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2021-22 Syracuse Crunch Thread

15 oct. 2021 à 22 h 53
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*Just a quick note on my Crunch content this season, rather than doing individual threads for games or groups of games I am just going to keep it all in one thread - this thread - so, feel free to comment in-between my update posts.*

The Crunch opened their season in Cleveland vs. the Cleveland Monsters (Columbus Blue Jackets) with a 6-4 win. It was a game of firsts and injuries for the Crunch as multiple players made their AHL debuts (one unexpectedly), scored their first AHL goals, and unfortunately ended up injured. Before I breakdown the game I will post the even-strength lines, special teams lines/players, and after the game breakdown I will include the stats for individual players with some miscellaneous thoughts to wrap things up.

Game Lines:
Hudon-Dumont-Koepke
Fortier-Somppi-Walcott
Element-Ryfors-Morand
Goncalves-Huntington-Cajkovic

Claesson-Raddysh
Day-Jones
Crawley-Green

Legace
Alnefelt

Special Teams Lines (what I could determine):
- Most of the forwards played on the power play except for maybe Walcott.
- Raddysh and Green looked to be the defensemen QBing the #1 and #2 power play units with Day also getting some ice-time.
- The forward PKers looked to be mainly made up of a mixture of Morand, Dumont, Fortier, Walcott, and Koepke.

Game Breakdown:
The Crunch started off slow in the 1st period of the game initially surrendering a 0-2 lead to Cleveland. Cleveland's first goal came off a well executed play at even-strength that cleanly beat Legace, but I could not fault any of the skaters for. The second was a goal on a 5-on-3 for Cleveland, which would become a trend for them as the game wore on. The Crunch eventually got on the board with a power play goal from Huntington after a nice feed from Element, and then they quickly followed it up with a tying goal from Hudon who redirected a pass from Ryan Jones in front of the net.

The 2nd period would begin with a scary incident where Hudon was pushed head first into the corner glass by the Crunch's bench. Hudon remained down for half a minute before rising up and skating to the locker room under his own power and would shortly return to the game. The hit actually resulted in the glass breaking - not shattering- or becoming dislodged and required fixing before the game could resume. Funny enough it took a fan sitting in the corner seat by the bench to start banging on the glass to call attention to the fact that it needed repairs. The scoring in the period would begin shortly thereafter with Day passing the puck up ice to Element who would fire it at the net with Cajkovic crashing in to cash in on the rebound for his first AHL career goal in his AHL debut.

The Monsters would tie the game up later in the 2nd on a bit of a freak play that Legace really should have had, but immediately after Legace was down on the ice and requiring the attention of the trainers. Replay showed him immediately grab his knee after trying to cut across the crease to stop a shot that would go in between his left skate and the post. He eventually slowly skated off under his own power and would not return for the rest of the game. Alnfelt would get to make an unexpected debut. To make matters worse for the Crunch, not long after Legace going down, Somppi was pushed down wile charging the net and went head/shoulder first into the back boards hard. Somppi was down for several minutes before being stretchered off the ice. If there was one good sign it was that he was able to get up onto the stretcher without assistance. As anyone reading this probably knows I am a big fan of Somppi, so here's to a quick recovery as this was shaping up to be an important season for him in the organization.

Fortier gets his own paragraph because he did not get the assist on this shorthanded goal he initiated. The Crunch were on the PK with Fortier and Koepke on the ice. After having chased the puck through the offensive zone Fortier tied up the puck and Cleveland player in the neutral zone before Koepke swooped in to grab the puck and pass it off to a charging Day on the weak side of the ice. Fortier even gets the video treatment for this, but unfortunately it cuts out most of the good he did in the play. You will see he has the player pinned at around the blue line before Koepke grabs the puck, but then jumps off the ice. I promise you this play does not happen without Fortier's efforts before the video starts.




With the injuries done and this starting to get longer than I want it I will make the 3rd period recap brief. Dumont had a shot from the blueline that would be redirected across the crease for Gage Goncalves to record his first AHL goal. Dumont would make it a 6-3 game with an empty netter shortly after Cleveland pulled their goalie. Unfortunately with there being more than 2 minutes left everyone seemed to think it was a job well done and let a Monster waltz into the front of the net and make it 6-4. Alnefelt had been pitching a shutout since he entered the game in relief of the injured Legace, but still had a strong debut. Oh and because Fortier gets the video treatment, so does Goncalves smile

Game Stats: (only Goals and Assists - no +/-)
Gabriel Dumont - 1G 1A
Maxim Cajkovic - 1G 1A
Sean Day - 1G 1A
Shawn Element - 0G 2A
Jimmy Huntington - 1G 0A
Gage Goncalves - 1G 0A
Charles Hudon - 1G 0A
Ryan Jones - 0G 1A
Cole Koepke - 0G 1A
Antoine Morand - 0G 1A

Misc. Thoughts:
- Some injury issues leading into this game: 1) Odeen Tufto is still recovering from surgery over the offseason 2) Remi Elie was apparently injured in the Lightning's first preseason game and remains out 3) Gemel Smith remains out after being injured in Bolts training camp. Joe Smith mentioned today he has scheduled surgery coming up soon.
- On the Tufto injury I hope he gets healthy soon as I thought he showed promise in his limited sample size last season after turning pro after 4 seasons of NCAA hockey.
- Shawn Element had a really strong first half of the game. He is only on an AHL contract, but he was good all over the ice. Recall he was part of the Element-MacDonald-McDonnell line that impressed throughout the Prospect Tournament in September.
- Cajkovic has made me a believer in him since the Prospect Tournament. This guy might be special, but I want to see a bigger sample size.
- The obligatory Fortier thought is that even if his offense never fully shows, he does seem to be a gifted PKer. He was trusted early on the PK last season, and his work tonight led to a shorthanded goal for Sean Day. He could be a candidate to replace Maroon on the 4th line LW position once they kick him out - Maroon's words, not mine - at the very least in the future.
- Legace and Somppi both may be out extended periods of time. Legace's injury looks like it could have been a non-contact knee injury, and those are never good news. And Somppi will hopefully have escaped serious injury, but cannot ignore the fact he was stretchered off the ice.
- Alnefelt made some wicked saves on a 5-on-3 for Cleveland in the 3rd period. I don't think he was tested all that much, but he had a solid game in relief of Legace. He will likely play the second game of the weekend tomorrow assuming Legace remains out.
- The shot totals for the game will show Cleveland outshooting Syracuse 22-26, but they had 3 5-on-3's to work with. I thought Syracuse controlled most of the game and at least matched the intensity of Cleveland throughout.
- Ryfors was pretty invisible tonight. Not bad, but I don't recall him seeing much ice-time in the second half of the game.
- Dumont had 19 PIM lol. He did a lot of sticking up for other players tonight, nothing undisciplined.
- No captain has been named for the Crunch this season yet.
- If Somppi misses time, I really want to see a Fortier-Goncalves-Cajkovic line happen. I believe they were the line when Fortier had his hat trick in the preseason, and I believe that line presents a balanced set of skills among the three. Hopefully Somppi is okay, but injuries do breed opportunities for others.

*This was long, yes thanks for noticing and mentioning. I don't know if I'll do this again, but I was really excited to watch Crunch hockey again, and was lucky to have their debut happen on a Lightning off night. Bolts and Crunch play tomorrow night, so definitely nothing as in-depth tomorrow. If you have any comments or concerns about Fortier or Fortier I will be happy to answer them smile*
16 oct. 2021 à 12 h 48
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Looks like Legace is going to be missing time. I wonder if Miftakhov draws in tonight since Alnefelt did play over half of the game last night.
17 oct. 2021 à 16 h 16
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The Crunch joined the Lightning in going to overtime last night, but unfortunately for the Crunch their result was the opposite of the Bolts in a 4-5 OT loss to Cleveland. The game was 0-3 Cleveland at the midway point of the game before Jimmy Huntington put up a hat trick to tie things up. Koepke would deliver a go ahead goal in the first half of the 3rd period before the Crunch gave up a tying goal to Cleveland with less than 2 minutes remaining in the 3rd.

It was a rough first career AHL start for Alnefelt as he let in the first 2 shots he faced and let the game winner in overtime trickle through his legs. Additionally, the tying goal late in the 3rd for Cleveland was a shot all the way from the blueline that beat him clean over his left shoulder. Hugo will look to get back to stopping pucks in his next start.

The given lines for the game were:
Koepke-Dumont-Cajkovic
Fortier-Huntington-Morand
Element-Ryfors-Walcott
Goncalves-Lipanov-Semykin

Claesson-Raddysh
Day-Jones
Crawley-Green

Alnefelt
Miftakhov

Misc. Thoughts:
- The injuries are piling up for the Bolts and the Crunch. Hudon was reportedly under the weather for the game, but recall he hit his head against the glass by the Crunch bench Friday night. Somppi was out, but sounds like he might have avoided any serious injury after being stretchered off the ice Friday. No word on Legace's situation, but the Miftakhov call-up does probably indicate he will miss time. Walcott was a late scratch for the game yesterday, I did not hear why.

- Huntington with 4 goals through 2 games is not something I would have predicted. He had 5 goals over 28 games last season.

- Semykin looks to have been thrusted into a forward spot due to injuries, but was mostly ineffective. This was often how he entered the Crunch lineup last season too. With Ryan Jones looking solid for the Crunch on defense, and the expected return of Sustr in the future, he may not see much playing time on defense this season. Almost makes me wonder if he would be better off sent to Orlando to get consistent playing time.

Here is Huntington's hatty:

23 oct. 2021 à 13 h 10
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It was a night that saw the return of Cal Foote and the season debut for 3 newly signed players to PTOs, including 2020 5th Round Lightning draft pick Jaydon Dureau, but the Crunch would ultimately lose 3-5 to the Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres) and fall to 1-1-1 on the season.

Earlier on Friday it was announced that the Crunch had signed forwards Jaydon Dureau, Tristin Langan, and Tyler Bird to PTOs. The need to solidify their forward group arises from the continuing absences of forwards Gemel Smith, Odeen Tufto, Remi Elie, Otto Somppi, and Daniel Walcott. Additionally, Cole Koepke was a scratch for the game, but I did not hear if it was injury related.

Game Lines:
Hudon-Dumont-Cajkovic
Fortier-Huntington-Morand
Element-Ryfors-Goncalves
Dureau-Lagan-Bird
Claesson-Raddysh
Day-Foote
Jones-Green
Alnefelt
Miftakhov

Game Recap:
The Crunch scored first, for the first time this season, but would not find the back of the net until after Rochester netted four unanswered themselves. They had plenty of opportunities, outshooting Rochester 24-22, but Rochester’s goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stood strong in net for most of the game.

The Crunch’s first goal of the game by Dureau came via the trio of freshly signed forwards working hard below the circles before ---- found Dureau open cross-crease to put the puck in the net.

The 2nd goal for Syracuse would come on a shorthanded attempt by Morand late in the 3rd and briefly give the Crunch a chance to get back in the game.

The Crunch’s 3rd goal came on the power play by Ryfors for his first goal of the season.

The power play that resulted in Ryfors’ goal was the result of some late game nasties that lead to Cajkovic taking a hit that would see him down on the ice for an extended period. He would eventually skate off unassisted but clearly favoring his left shoulder.

It was another rough night in net for Alnefelt in his second start of the season. The defense in front of him was not always great, but his need to improve his rebound control was apparent. Multiple pucks that needed to be swallowed up or covered up got away from him and lead to further opportunities for the Americans. With Legace still out after going down in the season opener we should expect Miftakhov to make his AHL debut tonight versus Utica. The Crunch will need at least one of their rookie netminders to step up with there being no indication of when the veteran Legace will return to the ice.

Misc. Thoughts:
- Foote still looks like he is going to have trouble with his footspeed. Even at the AHL level it looked like he was struggling to keep pace with the game at times, but it may be worth giving him the benefit of the doubt in his first game back from injury.

- The power play has struggled this season, going 0-5 tonight before Ryfors’ power play goal in the last minute, but the opposite side of special teams – the penalty kill – has been especially stout for Syracuse thus far this season.

- Ryfors looked to have had his best game for the Crunch thus far. He particularly looked good in the LW spot on the power play.

- Dureau looked good in his season debut and 2nd career AHL game – after playing one with the Crunch last season. He was passing and shooting the puck well with good skating ability. With injury issues persisting, I would expect that he becomes a regular fixture in the lineup.

The Crunch have their home opener tonight versus the Utica Comets.
With Utica now affiliated with the Devils, and Cal Foote on conditioning loan, we should see the Foote brothers facing off against each other tonight.
27 oct. 2021 à 18 h 9
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Gotta get caught up here on Saturday's game:

The Crunch lost the inaugural Battle of Feete to Utica (New Jersey Devils) 2-1.

Alnefelt looked the most comfortable in net of any of his starts yet this season, but unfortunately the skaters were not able to get much going in terms of scoring.

The Crunch's one goal came off a shot by Green which was redirected in front of the net by Goncalves.




As previously mentioned, it was the first Battle of Feete in that it was the first pro game Cal and Nolan Foote played against each other. Prior to the official puck drop, Cal and Nolan had taken a ceremonial puck drop in front of the Crunch's honored guest for the night - The Stanley Cup. Unfortunately I have not been able to find a picture of it on Twitter to embed here. (Edit: still no Foote picture, but here is the Cup in Syracuse)




Misc. Thought:
- Cal Foote looked much better in his second game with the Crunch. Skating is still rough, but he got his positioning much better.

- Remi Elie was put on waivers today after starting the season on SOIR. He should join the Crunch after he clears waivers.

The Crunch play against the Hershey Bears in the land of chocolate tonight.
29 oct. 2021 à 15 h 29
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The Crunch defeated the Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals) 3-2 in OT Wednesday night. They came back from going down 0-2 in the 1st period and now have a record of 2-2-1 on the season.

Both of the Crunch's regulation goals came off the power play by Huntington and Dumont, respectively. Hudon netted the game winner with time in the OT period winding down.

Miftakhov looked good in his first AHL start. He let in the first shot he faced, but looked strong through the rest of the game. In the video below he makes a great save that leads to the game winning goal, but in the sequence preceding the video he made another great save. It'll be interesting to see if this performance buys him more playing time as Alnefelt has struggled at times since being thrusted into the starting role with Legace injured.




Crunch play the Cleveland Monsters tonight. It is the AHLtv Free Game of the Week for anyone interested in watching hockey tonight with the Bolts off.
30 oct. 2021 à 13 h 57
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The Crunch defeated the Cleveland Monsters last night 3-2 in a shootout. Cleveland had been #1 in the North Division - same division as Syracuse - heading into the game. With the win, Syracuse improved to 3-2-1 on the season and currently are in 4th in the North Division.

Remi Elie joined the lineup for the first time this season after being injured in the Lightning's preseason.

Alnefelt had a strong performance in net. Great saves in the final seconds of regulation and in overtime kept Syracuse in contention towards the end.

It was the Goncalves and Fortier show in the scoring department. Goncalves netted his 3rd of the season to open the scoring.



Goncalves is becoming quite the net-front menace as all 3 of his goals have come from around the same area.

Fortier would shoot in the game-tying goal in the 3rd period.




The first 2 shooters over the boards in the shootout for the Crunch, Elie and Hudon, would miss their shots before Goncalves would net his. Alnefelt turned away all 3 shots he faced in the shooutout to seal the game.
https://twitter.com/TheAHL/status/1454273852675035142?s=20 [cannot embed this one]

The lines were a little different than usual, so I'll update the game lines:
Elie-Dumont-Koepke
Fortier-Huntington-Morand
Goncalves-Ryfors-Hudon
Element-Langan-Bird

Day-Foote
Jones-Lees
Semykin-Green

Crunch play the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers) tonight.
30 oct. 2021 à 19 h 19
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They must really not want Goncalves playing center. Hudon isn't even a natural center while Goncalves is!
30 oct. 2021 à 19 h 42
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Quoting: CoopsTroops



They must really not want Goncalves playing center. Hudon isn't even a natural center while Goncalves is!


Obligatory Fort Gabe appreciation post.
30 oct. 2021 à 20 h 4
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Quoting: Rangsey
Obligatory Fort Gabe appreciation post.


He took a penalty that resulted in a goal for The Phantoms at the start of the game 😛
30 oct. 2021 à 20 h 20
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Quoting: CoopsTroops
He took a penalty that resulted in a goal for The Phantoms at the start of the game 😛


So he made a mess but made up for it? I love him even more Sticking Out Tongue
30 oct. 2021 à 20 h 29
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Quoting: Rangsey
So he made a mess but made up for it? I love him even more Sticking Out Tongue


I'm afraid it was Hudon who made up for it.
Currently losing 1-2, so they could use a goal from Fortier. Then all would be forgiven.
30 oct. 2021 à 21 h 45
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Jimmy Huntington is good at hockey.
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30 oct. 2021 à 21 h 58
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Quoting: CoopsTroops
Jimmy Huntington is good at hockey.


We signed him as a freebie right? 22yo. Any chance he ends up in the show?
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30 oct. 2021 à 22 h 5
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Quoting: Rangsey
We signed him as a freebie right? 22yo. Any chance he ends up in the show?


Yup, he's our current undrafted wonder kid. He was the 4th line center to start the season and tonight was his first game as the 1C.

I had him as an AHL max to start the year in my prospect assessment, but it's clear now he has more talent than originally thought. If the Lightning's forward depth ever gets thin, I would say it's between Dumont or Huntington for the first call up.
30 oct. 2021 à 22 h 50
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This is from last night, but I sure hope we sign Element to an ELC.
1 nov. 2021 à 0 h 32
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The Crunch avoided handing the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philly Flyers) their first win of the season in a 3-2 overtime win Saturday night. This was the Crunch's third consecutive game that required bonus hockey, and they have come out on top in all of them.

Amir Miftakhov got his 2nd start of the season and provided another steady performance.

Jimmy Huntington and his wingers - Fortier and Morand - were promoted to the Crunch's top line for the game. While they did not contribute in regulation, it was Fortier and Huntington on the ice for Huntington's game winning goal.




Misc. Thoughts:
- Jimmy Huntington is good.

- Simon Ryfors looks like he is slowly becoming more comfortable.

*This may be the last post I do in this format. Will update if I do not have anything after this weekend's upcoming games.
5 nov. 2021 à 13 h 47
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With the Bolts in Ottawa and the Crunch in Utica tonight I wonder if Dumont plays tonight?

I'm beginning to think this was a planned call up all along for Dumont. If he plays tonight then he spent a week practicing with the Bolts without missing any Crunch games.
7 nov. 2021 à 17 h 37
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Miftakhov with his first North American shutout last night.
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8 nov. 2021 à 23 h 43
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Alnefelt had an interaction with a Comet in the 3rd period of Friday night's game against Utica but finished the game. Miftakhov played Saturday with I think a local goaltending coach filling in as the backup. This signing probably means Alnefelt is going to miss time and that it's going to be the Miftakhov show for the time being.
9 nov. 2021 à 13 h 59
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@CoopsTroops Can Fortier play on the PK?
9 nov. 2021 à 14 h 58
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Quoting: imawesome
CoopsTroops Can Fortier play on the PK?


He's been a PK stalwart for the Crunch since Day 1 last season. His PK ability is one of the best things he has going for him in my opinion.

The Crunch as a whole have been stout on the PK. Prior to last weekend they had scored 2 shorthanded goals and only given up 1 goal.
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9 nov. 2021 à 15 h 10
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Quoting: CoopsTroops
He's been a PK stalwart for the Crunch since Day 1 last season. His PK ability is one of the best things he has going for him in my opinion.

The Crunch as a whole have been stout on the PK. Prior to last weekend they had scored 2 shorthanded goals and only given up 1 goal.


I was pretty sure that he did. Just wanted to make sure
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10 nov. 2021 à 12 h 24
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I have no idea why Lipanov returned to North America this season.
13 nov. 2021 à 18 h 19
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Just looking at numbers without watching any Crunch games. Is Day finally looking the business?
 
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