Brett Connolly Photo by Linda Hamilton

The topic du jour today is the apparent leap forward in the NHL’s labor negotiations.  Optimism seems higher than ever before and many people think the lockout could end as early as this Friday.  While I’m not denying the importance of this, these injury updates from Syracuse should make Lightning fans happy as well. » Continue reading “Crunch and Grind: Injury Updates from Syracuse”

Tyler Johnson gets low for faceoffs…so low that no one saw him on draft day. Picture from the Syracuse Crunch FB page

This Syracuse Crunch team sure is special, isn’t it?   The NHL lockout drags on, but one benefit for the Tampa Bay Lightning is the ability to see its young guns play together and grow as a dominant team.  The Crunch played three games this weekend (2-1 loss vs. Binghamton, 4-1 win at Albany, 6-1 win at Worcester) and are now 12-3-1-1 through 17 games.  This puts them in first in the East Division as well as the entire Eastern Conference.

Take some time to absorb all of these bullet points and try not to get giddy (I couldn’t resist) thinking about some of these guys contributing at the NHL level. » Continue reading “Number Crunch: Syracuse Dominating As A Team”

Vladislav Namestnikov Picture by Jason Haas

- The Crunch’s next game will be Wednesday night at Hamilton.  Both teams will then head east for a rematch at Montreal’s Bell Centre on Friday.  It’s a great chance for the guys to play in an NHL arena and have some exposure to the bigger stage, if they haven’t had it before.

- The injury bug looks to be subsiding.  Vladislav Namestnikov and Keith Aulie are the only players ruled out of Wednesday’s game – a few others will be game time decisions (@PSCrunchHockey)

- Cory Conacher is now the only player in the AHL to have a point in each of his team’s games.   Conacher has 6/6/12 through the Crunch’s first eight games.  He had point streaks of eight and nine games last season.

- Today’s Twitter award goes to Tyler Johnson.  Though some may be critical of pro athletes spending so much time playing video games, it’s important to remember that these guys are young and that some are better than others:

Well its safe to say I am never letting my roommate @Akillorn19 play COD for me.. Always good for a good laugh though…#CantTeachAtHarvard

- To cap things off, here’s a video with a few players talking about Movember: