all Crunch players with five combined points (2g, 3a) with the Crunch and Adirondack against Hershey this year. Veteran Josh Green also has three points (1g, 2a) in two games against the Bears this season. For Hershey, Andrew Gordon leads his club and all players in the season series with eight points (3g, 5a), while goaltender Dany Sabourin is 3-1-0 with a 2.20 goals against average and .925 save percentage against the Crunch this season.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

US JEWELRY EXCHANGE NIGHT THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 18: At the Crunch's Friday, March 18 game vs. Toronto, fans can bring their broken or unwanted gold jewelry, platinum, silver, coins, diamonds, stamps, rings and antiques and exchange them for cash at the US Jewelry Exchange table, which will be set up on the concourse of The Oncenter War Memorial Arena. Fans can start visiting the US Jewelry Exchange table when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. US Jewelry Exchange is locally owned and operated and is located at at 2105 West Genesee St. (across from Westvale Plaza). For more information about how to exchange your unwanted or broken jewelry for cash, please call (315) 877-0126.

RIUNITE WINE SAMPLING SATURDAY: 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 game this Saturday, March 19 vs. Charlotte. 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.

HAAGEN DAZS $1 CUP NIGHT SATURDAY: The Syracuse Crunch announced that 3.6 ounce cups of Haagen Dazs ice cream will be available for just $1 at the Crunch's game on Saturday, March 19 vs. Charlotte.

QUICKWAY 'SCORE WITH YANCEY'S FANCY' PROMOTION: From now through April 1, anyone that purchases a Yancey's Fancy cheese product at a participating area Quickway location will receive $5 off a regularly-priced adult ticket to any remaining regular season Friday night Crunch home game. The Crunch's remaining Friday home games are March 11, March 18, March 25 and April 1. Fans must bring their Quickway Food Stores register receipt to the Oncenter Box Office to receive the discount. This cannot be combined with any other offers.

CRUNCHABLES: The Crunch's season-high four-game win streak was snapped Sunday at Albany.Timo Pielmeier made his first appearance Sunday since February 26 vs. Hamilton.The Crunch racked up a season-high 60 penalty minutes vs. Albany on Sunday and combined with the Devils for a season-high 122 penalty minutes.The Crunch had their streak of scoring first in five consecutive games snapped Sunday at Albany.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 15, 2011


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