Early in the season: In the beginning, the Crunch had a lot of young talent, including rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes. They also had a ton of returning talent, including Angelidis, Mormina, Marchessault, Vladdy, and Guddy. They started winning quickly and showed great talent. This was a team that most people visioned making the playoffs and even reach the finals.
It was the Best of Times: The Crunch were a force to be reckoned with in the middle of the season. At one point, the Crunch won 10 straight games and were able to jump out in front of Hartford and Springfield for the Northeast Division lead. Vasilevskiy got an AHL Goalie of the Month award in December, proving his skill was worthy of being a first round draft pick. Vladdy and Marchessault were main offensive leaders and earned spots in the AHL All Star Game. After games, the entire Crunch team would huddle at center ice, both saluting the fans and showing unity as a team. It was the best of times.
It was the Worst of Times: Just as things were getting good, everything started to fall apart for the Crunch. Vlasy was called up when Nabakov retired. Injuries and trades resulted in the call-ups of Vladdy, Witkowski, Angelidis, and Marchessault for various stretches of time. Blunden and Paradis saw their seasons ended by injury, taking offensive power away from Syracuse. The arrival of guys like Martindale and Ashton brought some relief, but not enough to fully make up for all the loses. The new players out of college and juniors really only made the team worse. The Crunch saw their ten point division lead slip away as they lost nine of their ten final games and finished second in the division and fifth in the Eastern Conference.
A Very Forgettable Playoff Appearance: The Crunch faced off with the Scranton Penguins in the first round a got swept three games to none. They gave up 14 total goals in the series while only scoring three. Let's leave it there.
What Killed The Crunch: Let's face it, the Crunch is a minor league team. They are ultimately controlled by the Tampa Bay Lightning and are at their mercy. With call-ups and injuries, the Crunch were left beaten and weak. It's great to see former Crunch players doing great and reaching the NHL, but it still stinks to see the Crunch get the short end of the stick. Let's face it, the players the Crunch get at the end of the season from trades and from college/juniors were not great. Young players with no professional hockey experience are not going to do well going into tough competition which is the AHL postseason. Honestly, the situation kinda felt like when the Crunch were with Anaheim; good players getting called up and no reinforcements to help make up for them. Now, everyone in Syracuse is left with a bad taste in their mouth.
Star Players:
Yanni Gourde- I knew this guy was good when he came to Syracuse last season. Actually, if he, Ikonen, and Vermin were acquired a couple months earlier, I think the Crunch would have made the playoffs last year. This year, Gourde was an offensive powerhouse, using his speed to dart into the zone and create havoc for opposing goalies. He had a total 29 goals and 28 assists in the regular season with one goal in the post season. Why he didn't make the All-Star Game or earn any awards from the AHL is beyond me.
Jonathan Marchessault- An All-Star this year, Marchessault was probably the biggest threat on offense. In the regular season, he had a total of 67 points from 24 goals and 43 assists. Thankfully, he did not spend a ton of time in Tampa and put his efforts to good use in Syracuse.
Vladdy Namestnikov- This kid is fire! He joined Marchessault in the All-Star game and was a huge problem for opposing defenses. Before getting called to the Lightning at the end of the season, Vladdy totalled 14 goals and 21 assists. He earned his call-up, but his offensive power was very much missed.
Best Memories:
Toyota Frozen Dome- 30,716 fans packed into the Carrier Dome to watch a series of great hockey games on November 22. It included a fantastic college match-up between Oswego State and Utica College that ended in a four all tie. Then, the Crunch took down the Utica Comets 2-1 and set the indoor attendance record in all of hockey. I was there and it was beyond amazing.
The 10 Game Win Streak- Starting on November 29 and going until December 27, the Crunch went on a 10 game winning streak. They took down tough opponents during the streak, including Utica, Rochester, Albany, Hartford, and Hershey. It propelled the Crunch to the top of the division and the Eastern Conference.
Worst Memories:
The End of the Season and Playoffs: See above. I'm not talking about it anymore.
February 10 vs. Adirondack: The Crunch lost to the Flames 10-0. Both Guddy and York gave up 5 goals while the offense did not even show up. Embarrassing.
Questions Yet To Be Answered:
Will the New Rink Benefit or Hurt the Crunch?: The War Memorial is finally getting the regulation rink is deserves. However, this means the Crunch lose it's home ice advantage of having a small rink. Maybe playing in all regulation rinks will help the Crunch play more consistently. Then again, this means opponents don't have to adapt to the Crunch's smaller rink. This will be interesting.
Who's Going to Stay? Who's Leaving?: I hope Gourde, Marchessualt, Martindale, Ashton, Angelidis, Neilson, and Vladdy (if he returns to the Crunch) stay. Guddy has been good, he can stay. But, it doesn't mean they can't do better (sorry Guddy.) Maybe we can pick-up somebody in exchange for York. He is good in the ECHL, not so much in the AHL. Plus, we need better defense. Tampa and Syracuse should definitely look into strengthening the defense.