This past Thursday, the American Hockey League released all the team schedules for the 2015-2016 season. For the Syracuse Crunch and their fans, it was finally time to learn what teams they would be facing and how many times they would face each team. The schedule looks strong, with the Crunch facing off with division opponents for the bulk of the season. However, is it perfect?
Pros: North Division Rivalries- The Crunch's schedule is mainly made up of games with division opponents. This includes ten games with Utica, Rochester, and Binghamton, three of the team's main rivals. They also faces off with Albany, St. John's, and Toronto several times. This will keep the race for the playoffs heated throughout the entire season. The North Division will not be easy to win, but it also may prove to be the strongest division in the entire league. Eastern Conference Matches- The Crunch will face off with only teams in the Eastern Conference this season. This includes games with Hershey, Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Bridgeport, Springfield, and Hartford, some being former divisional opponents from past seasons. This means the Crunch will have to truly earn a playoff spot within the Eastern Conference. Every game will factor into the conference standings. Cons: Lack of Variety- The Crunch only play Eastern Conference teams this season. This is great because of cheap travel expenses, keeping close to affiliates, and building rivalries. However, there is no variety in the schedule. Instead of having match-ups with more teams, like Chicago, Grand Rapids, Lake Erie, and Rockford, the Crunch face the same opponents over and over again. This takes some excitement away from the games, allowing the Crunch and their opponents to learn each others' plays and game-play styles with ease over the season. Guess we will have to wait for the All-Star Game to see new opponents and players. Lost Rivalries- Even with rivalries bound to grow stronger in the North Division, the Crunch are going to lose their rivalries with some very strong teams. Grand Rapids has major beef with the Crunch since 2012, but they don't face each other this year. Lake Erie used to be a division opponent to the Crunch, but not a match this year between the two. Even worse, Manitoba is back in the AHL. One of the biggest rivals to the Crunch with several historic match-ups between the them in the past but not one game to reignite the rivalry this year? Sad. I guess if you want variety, you'll just have to go to all the Crunch games or ship out to see other teams play. What do you think of the Crunch's schedule? Can it be improved? Should it just stay the way it is? What can be done in the future? I want to hear from you the reader. So check out the schedule at the Crunch's website and comment below. Thanks/Credit: syracusecrunch.com theahl.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Hockey_League This week, I was going through my twitter feed and noticed a new account had surfaced. Salt City FC (@SaltCityFC_15) is a new group of soccer lovers in Syracuse campaigning for the return of a professional outdoor soccer franchise to Central New York. Well, they aren't exactly a new group. The group is actually the Salt City Supporters, who are the main fan support group of the Syracuse Silver Knights. Personally, I love this. Soccer is not just growing across the United States. In Syracuse, more and more people are getting into the sport, whether it's actually playing or cheering on a favorite club. The Syracuse Silver Knights have shown this town can get behind a soccer club on the indoor pitch. So why not an outdoor team as well? Syracuse would not be the first place to have both successfully. Take a look:
Hartford, Conn.- Hartford City FC (MASL and NASL) Dallas, Texas- Dallas Sidekicks (MASL) and FC Dallas (MSL) Harrisburg, PA.- Harrisburg Heat (MASL) and Harrisburg City Islanders (USL) Chicago, Illinois- Chicago Mustangs (MASL) and Chicago Fire (MSL) St. Louis, Missouri- St. Louis Ambush (MASL) and St. Louis FC (USL) Sacramento, CA- Sacramento Surge (MASL) and Sacramento Republic FC (USL) Of course, questions arrive from this. Where would the team play? What league would they join? What would be there nickname? Time to dive in for some possible answers. What league would the team join? Right now, there are number of great leagues a Syracuse team could join. Let's not get too crazy though, Syracuse is nowhere near MLS or NASL standards. However, there are some great development leagues that would probably open a Syracuse team with open arms. United Soccer League (USL): The USL is in the third tier of the United States soccer pyramid. Back in the 2000's, the Syracuse Salty Dogs competed in this league for two years and did well until their unfortunate fold. Right now, the USL is has 24 teams with three more franchises ready to join next year. All of them have affiliations with MLS teams and see players being called up and sent down like in any other minor league sport. This fits Syracuse well since most of our franchises are based in the minor leagues. With the Rochester Rhinos down the road, Syracuse would have an instant rival and give New York a third USL franchise. National Premier Soccer League (NPSL): Dropping down a tier, the NPSL is a huge league with great developmental competition. Spanning across the country, the league has four regions containing eleven conferences. This would give a Syracuse squad a variety of competition. Even better, they would have close rivals to compete against in Greater Binghamton FC Thunder and FC Buffalo. USLPDL- This league is filled with a several U-23 squads, most of them developmental teams for MLS and NASL franchises. If Syracuse were to get a team in this league, their challenge would be getting players that fit the U-23 competition. Still, it would give Syracuse a strong reputation for raising great future players. Where would the team play? Alliance Bank Stadium- Here's the good news! Jason Smorol, the GM of the Syracuse Chiefs, is a soccer fan. He and the Silver Knights constantly team up and show support for each other. Because of this, I think a Syracuse team would be able to work out a deal to share the stadium with the Chiefs. Unlike the Salty Dogs, who were subjected to stadium greed from the Simone family, ABS would be a great long term home for a club and keep the money and fans flowing in for years. A Local High School- If the team were to join the NPSL or USLPDL, a high school stadium would be a great option. Unlike the USL, these leagues have teams who don't have their own personal stadiums or high end mulit-sport complexes that they share with other teams. Many of them play on fields owned by a local high school. The Syracuse Strong football team uses Nottingham High School as their home base. When the baseball stadium wasn't available, the Salty Dogs would use Liverpool High School's field. It's a reasonable option for a new team. A New Stadium- Now, I've written articles about how Syracuse does not need to build anymore stadiums, especially in downtown. However, it may be an option in the future if it's needed to get into a league. Here's what I purpose, don't build the stadium within the city of Syracuse. Instead, build one outside the city. Yes, all the people who complain about the ballpark's location may get upset. Here's my argument, there are plenty of open lots in towns within the Syracuse area that could benefit from the new team and stadium. My best example is in East Syracuse.The old Oberdofer's lot is prime for a new tenant or Saturday night, the Rochester Rhinos hosted Harrisburg City, looking to remain on the top of the Eastern table and possibly clinch a spot in the USL playoffs. Thanks to two goals form Steevan Dos Santos, the Rhinos made quick work of the Islanders, picking up the 4-0 victory. Along with Dos Santos, Tony Walls and Asani Samuels scored for Rochester in the win. Syracuse Silver Knight Kenardo Forbes picked up an assist on Dos Santos' first goal, keeping his hot streak going which landing him on the latest USL Team of the Week. More importantly, with the win, the Rhinos clinched that critical early birth into the USL postseason. The Rhinos next match is Sunday, August 30th when St. Louis marches into Sahlen's Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4pm.
Up in Canada, another Syracuse Silver Knight is making in the most of the summer soccer season. Sinisa Ubiparipovic is leading the Ottawa Fury in assists with four to his name this season. With the four assists, he has tallied one goal for the Canadian NASL squad. The Fury are currently holding on to the top spot in the NASL Fall standings. In baseball, the Chiefs knocked down the Buffalo Bisons with a 3-1 win. Matt Skole had a two run blast for Syracuse while Bruce Billings picked up the win. Thanks/Credits: http://rhinossoccer.com/news/?article_id=747 http://www.ottawafuryfc.com/stats http://syracuse.chiefs.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2015_08_22_syraaa_bufaaa_1&t=g_box&sid=t552 The Major Arena Soccer League looks poised to have a tremendous 2015-16 season. Yesterday, the league announced that there are twenty confirmed franchises for the upcoming season, which includes the Syracuse Silver Knights returning for their sophomore season. However, there is a chance that two more franchises, Cincinnati, Ohio and Baha, California, could join the league in time for the start of the season on November 1st. The Silver Knights responded to this news by releasing a mock up of the East Division, which included Syracuse, Baltimore, Detroit, Harrisburg, and newcomer Hartford City. Overall, this is all good news for the MASL and the Silver Knights.
Down the road in Rochester, Silver Knight star Kenardo Forbes has been playing absolutely lights out as of lately. Last Saturday, Forbes tallied the lone Rochester Rhino's goal in their 1-1 draw with the Richmond Kickers. Many, including myself, believe he should have had at least a hat trick with the outrageous number of quality shots on net that came off his foot. Yesterday, Forbes showed no sign of slowing down. In a rowdy Sahlen's Stadium, Forbes remained on fire, netting his fouth goal of the season in the 26th minute of the Rhino's match against the Wilmington Hammerheads. Grant Van de Casteele would be the hero of the game, scoring the game winning goal in the closing minutes of the match to give the Rhinos the 2-1 victory. With the Rhinos continuing to sit on top of the USL and the hype of a great season to come for the Silver Knights, Forbes has all the momentum in the world and continues to impress in the soccer world. The Syracuse Strong came out of the gates hot in their first games of their premiere season in the Empire Football League. However, after losing two straight, they were looking to get back on the winning track at home against Plattsburgh last night. In their first meeting, the Strong won a close game by a 14-3 score on Plattsburgh's turf. However, the Strong took advantage of home turf and demolished the North Stars 35-0. The Strong are now 3-2, sitting in third position of the standings, with two home games remaining this season. Next Saturday, the Strong host the second place Sussex Stags, who edged out Syracuse back in Week 2 by a score of 3-2. On the diamond, the Syracuse Chiefs were shutout by the Buffalo Bisons 4-0. With the loss, the Chiefs' 11 game win streak came to an end. Even with the loss, the Chiefs have been playing on a whole different level compared to the rest of this season. Though the odds are against them, they are not out of the playoff yet and that streak greatly helped their chances of somehow making the postseason. For Central New York, summer usually means that Syracuse Chiefs baseball, golf, and plenty of warm weather activities. However, fans of the Syracuse Crunch were treated to some hockey fun Saturday when two teams of local media personalities and celebrities took to Montgomery Street for a street hockey showdown. On the one side was Team Axe, captained by Brent Axe of ESPN 97.7 and Syracuse Media Group. On the other, Team Tamurian, led by CNY Central Sports Director Niko Tamurian. Both teams were stacked with great local talent, including sports reporters Brain Mueller, Kellie Cowan, and Sal Maneen, Jeremy Houghtaling of Bolt Prospects, CNY Central Chief Meteorologist Wayne Mahar, Josh Grosvent from KROCK, and SU lacrosse legend Ric Beardsley. Both teams also had several representatives from the Crunch front office, including Jim Sarosy, Megan Cahill, and Mark Hayes.
The first period started out fast. Both teams needed little time to get warmed up and peppering the goalies with shots. Team Axe built up a large lead thanks to goals from Houghtaling and Axe. Team Tamurian would respond with tallies off the sticks of Bryan Honeywell, Beardsley, and Sarosy. Team Tamurian relied heavily on Mahar in goal to keep Axe at bay, having to stand on his head several times to keep the ball out of the net. On the other end, Ken Murphy stood tall between the pipes, fending off the few shots Team Tamurian could muster. After the first period, Axe held a 6-5 lead over Tamurian. On the benches, Tamurian preached defense to get some help for Mahar and to keep the pressure on the other goalie. Axe told his group to keep up the hard play. The second period saw a cool down when it came to scoring. Team Axe managed to put a couple in the net in the period to increase their lead. Both goalies proved themselves to be walls, stopping the majority of shots that came at them. However, Team Tamurian found their offense struggling to get in the zone and get quality shots off. When they did crash the net, Team Axe would quickly get the ball through the zone and hammer shots on Mahar. The start of the third period saw the score favoring Team Axe 8-5. Team Tamurian had a game plan to crash the net often and try to keep at least one man back to prevent any breakouts. However, Team Axe soon tore into it and started piling on the goals. Mark Hayes, last year’s MVP, snapped off a couple quick goals to extend the lead while Houghtaling and Mueller both tickled the twine. Team Tamurian looked to stage a comeback when Honeywell, Sarosy, Cahill, Beardsley got four goals in a row. However, the lead would be too much to overcome and Team Axe would take the game 14-9. It was Axe’s second win in a row. Kellie Cowan, who played tenaciously the entire game, was awarded the MVP award. Once again, the Syracuse Crunch know how to put on an entertaining event. The game was both competitive and fun for the participants and the fans. It was great to see all the players having a great time, including when they chirped back and forth for fun. If this makes you miss hockey, you don’t have to worry. The Crunch will be back in action on October 11th and be playing in what will be a new regulation rink within the War Memorial. Missed the game, check out the photo gallery. |
Nicholas Episcopo
Broadcasting Graduate Archives
November 2018
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