After taking four straight road victories to start their 2008-09 campaign, the Hershey Bears were given a huge standing ovation when they took the ice at the Giant Center last night.
With a mixture of familiar faces, former players returning to Chocolate-town, and a handful of Capitals prospects, the 8000 plus fans in attendance were ready to see this highly touted team strut their stuff.
Entering this contest, both Hershey and their opponents from Syracuse had not dropped a game this season. This was the first time I'd seen the Crunch in action, but had learned through many blogs and forums that they played a smash-mouth hockey game and liked to get physical.
"The Crunch" sounds like a fitting name.
Sure enough, within the opening five minutes of the game, the first on-ice altercation occurred. Many had predicted this would take place, as some trash talking had been going on prior to the puck drop.
Before the final roster was announced prior to the season, I had some concerns over who would step up as enforcers for the Bears, especially as Robitaille and Flinn have moved on to new pastures.
Keeping Grant McNeil in Hershey was a good move, but I'm happy to see that new guys Darren Reid and Greg Amadio are not afraid to back down when needed. Dean Arsene is another player who will always throw himself to the wolves in order to protect his teammates.
Three of these four guys rumbled with the Crunch last night, and all three came out pretty strong with their offerings. We were not intimidated and we did not crumble.
Syracuse Crunch is more like "The Brady Bunch".
The Bears looked awesome last night. I have not seen them play with this intensity for quite a while. Sure, they were plagued with injuries last season and had different line-ups every game going into the last month of the regular season. However, with the depth the organization has now, every line is strong.
The Mink-Aucoin-Giroux line in particular is positively sick. I'm sure that there are several NHL teams that would kill for this line-up, let alone others at the AHL level.
Goals came thick and fast in this one. The 7-1 victory for the Bears must have echoed throughout the AHL.
An undefeated start with 29 goals scored is a phenomenal way to start the season. I certainly cannot wait to head back to Giant Center this evening for the next match-up against the Baby Pens.
Once again, the Bears can roar...they can live up to their name.
As for the Crunch last night, they resembled more of a Nestle Bar than collective bone-breakers. Let's see if we get some Penguins with attitude tonight, or just some baby flightless fowl that may be wishing they stayed home instead.
Amerks Lose Home Opener to Crunch
Oct 11, 2008
It may sound like a familiar story, the Rochester Americans lose to the Syracuse Crunch, but what sets this one apart from last season is that the team put in a solid effort. The Crunch had a few lucky bounces, and the Amerks appeared to have scored a goal but the light never went on. The final score was 4-3.
Maybe someone can help out on that one. I believe it was in the second period, a shot appeared to have went into the net and bounced right back out. The goal light did not go on, and very few people seemed to have noticed.
The team put in a solid effort, never gave up. There was one point in the second period where it seemed like the game was going south, but they picked up the slack. The guys did well against a more talented and faster Crunch. The team is still new (7 rookies, 2 second year players among 18 players), once they get a few games together and have more game play experience we’ll hope for better results.
It was impressive seeing Benoit Groulx and Jason Cipolla working hard behind the bench. Benoit was constantly yelling from behind the bench, even animated at one point from a bad penalty that was called. Again, something we rarely saw last year.
Neil Clark and Jon Mirasty started things early when they dropped the gloves at 2:44 into the first period. Wasn’t much of a fight. Mirasty got one solid punch in, and then did a great job at trying to throw jabs while holding back Clark where he couldn’t connect with anything.
At the start of the second period Mirasty tripped up Tanner Glass as they were both heading to the bench, Mirasty got off the ice after that. We didn’t see much of him for the rest of the game.
Jason Garrison had an outstanding game with a goal and an assist. If they can keep feeding him the puck at the point his shot should be able to handle the rest getting into the net.
Shawn Matthias is expected to be a big offensive threat, let’s just hope tonight was an off night. He was virtually invisible on the ice. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he had a long day of travel yesterday and only had one practice with the team before tonights game. Although at one point he was wide open on the left hand side of Crunch goaltender LaCosta but no one was able to get the puck to him.
Tanner Glass and Drew Larman were both very impressive. Working hard, going after the puck. Neither had any points, but they had a presence on the ice.
Janis Sprukts was solid with a goal and an assist, just as expected.
Rory Fitzpatrick was great on defense, he did his job. With three other rookie defensemen on the team hopefully he’ll be a big presence in boosting our D.
Michal Repik also had a goal. He’s going to be very good for us this year, assuming the Panthers stay healthy I’d like to make sure he sticks around.
Stefan Meyer is going to be out for what we’d expect is at least with a few games with an injured groin.
Chris Beckford-Tseu made 23 saves in the game.
Dan Collins, Keaton Ellerby, and Peter Aston were scratched tonight. Ellerby is still injured, assuming the other two were healthy scratches.
We’d also like to thank Aaron Rome of the Syracuse Crunch for missing so many shots from the blue line.
The pre-game festivities were a good time as well. It was impressive to see the effort that had gone into the event. The music was good, although few people seemed to really pay attention to them. All of the Mooses’ friends were there, food and drinks were available, the team store was open, bouncy house for the kids, as well as a few current and old players available signing autographs.
(Rochester, October 10)… The Rochester Americans fell to the Syracuse Crunch 4-3 tonight at The Blue Cross Arena in their season opener despite great efforts from their rookies. Scoring for the Amerks in their professional debut were Jason Garrison and Michal Repik. Garrison’s two point (1+1) night earned him first star honors. Scoring the third goal for the Amerks was Janis Sprukts who got second star honors with his two point (1+1) performance. The Crunch was led by Derek MacKenzie with two points (1+1) earning him third star awards.
The Crunch got on the board first when Brian McGurik knocked in a rebound from the slot off a Trevor Frischmon shot at the 14:13 mark of the first. Also collecting an assist on the play was Clay Wilson.
At the 16:54 mark of the first period, the Amerks tied the game at one when Garrison netted his first professional goal off an one-timer from an nice pass by Doug O’Brien. The power play goal was also assisted by Sprukts.
The Crunch retook the lead at the 2:12 mark of the second when Nikita Filatov beat Amerks goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu stick-side. Assisting on Filatov’s first goal of the season was Adam Pineault and MacKenzie. On the power play, the Crunch extended their lead to two when MacKenzie scored to record his second point (1+1) of the night at the 9:52 mark of the second. Assisting on MacKenzie’s first goal of the season were Pineault and Andrey Plekhanov.
The Amerks cut the lead in half when Repik netted a wrist shot past Crunch goalie Dan LaCosta at the 16:05 mark of the second on the power play. Helping out on the play was Garrison who got his second point (1+1) of the night and Rory Fitzpatrick in his first game back in an Amerks uniform.
The Chunch regained their two-goal lead 12 seconds into the third when Mike Yoke netted his first goal of the season with the assists from Tom Sestito and Steve Kelly.
The Amerks pulled within one at the 10:27 mark of the third when Sprukts put in a Franklin MacDonald rebound past LaCosta. Sprukts’ second point (1+1) of the night was also assisted by Stefan Meyer.
It’s Hockey Night in Rochester!
Oct 10, 2008
The Amerks play the Syracuse Crunch tonight for the 2008-2009 home opener. The game starts at 7:35pm at the Blue Cross Arena.
I went down to practice today to see what the team would look like on a game day. Last year, whenever I was at a game day practice it just looked like kids in a gym class, players skating around in circles just passing the puck to each other and usually playing some childish game at the end.
Today was a whole new ballgame. There were continuous drills from players working extreemly hard.
Yesterday Beaverson, Collins, MacDonald, Brine, McArdle, Garrison, Caruso, Duco, Clark and Calla had to be told to get off the ice. Something that never would have been said last year. The team actually wanting to be on the ice this year is a nice change of pace. Today they again the players were told that they needed to be off the ice in five minutes. They are more than willing to be out there all day.
Benoit is very happy with the way things are going with the team. When asked if he is excited about tonight. “Yes, I’m very excited. We have a good group of boys. The kids are working really hard. We’ll see tonight if it’s paying off.”
Here are the lines as I saw them today:
Glass - Sprukts - Meyer
Repik - Matthias - Sweetland
Duco - Larman - Clark/Collins
MacArdle - Brine -Stewart
The defensemen were paired up differently each time they were on the ice so I couldn’t get a good view of who would be paired with who.
Not playing tonight due to injury are Jordan Henry (knee) and Keaton Ellerby (right index finger).
Beckford-Tseu is most likely going to be starting in goal for the Amerks tonight so get ready to see what he is made of.
Remember that festivities start early tonight. From Amerks.com:
Gates will open at 6:30 p.m. On Opening Night, fans will enjoy one of the most exciting openers in the history of the franchise, as the organization provides pregame entertainment, LIVE music, free autographs, kids’ events and the largest bobblehead giveaway in team history.
Opening Night will start with a bang as Shane Yellowbird and The Skycoasters perform FREE concerts outside the arena to kick off the Block Party.
The Skycoasters will play from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. and will be followed by country music recording artist Shane Yellowbird from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m.
As part of the Block Party, kids and adults will also get to meet area mascots, face painters, clowns and famous Amerks alumni as Jody Gage, Dick Gamble, Doug Gibson, Stan Jonathan and Geordie Robertson to name a few. Further, fans will be able to jump around in the bounce house and get their first look at the Amerks’ dance team, “The American Spirit”.
Upon entering the arena, the first 10,000 people will take home a Rory Fitzpatrick bobblehead. There are also chances to ride around in bumper boats during the second intermission and to take part in all of the exciting promotions throughout the game.
I am very excited to see my friends who I haven’t seen since April. Being a season ticket holder has it’s benefits and making friends that you get to see all winter long is a huge one.
See you all tonight! Let’s go Amerks!!!
Amerks Opening Night Festivities
Oct 10, 2008
The start of the 2008/09 Rochester Americans season is finally upon us!! The organization has new ownership, a new sole affiliation, new players, new fans, new web site.. let’s play some hockey. Here’s some additional notes for opening night, along with events at the arena.
When asked about Fridays opener after practice on Thursday morning, head coach Benoit Groulx commented, “Yes, I’m very excited. We have a good group. The kids are working really hard. We’ll see tomorrow if it’s paying off.”
Keaton Ellerby has an “upper body injury,” but whatever that injury may be, it doesn’t impact his skating one bit. After practice on Thursday morning he was doing sprints for about 15-20 minutes with Cipolla. On the way off the ice Keaton jokingly commented to a 4yr old watching, “don’t play hockey, never play hockey.” We still think Cipolla could suit up for the team if needed. He replied, “yea, behind the bench.”
As of Thursday afternoon Shawn Matthias was on his way to Rochester to join the team. Matthias made headlines last season when the Panthers called him up from juniors and he had an immediate impact on the team. He should be exciting to watch. We’re guessing that unless he’s putting the puck in the net nightly he’ll be sticking around for a while. I can’t imagine the Panthers wanting him to get a case of the Anthony Stewart or Clarke MaCarthur illness (get a taste of the show and hit a slump back in the AHL due to thinking you’re above it).
Tanner Glass has been named as an alternate captain. He’s also sporting #15 this season, ditching #33 that he wore last season commenting, “[33] is the worst number ever. It’s a goalie number.”
Can’t really comment on what the lines will be, they were all over the place. A good guess at the starting lineup would be Janis Sprukts, Stefan Meyer, Michal Repik, Rory Fitzpatrick, Peter Aston, and Chris Beckford-Tseu.
Not that we ever need a reason to beat the Syracuse Crunch, but they are currently on a 15 game regular season winning streak. The Crunch needs 3 straight wins to get a new spot in the record books, a solid win, and spoiling that effort would be excellent.
If you can’t make it to the game, sign up to receive text message updates! The only updates you’ll get are links to new Lets Go Amerks articles along with scores from every home game.
The puck drops at the typical 7:35pm start time, but make sure to get to the arena early.
Gates will open at 6:30 p.m. On Opening Night, fans will enjoy one of the most exciting openers in the history of the franchise, as the organization provides pregame entertainment, LIVE music, free autographs, kids’ events and the largest bobblehead giveaway in team history.
Opening Night will start with a bang as Shane Yellowbird and The Skycoasters perform FREE concerts outside the arena to kick off the Block Party.
The Skycoasters will play from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. and will be followed by country music recording artist Shane Yellowbird from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m.
As part of the Block Party, kids and adults will also get to meet area mascots, face painters, clowns and famous Amerks alumni as Jody Gage, Dick Gamble, Doug Gibson, Stan Jonathan and Geordie Robertson to name a few. Further, fans will be able to jump around in the bounce house and get their first look at the Amerks’ dance team, “The American Spirit”.
Upon entering the arena, the first 10,000 people will take home a Rory Fitzpatrick bobblehead. There are also chances to ride around in bumper boats during the second intermission and to take part in all of the exciting promotions throughout the game.
Amerks Fall To Crunch 5-2 In Preseason Matchup
Oct 2, 2008
The Amerks lost to the Syracuse Crunch tonight 5-2 in their first preseason game.
Everyone knew they could look forward to a few fights tonight and I’m sure a lot of people wanted to see (or hear about) Ryan James Hand take on Jon “Nasty” Mirasty. But, who was ready for the four fights that took place? After last season, one fight would have been a treat.
Hand of course dropped the gloves first, only 3:19 into the game. But, it wasn’t with Mirasty. It was with Mike Sgroi who is a real heavyweight. This bodes well for Hand showing he isn’t afraid to take on people a bit bigger than himself.
Hand never did get to take on Mirasty. In fact, Mirasty didn’t fight anyone tonight. Ryan didn’t mind though saying, “I’m not really upset [about not fighting Mirasty], I have a lot of respect for him. I’ll get my chance.”
The second fight of the game was between James DeLory of the Amerks and Trevor Hendrikx of the Crunch. Kevin O said this one was pretty much another draw.
The third and fourth fights involved Neil Clark who played for the Grand Rapids Griffins last season. First he tossed down the gloves to fight a rather unwilling Kyle Wharton who just avoided most of Clark’s punches. His second fight of the night came against Bryan McGregor. This fight clearly went to Clark.
Scoring goals for the Amerks were Mark Lee and Jacob MacFlikier. Chris Beckford-Tseu was in goal for the first period and part of the second where he saved 13 of 15 shots. David Shantz was in goal after that stopping 10 of 13 shots.
Although there was no radio coverage or online streaming of the game, Kevin O from the D&C did a fantastic job keeping everyone updated on the game. LetsGoAmerks would like to thank Kevin for his time and updates.
The Amerks are on the road again tomorrow for their second preseason game of the season in Cleveland where they will take on the Lake Erie Monsters.
Then on Saturday is the first time fans in Rochester will get to have a good look at the new team when they once again take on the Monsters. The puck drops at 7:35pm at the ESL Sports Centre. I for one can’t wait to
Columbus Blue Jackets Notes: Is Nikita Filatov Finally Coming to North America?
Sep 3, 2008
First up a reader pointed out in the comments of another post that according to Nikita Filatov's blog he is planning on arriving in North America between September 7-9 to prepare for camp.
I think I express the thoughts of many out there when I say I'll believe it when I see it. I know this kid's story about his commitment to the NHL has stayed the same since the draft—but color me skeptical until his butt is firmly planted in central Ohio.
It just seems this date keeps getting pushed and pushed. At first it was August, then it was as soon as he got his visa, and now its just a few days before rookie camp begins.
I want to believe in this kid—I really do—but with all that's going on with the KHL and hockey in Russia, and the sting that remains from guys like Svitov, bolting I'm going to wait until he shows before breathing a sigh of relief.
In other CBJ related news, Lindsay Kramer has done a fantastic job of covering the dispute between the Crunch and Onondaga County Legislature on a $9.1 million package to refurbish the War Memorial—the oldest arena in the AHL. Unfortunately the crowning jewel of the package—a new $750,000 scoreboard—was left out.
Crunch owner Howard Dolgon's response: "I think it's another band-aid,'' he said. "It's more duct tape. It's business as usual.''
"We've been good soldiers,'' Dolgon said. "What more can we do to show them we are here to stay long term? But it's been a one-way commitment for too long.''
When asked about the possibility of moving the team:
"I don't think we need to make inquiries,'' he said. "People follow this. There are a lot of empty buildings in bigger markets that would throw a party to get us.''
Kramer goes on to speculate that markets like Florida, Brooklyn, Oklahoma City and Kansas City could come calling.
Kramer has a follow up entry here with even more quotes.
From the perspective of an outsider looking in, the Crunch have played in Syracuse since 1994. Their owner seems genuine and is not asking for the world.
Furthermore, it appears the scoreboard has been in the works since the last lease was signed—and although it was not "guaranteed" in the lease's verbiage, it sure appears that it was the way all parties were steering.
It will be interesting to follow how this story develops. Dolgon may be forced to use the only hammer he's got, and that's to listen to other offers from interested cities. With only a year to go on the lease, I'm sure there will be some folks out there willing to finance the Crunch breaking it.
At the end of the day, this whole thing doesn't seem to be on the owner or the fans, as both have supported one another. The problem is the facilities, and the commitment by the city to improving them.
I've got to feel for the Crunch, as no matter what sport you choose to support, nobody wants their team to move.
Let hops both parties can get something worked out.
Be sure to check out NHL.com's preview of the Jackets here. A teaser:
The key word in Columbus this season is depth, which is something the Blue Jackets have never really had until now.
They have depth up front with the potential of 15 or more NHL-ready forwards. They have depth on the back end with eight or nine NHL-ready defenseman. They have depth in goal with a true No. 1 backed by a veteran and an up-and-comer.
Will it translate into the organization's first playoff berth? That's still unknown, but coach Ken Hitchcock believes Columbus is closer than it's ever been and it's finally fair to put some lofty expectations on his revamped club.
"As coaches we all get excited because it's a new year, but the players know when you're legitimately competitive or not, and the players we have coming back know exactly what we have done and they are really jacked up," Hitchcock told NHL.com. "They see this as the best team in the existence of the franchise and they are excited because they see this as a legit opportunity to get to the dance."
Joe Sakic is back at it for one more year according to TSN.ca. This will mark the 20th season for the Avalanche's best ever player.
So my question is is this a good or a bad thing for the Jackets?
The good news is that with his 6 million dollar salary that takes the Avs up to over 51 million and likely finishes off their offseason. If he plays like he did last season which is to say he didn't play much (only 44 games) due to a hernia - then he won't be nearly as effective for the Avalanche thus handcuffing their offense and push for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
That bad news is that if he returns to his 2006-2007 form where he played in 82 games and racked up 100 points that could spell trouble for the rest of fringe playoff teams in the west including the Jackets.
I think Sakic is a great player and has had an unbelievable career but here's to hoping his body doesn't hold up for an 82 game stretch!
Former Jacket and 2nd round pick Joakim Lindstrom has signed a 1 year deal with the Anaheim Ducks according to their web site.
If you recall the Ducks acquired Lindstrom this offseason for a conditional 2010 draft pick.
I would assume this deal is a 2-way but I haven't been able to confirm that yet.
According to hockeyfights.com former Crunch tough guy Brandon Sugden's bid to return to the NHL/AHL has been blocked by 3 NHL clubs.
Travis Sugden called me on Wednesday morning with some stunning news about his son, Brandon, the former Syracuse Crunch enforcer. Travis said he just found out three NHL teams have objected to Brandon returning to pro hockey this season. Brandon had planned on attending camp with the Islanders. If he did not make New York, he said he was eager to explore playing for the Crunch again.
Travis did not yet know which teams blocked Brandon. But the denial means he can’t play in the NHL or AHL until next year. Brandon needed to clear this odd technicality because after leaving the Crunch two seasons ago, he announced it as a “retirement.’’ Because he “retired’’ then came back to play pro hockey (in the LNAH) within one year, every other NHL organization had to give him a thumbs up to return.
I posted yesterday from the Crunch blog that if Sugden failed to catch onto a NHL team that the Crunch would be his first choice in the AHL -- now if the Jackets would have enterained that thought is another story -- especially with John "Nasty" Mirasty already in the fold.
Kramer has some more fallout from this story here. He's got some really good points and at the end of the day -- its just silly that any team would block him from returning.
With Sakic's future now decided it will be interesting to see if anymore dominos fall. There are still plenty of unsigned guys out there including the "Sundin Saga". Forsberg news is starting to bubble up again as well. Parrish and Murray are still hangin out on the market and we have the 5 or 6 teams that still sit above the cap let alone the two under it (Phoenix & LA). There are also a slew of RFAs left to be signed in Stoll, O'Sullivan and Meszaros to name a few.
The season doesn't start until October but the pressure is starting to mount for some of the GMs to make a couple of moves. I don't think Howson will be involved in any of the cap casualties unless a rash of injuries hit in camp.
-LTL
AHL: Amerks and Crunch End of Season Brawl
Jun 17, 2008
At one of the last regular season games between the Rochester Americans and Syracuse Crunch, nine out of ten players on the ice got into a fight.
The Amerks were pushed around the entire season by the Crunch; it was sad that it took all season for something like this to happen. I managed to record this video from our seats as the events unfolded.
It was disappointing that Anthony Stewart wasn’t willing to quickly drop his gloves with Mirasty. Mirasty isn’t a small dude, but neither is Stewart. Stewart's excuse was that the linesman had already grabbed him and pushed him toward the penalty box. Yet Mirasty managed to skate away and continue fighting.
Mirasty got away and was the third man in on a scuffle between Lojek and not sure who else; at that point Tyler Plante took a stroll out and pulled him off. He later said he had no idea he was pulling Mirasty off and second guessed himself at that point (I would too)!
Mike Funk and Derick Brassard were doing some dancing around and they both fell to the ice in front of the Amerks bench where Funk decided to start laying some punches on the guy. Who knew Funk could punch like that!
At that tail end of the video is an unfortunate event where some very nice and polite Crunch fans were more or less attacked by some rude Rochester residents (not even worthy of being called Amerks fans).
In total, there were 10 game misconducts and 161 total penalty minutes handed out. Here’s the list:
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Brassard, Fighting, 5 min
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Brassard, Game misconduct -Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Brule, Unsportsmanlike conduct, 2 min
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Brule, Fighting, 5 min
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Brule, Game misconduct- Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Goehring, Leaving the crease, 2 min
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Mirasty, Fighting, 5 min
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Mirasty, Misconduct, 10 min
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Mirasty, Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Mirasty, Game misconduct - Third man in (47.15), 10 min
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Motherwell, Fighting , 5 min
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Motherwell, Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
Third Period, 16:58—SYR Westcott, Fighting , 5 min
Third Period, 16:58—RCH Funk, Fighting, 5 min
Third Period, 16:58—RCH Funk, Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
Third Period, 16:58—RCH Glass, Fighting , 5 min
Third Period, 16:58—RCH Larman, Fighting , 5 min
Third Period, 16:58—RCH Larman, Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
Third Period, 16:58—RCH Lojek, Fighting , 5 min
Third Period, 16:58—RCH Lojek, Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
Third Period, 16:58—RCH Plante, Leaving the crease, 2 min
Third Period, 16:58—RCH Plante, Fighting , 5 min (PP)
Third Period, 16:58—RCH Plante, Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
Third Period, 16:58—RCH Stewart, Fighting , 5 min
Third Period, 16:58—RCH Stewart, Game misconduct - Secondary altercation (47.6), 10 min
Syracuse Crunch: Season over with game 7 defeat
May 13, 2008
Its a damn shame really but in a matter of 96 hours, after holding a 3-1 series lead, the Syracuse Crunch find themselves eliminated from the playoffs.
Game 7 ended the way the last two did - with a 1 goal loss.
This is surely not the way the Crunch saw this playing out in their mohawked heads. Not when they won 15 games straight and got a point in 23 straight games. Even though the Marlies were seeded higher in this series, the Crunch were the team to beat.
Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be.
Still though they boys have a lot to be proud once the initial disgust from this series subsides. There is a lot to build from.
1. The experience.Guys like Brassard, Brule, Methot, Picard, Lindstrom, Wilson, Sestito, Dorsett, Pineault, Plekanov and LaCosta are all key prospects for the Jackets and all experienced that winning feeling. Certainly some of those players won't be back in Syracuse as they'll make the big team but nothing can replace that experience and that development. Development that guys like Klesla, Nash, Zherdev, Fritsche and lord knows how many other draft picks never experienced.
2. Good signs.For the Jackets AHL affiliate to make such a strong push this summer it only bodes well for the Jackets in the future. After all these are their prospects who carried that team. One can only hope this development bleeds over to the parent club as early as next season.
3. Evaluations.Scott Howson and company had a real good chance to evaluate their prospects in pressure situations. They should have a much clearer idea of where everyone stands developmentally, who should have a good shot at the big team next year and what holds need filled both on the big team and at the AHL level.
For those keeping score (like me) Derek MacKenzie led the Crunch in playoff scoring notching 14p in 12 games which was good for the 3rd in the league at the time of elimination. Derek Brassard, who added two more assists in game 7, was 7th overall in league playoff scoring notching 13p in 13 games.
Of course there were some disappointments as well with Gilbert Brule only collecting 2g, 3a for 5p in 13 games. Joakim Lindstrom only notched 7p in 13g as well.
All in all though it was a great run for the Crunch. I think it excited the city of Syracuse and a lot of Jacket fans who were looking for something to hold onto as we worked our way through spring.
Now its time to turn the focus to who will be back both in Columbus and Syracuse. Both teams have plenty of decisions to make with the likes of Zenon Konopka and Derek MacKenzie both slated to be UFAs. Methot, Lindstrom and Wilson are all key RFAs that will need resigned.
My hats off to a great season Syracuse. Hopefully next year we'll have two teams to follow well into the spring!!
-LTL
Season on the Line Tonight for Syracuse Crunch
May 12, 2008
The Crunch have had their chances to put this series away but the Marlies have been resilient and have battled back from a 3-1 game deficit to force the 7th and deciding game.
The good news is that the Crunch have played well in Toronto winning two of their three games in this series there. The bad news is that the Marlies have all the momentum heading into the deciding game and haven taken the past two.
If Crunch captain Zenon Konopka has anything to say about, which of course he does in Lindsay Kramer's blog, the Crunch won't lose this game:
"I'll play better on Monday. I'll score tomorrow,'' he said. "We'll win tomorrow. There's no way I'll let us lose to these guys.''
Crunch defenseman Dan Smith agrees with his teammate.
"I think we should be fine. We're playing the second-best team in the league. We got them to Game 7,'' said Crunch defenseman Dan Smith. "We were up 3-1, we had two chances to close them out. This is our last one. We're just going to bring our game, because our game is good enough.''
"I think we're going to have to be calm. That's the only way we're going to play our best. It's just a matter of who wants it more. We've been resilient all year,'' said Syracuse forward Trevor Frischmon.
"I think we're a little more uptight today because we're going to Game 7," said Crunch defenseman Marc Methot. "But I don't think it's going to change how we play,''
"I think everyone is nervous. I think we're frustrated, but in a good way. It's helping to give us energy for Game 7,'' Sestito said.
Kramer also says in his blog that if the Crunch do lose tonight it will mark the first 3 games losing streak since games 6, 7 and 8 at the beginning of the season.
Win or lose this has been some invaluable experience for the Jackets prospects. They have been apart of a winning team and have gotten loads of playoff experience. Playing in a game 7 will only add to their experiences.
Remember you can listen to the game live here. There is also a pay-by-game service where you can get the live stream on the front page of theahl.com.
