Let me begin by saying that the Gnome Hunt is frustrating yet addicting.
Anyways, since I last wrote about the Syracuse Chiefs on May 6th, they have gone 5-5 with wins and losses to the Durham Bulls, Charlotte Knights, and Gwinnett Braves. When you break it down, the Chiefs are showing signs of success and getting on a roll, but are still hitting roadblocks not long after. If anything, you can say they are stuck in neutral. Within the team, there are some top players who are doing the most they can to try and get the team on the winning track. Ian Stewart leads the team with seven home-runs and 22 runs-batted-in while Manny Burriss leads the team in batting average (.272) and stolen bases (6.) On the pitching side, Taylor Hill is picking up where he left off last season, leading the team with three wins. Meanwhile, Scott McGregor has the most strikeouts (28) and Taylor Jordan has the lowest ERA (2.45.) While individual stats are pretty good, getting more wins is definitely the biggest priority for Syracuse. I think they are going to click very soon and the wins will start coming. Right now, the Chiefs are enjoying a week long home stand with series against Leigh Valley and Indianapolis. Nothing like some home field advantage to hopefully start a nice long run of victories. Thanks/Credit: http://www.milb.com/schedule/index.jsp?sid=t552 http://syracuse.chiefs.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t552 Even after being eliminated from the playoffs just weeks ago, the Syracuse Crunch are continuing to make headlines in the Salt City and in the American Hockey League.
Last week, the American Hockey After having some early season struggles, the Syracuse Chiefs are starting to rack up some big wins. This past weekend, the Chiefs broke out the brooms and swept the talent loaded Columbus Clippers. On Friday, the Chiefs edged the Clippers 3-2, then turned up the offense Saturday on route to a 7-6 victory, and finished off Columbus with a 7-3 win on Sunday. For the Clippers, it was a homecoming for several former Chiefs players. Fan favorite Zach Walters was greeted with several cheers as he returned to NBT Bank Stadium for the first time since being traded to the Cleveland Indians. Walters is not just a great player, but he is a very classy individual who doesn't forget any of his fans from the past. During the series in Syracuse, he even took a young Chiefs fan out to dinner on Saturday night. Destin Hood also made returned to Syracuse. He was a solid player as a member of the Chiefs both in the field and at the plate. In my opinion, he would be a great duel sport athlete if he ever had an interest to play football. Finally, though he was never a Syracuse Chief, former New York Yankee and MLB veteran Nick Swisher introduced himself the city of Syracuse. Though he only played one game, Swish used his electric personality to connect with and entertain the fans.
For Syracuse, production at the plate ramped up throughout the weekend. Martinson connected for a homerun on Friday while Lerud and Gwynn Jr. had round trippers on Saturday. Gwynn had an extremely good game on Saturday, including hitting the walk off single to win the game for Syracuse. Meanwhile, the Syracuse pitching saw some tight games, but managed to pull out the wins. Rich Hill, Taylor Hill, and Rafael Martin all got victories during the weekend. On Monday and Tuesday, the Chiefs welcomed the Norfolk Tides to the Salt City for a three game series. Monday, the Chiefs came up short in a 3-1 extra innings loss but rebounded Tuesday with a 2-1 win. On Tuesday, Ka'alhue propelled the Chiefs offense with a go ahead homer in the seventh inning while Scott McGregor pitched seven solid innings to pick up the win. The Chiefs finish their series with the Tides today, get Thursday off, then the Durham Bulls come in for a three game set this weekend. Hopefully, the Chiefs will continue to rake in the wins and fill the stadium with excited fans. On Wednesday, the Crunch were beaten by the Scranton Penguins 5-2 and swept in the first round of the playoffs. After a day of reflection, I now will take on a difficult task of reviewing the Crunch's 2014-15 season.
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. |
Nicholas Episcopo
Broadcasting Graduate Archives
November 2018
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