After almost a week off from on-ice action, the Syracuse Crunch take to the ice tonight for a couple of home games this weekend. Tonight they will take on the Utica Comets (and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Frozen Dome Classic) and then on Saturday the Calder Champion Hershey Bears are in town for Syracuse Hockey Hall of Fame Night. Scott Walker, Ed Kochian, Alan Taylor, Brian Elwell, and Syracuse Crunch owner Howard Dolgon are the inductees this year.
Last week was a pretty good week for them as they picked up five out of six points with wins against Belleville and Utica, while they picked up a point in a shootout loss to Laval. While they sit 5th in North Division, they are only two points behind 4th place Rochester with a game in hand. The top three teams (Laval, Toronto, and Cleveland) are starting to separate themselves a little bit, but with the AHL, you know there are plenty of head-to-head games left on the schedule, so gaps in points can be made up rather quickly.
In the win against Belleville, it was Niko Huuhtanen who had a night, recording three points (2 goals, and 1 assist) while Brandon Halverson once again was a stone wall in net, allowing just one goal on 28 shots. It took a 6-on-4 power play goal late in the third period to finally beat him. Derrick Pouliot continues to show that he was an excellent free agent pick-up as he added two more assists on the night and moved into the team lead in points with 9 (3 goals, 6 assists).
Pouliot added another assist in their next game as he was credited with the helper on Logan Brown’s first goal as a member of the Crunch. The big man was back in the line-up and helped Syracuse build a 2-0 lead in the second period before Laval scored three straight. A third-period goal by another big man, Milo Roelens, sent the game to overtime, but Laval emerged victorious in the skills competition. Halverson finally gave up more than two goals in a game, but also made 39 saves as Laval spent a large portion of the night in the Syracuse zone.
The Crunch wrapped up the week with a 2-0 shutout of the struggling Utica Comets as Matt Tomkins stopped all 25 shots that he faced. Dylan Duke provided all of the offense Tomkins needed as he scored his team-leading 5th goal of the season just two minutes into the game. Max Groshev finished off the scoring with a beautiful short-handed goal midway through the second period to cap the night off.
Overall, a very successful week for the Crunch, as they finally started to put some goals on the board. While nine goals doesn’t seem like a ton, especially in the AHL, it’s one of the more sustained offensive stretches of the season for Syracuse. Perhaps they are finally turning the page and starting to gel as a team a bit. They also spread the scoring out a bit as eight different players recorded a goal and eleven players had an assist.
In regards to special teams, things started off hot as they scored on both of their power plays against Belleville, but then they whiffed on their next ten chances over their final two games. The penalty kill was strong as they went 12-for-14 (85.7%) over the week, and chipped in two short-handed goals.
There were a few roster moves over the week as Scott Walford was recalled from Orlando on the 12th and suited up for the win against Utica. Steve Santini was scratched for all three games while Max Crozier didn’t play against Utica. With the defensive corps somewhat thin, it’s something to keep an eye on this week.
On Thursday, the Crunch announced that they had reassigned Jaydon Dureau to the Orlando Solar Bears. The return of Logan Brown to the line-up made things a little crowded, and Dureau, who has been in-and-out of the line-up over the last couple of weeks appears to be the odd man out at the moment. After a strong rookie showcase and a good start to the season (two points in the first three games), he’s struggled a bit to make an impact. A trip to the ECHL and plenty of minutes on the ice could spark a reset as the 23-year-old looks to get things back on track.
This weekend will present an interesting test for the Crunch as they start off by taking on the Utica Comets, who have opened up the season with an 0-10-1-2 streak, mustering just 21 goals in their 11 games so far. Then, on Saturday, they have to take on the back-to-back Calder Champion Hershey Bears who haven’t slowed down as they’ve started 11-4-2 and have scored 58 goals (second in the league).
