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Syracuse Crunch

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Syracuse Crunch
CitySyracuse, New York
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionNorth
Founded1992
Home arenaOncenter War Memorial Arena
ColorsBlue, White, Silver, Black
       
Owner(s)Howard Dolgon
General managerJulien BriseBois
Head coachBenoit Groulx
MediaSyracuse Post-Standard
WTLA
AffiliatesTampa Bay Lightning (NHL)
Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL)
Franchise history
1992–1994Hamilton Canucks
1994–presentSyracuse Crunch
Championships
Division titles2 (2001–02, 2012–13)
Conference titles1 (2012–13)
Current season

The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the War Memorial at Oncenter. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning.[1]

History

The franchise originated in 1992 as the Hamilton Canucks, which were an affiliate of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks played in Hamilton, Ontario, for two seasons, before relocating to upstate New York in 1994. They were then renamed the 'Crunch' in a public vote of five names. Soon the team was among the most popular of the AHL, leading the league in sellouts in 1996–97 and 1997–98.[2] After the relocation from Hamilton was complete, the Crunch remained the AHL farm team of the Canucks until 2000 – with also a season hosting Pittsburgh Penguins players in 1997–98 – when it switched its NHL affiliation to the newly formed Columbus Blue Jackets, an affiliation it retained for a decade, before the Jackets switched their affiliation to the Springfield Falcons in 2010.[3] The Crunch then spent two seasons affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks before signing a multi-year affiliation deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning effective for the 2012–13 season.[4] In the first year of the new partnership, the team reached the 2013 Calder Cup Finals, losing to the Grand Rapids Griffins.[5]

The Crunch played the first outdoor game in AHL history on February 20, 2010, against the Binghamton Senators. The Mirabito Outdoor Classic took place at the Grandstand at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. The game set an AHL attendance record of 21,508. Syracuse won the game 2–1.

At the end of the 2012–13 regular season, Tyler Johnson was named league MVP. He was the first MVP in Crunch history. He totaled 65 points, scoring 37 goals and assisted on 28 goals. At the end of the season he was awarded the President's Award for outstanding accomplishments on the ice.

On November 22, 2014, the Syracuse Crunch set a new United States Indoor Professional Hockey attendance record by playing in front of 30,715 fans at the Carrier Dome for the "Toyota Frozen Dome Classic". Syracuse defeated the Utica Comets 2-1.

Affiliation history

Honored numbers

The Crunch raised a banner following a fan vote during the team's fifth season in honor of fan favorite #14 "Big Bad" John Badduke. It is not retired, as it would later be worn by former United States Olympian Darby Hendrickson, Serge Aubin, Richard Panik and Justin Courtnall.

During the 2008–09 AHL season, the team temporarily reserved, but not retired, #7 as a tribute to Paul Newman after his death. This honors Reg Dunlop, the player-coach for the fictional Charlestown Chiefs, which Newman played in the movie Slap Shot. The movie was filmed partially at Onondaga County War Memorial. Coincidentally, other scenes were filmed at Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the home ice of the Crunch's former ECHL affiliate, the Johnstown Chiefs. The banner was raised October 14 and was up for the entire season, but the number was not retired, as it was worn by Crunch player Jeff Tambellini.

On March 26, 2016, the Syracuse Crunch retired Dolph Schayes' number #4. Schayes played for the Syracuse Nationals and their successor, the Philadelphia 76ers. He was the first player in the National Basketball Association to score 15,000 points in his career.[6]

NHL alumni

List of Syracuse Crunch Alumni who have appeared in at least one Crunch game and one NHL game:

^ = On current roster; % = Rehab assignment

Logos and uniforms

Owner Howard Dolgon came up with the superhero mascot Crunchman for the team's debut in 1994. In 2000, as the Crunch became an affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Crunchman was replaced with Al the Ice Gorilla. Al remained until 2012, when Dolgon found the new affiliation with Tampa Bay a good reason to return with Crunchman.[7]

  • Original Crunch logo 1994–2000
    Original Crunch logo
    1994–2000
  • Second Crunch logo 2000–2010 [1]
    Second Crunch logo
    2000–2010 [1]
  • Third Crunch logo 2010–2012
    Third Crunch logo
    2010–2012
  • Current Crunch logo 2012–present
    Current Crunch logo
    2012–present
  • 5th Anniversary logo 1998–99 [2]
    5th Anniversary logo
    1998–99 [2]
  • 10th Anniversary logo 2003–04 [3]
    10th Anniversary logo
    2003–04 [3]

Syracuse hockey history

American Hockey League teams that played in Syracuse:

Other hockey teams that played in Syracuse:

Season-by-season results

Regular season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for 		Goals
against 		Standing (Division) Year 1st
round 		2nd
round 		3rd
round 		Finals
1994–95 80 29 42 9 0 — 67 .419 288 325 5th, South 1995 Out of Playoffs
1995–96 80 31 37 5 7 — 74 .463 257 307 5th, Central 1996 W, 3–1, BNG W, 4–3, BAL L, 1–4, RCH —
1996–97 80 32 38 10 0 — 74 .463 241 265 4th, Empire State 1997 L, 0–3, RCH — — —
1997–98 80 35 32 11 2 — 83 .519 272 285 3rd, Empire State 1998 L, 2–3, HAM — — —
1998–99 80 18 50 9 3 — 48 .300 220 327 5th, Empire State 1999 Out of Playoffs
1999–00 80 35 35 9 1 — 80 .500 290 294 2nd, Empire State 2000 L, 1–3, HAM — — —
2000–01 80 33 30 12 5 — 83 .519 235 254 3rd, Mid-Atlantic 2001 L, 2–3, WBS — — —
2001–02 80 39 23 13 5 — 96 .600 228 193 1st, Central 2002 W, 3–0, PHI L, 3–4, CHI — —
2002–03 80 27 41 8 4 — 66 .413 201 256 4th, Central 2003 Out of Playoffs
2003–04 80 38 25 10 7 — 93 .581 239 235 2nd, North 2004 L, 3–4, RCH — — —
2004–05 80 36 33 — 4 7 83 .519 215 230 5th, North 2005 Out of Playoffs
2005–06 80 47 25 — 5 3 102 .638 272 251 2nd, North 2006 L, 2–4, MTB — — —
2006–07 80 34 34 — 4 8 80 .500 250 248 5th, North 2007 Out of Playoffs
2007–08 80 46 26 — 2 6 100 .625 247 201 2nd, North 2008 W, 4-2, MTB L, 3–4, TOR — —
2008–09 80 40 32 — 5 3 88 .550 214 226 5th, North 2009 Out of Playoffs
2009–10 80 34 39 — 4 3 75 .469 227 272 6th, East 2010 Out of Playoffs
2010–11 80 35 38 — 3 4 77 .481 221 250 6th, East 2011 Out of Playoffs
2011–12 76 37 29 — 5 5 84 .553 238 229 4th, East 2012 L, 1-3, STJ — — —
2012–13 76 43 22 — 6 5 97 .638 247 201 1st, East 2013 W, 3-0, POR W, 4-0, SPR W, 4-1, WBS L, 2-4, GR
2013–14 76 31 32 — 4 9 75 .493 198 232 5th, East 2014 Out of Playoffs
2014–15 76 41 25 — 9 10 92 .605 218 219 2nd, Northeast 2015 L, 0-3, WBS — — —
2015–16 76 32 29 — 11 4 79 .520 213 240 6th, North 2016 Out of Playoffs

Players

Current roster

Template:Syracuse Crunch roster

Coaching staff

  • Benoit Groulx: Head Coach
  • Trent Cull: Assistant Coach
  • Stacy Roest: Assistant Coach
  • Jeff Halpern: Assistant Coach
  • David Alexander: Goaltending & Video Coach

Team captains

Team records

Single season

Goals: Lonny Bohonos, 40 (1995–96)
Assists: Bill Bowler, 58 (2000–01)
Points: Lonny Bohonos (1995–96), Bill Bowler (2000–01), 79
Penalty minutes: Jody Shelley, 357 (2000–01)
GAA: Jean-François Labbé, 2.18 (2001–02)
SV%: Jean-François Labbe, .928 (2001–02)

Career

Career goals: Mark Hartigan, 107
Career assists: Brad Moran, 143
Career points: Brad Moran, 241
Career penalty minutes: Jeremy Reich, 820
Career goaltending wins: Karl Goehring, 78
Career shutouts: Jean-François Labbé and Karl Goehring, 11
Career games: Brad Moran, 334

References

  1. ^ "Lightning to affiliate with AHL's Syracuse Crunch". Tampa Bay Business Journal. Bizjournals.com. 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2013-12-25.
  2. ^ Mancuso, Jim (2005). Hockey in Syracuse. Arcadia Publishing. p. 109. ISBN 0738538981.
  3. ^ Central New York. "Blue Jackets all but packed and gone; Dolgon targets new parent club for Crunch". Syracuse.com. Retrieved 2013-12-25.
  4. ^ Brett Carlsen (2013-06-06). "10 things to know If you're jumping on the Syracuse Crunch bandwagon | syracuse.com". Blog.syracuse.com. Retrieved 2013-12-25.
  5. ^ Central New York (2013-06-19). "Calder Cup Finals: The 2012-'13 Syracuse Crunch won't soon be forgotten even in defeat". syracuse.com. Retrieved 2013-12-25.
  6. ^ "Syracuse Crunch to retire jersey of Hall of Famer and 12-time NBA All-Star Dolph Schayes March 26". Syracuse Crunch. February 23, 2016.
  7. ^ "Crunchman returns as the Syracuse Crunch go back to the future : Sports". CNYcentral.com. Retrieved 2013-12-25.
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