Dustin Tokarski Photo by Jason Haas
Tonight the Syracuse Crunch hosted the St. John’s Ice Caps. Thing absolutely exploded in the second period when the game was tied 2-2. There was a hit in the corner and well, a line brawl happened.
The brawl led to an absolutely magic hockey moment. GOALIE FIGHT!
» Continue reading “Goalie Fight!!! Dustin Tokarski vs. Eddie Pasquale”
Vasi isn’t mentioned in this article…but I love this picture.
The turning of the calendar is usually an exciting time in hockey – teams have a pretty good idea of who will make the playoffs and the buzz around undrafted free agents is starting to get loud. While the lockout is robbing us of our NHL joy, let’s take a look at how some the Tampa Bay Lightning’s goaltenders are performing this season. I’ve included the six who I believe have the greatest chance to make an impact in the 2013-2014 season. » Continue reading “2013: A Lightning Goaltending Odyssey”
The month of November has become a very special time among hockey players and this year was no different. A number of locked out NHLers participated and raised money for men’s health issues. The AHLers got in on the action as well. After a month of stiff competition, Mark Barberio’s mustache reigned supreme among the Syracuse Crunch.
If there’s one thing Lightning fans learned about their minor league affiliate this year it’s that they are a gifted lot when it comes to facial hair. We all remember those beards on the way to a Calder Cup Championship.
As Movember comes to a close for the year and our players pick up their razors, it’s a perfect time to relive their journey.
» Continue reading “Syracuse Crunch Crown A Movember Winner”
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”
Raichu Helenius by Renee Renna
First off, what does everyone think of Raichu Helenius? It’s a stupid joke that’s been kicking around in my head for a while. If it’s well-received, then we’ll see him again. If not, it’ll disappear faster than that sitcom about Hitler.
Through five games, your Syracuse Crunch are 4-0-0-1 and sit atop the East Division, one point ahead of the 4-0-0-0 Norfolk Admirals. The Crunch is leading the league in goals for with 21 (4.2 per game), but their 17 goals against are certainly less than impressive. This brings me to the meat of the post: how is the battle between Riku Helenius and Dustin Tokarski panning out thus far? » Continue reading “Early Season Review: Dustin Tokarski vs. Riku Helenius”
J.T. Wyman Photo by Linda Hamilton
Tonight’s Crunch/Senators game had pretty much everything. Old time hockey toughness, tons of goals, a dramatic late game comeback. Oh, and a goalie fight. A European goalie fight no less. Don Cherry would lose his shit.
This game was pretty ugly from the outset. Bingamton held a 5-0 lead through the first half of the game. That’s when Sens goalie Robin Lehner and Crunch goalie Riku Helenius met at center ice and, well… see for yourself.
Update: Clearer fight footage.
» Continue reading “Crunch Battle To 6-5 Win Against Binghamton”
PC Labrie photo by Alexis Boucher
Hockey’s here! » Continue reading “Lightning Farmhands En Route to Newfoundland”
Brett Connolly Photo by Linda Hamilton
Need another sign that the NHL lockout is looming without hope of being stopped? Teams were assigning players to the AHL in droves this morning, the Lightning included.
The following players were assigned to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL:
Forwards: J.T. Brown, Cory Conacher, Brett Connolly, Danick Gauthier, Alex Hutchings, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Vladislav Namestnikov, Ondrej Palat and Richard Panik.
Defensemen: Mark Barberio, Radko Gudas, Dmitry Korobov, Charles Landry and Dan Milan.
Goaltenders: Dustin Tokarsaki, Riku Helenius and Pat Nagle.
As if that weren’t enough, JT Wyman was placed on waivers as well. He will be assigned to Syracuse on Saturday if he clears waivers at noon on Saturday.
Yup. This sucks. We should be prepping for training camps right now.
Jaroslav Janus Photo by dbfoto® / Flickr
The Tampa Bay Lightning’s (well, Syracuse Crunch’s) three-headed goalie monster scenario appears to be resolved.
In a very roughly translated article, it appears that Jaroslav Janus has signed a tryout contract with HC Slovan Bratislava of the KHL. His KHL rights were held previously by Yaroslavl. Per the article, Yaroslavl has allowed him to play elsewhere. The story was first broken by Corey Pronman on Twitter and later shared by our friends at Bolt Prospects.
What does this mean for Janus’s development? It’s a chance for him to play in a lot of games as a potential starting goaltender. Despite his talent level, he wasn’t going to get that chance with Dustin Tokarski and Riku Helenius likely being the other two goaltenders in Syracuse.
Janus posted solid numbers in 34 appearances for the Norfolk Admirals last season: 23-8-2, 2.36 GAA, and a .914 save percentage. He stepped up admirably for Norfolk when Tokarski spent time in Tampa last season and did not allow Norfolk’s tremendous winning streak to be broken.
There’s always a chance that he could end up staying overseas. However, as we saw with Helenius, the team is not afraid to pursue players in the organization who have gone overseas. It will all come down to Janus’s progression and it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
Calder Cup Photo by MattBritt00 / Flickr
The Norfolk Admirals are pretty good at hockey. After riding a historic 28 game winning streak and a league high 113 point regular season, their dominance continued with a 14-3 start in the Calder Cup playoffs.
Their story came to an end tonight in the best possible fashion: sweeping the Toronto Marlies to win the AHL Championship in a 6-1 victory. In doing so, they became the first Lightning American League affiliate to hoist the Calder Cup.
Even with the controversial finish to game 3, the Admirals wasted no time in putting points on the board. They scored 5 straight goals. Mike Kostka and Tyler Johnson had two apiece. Pierre-Cedric Labrie and Richard Panik scored the other Norfolk goals. Cory Conacher finished the evening with four assists.
As with all of Norfolk’s final 8 playoff games, Dustin Tokarski. He stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced. Forward Alexandre Picard was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield trophy as the Calder Cup Playoffs MVP. Picard was held scoreless in the final game, but he led all skaters with 16 points through the rest of the postseason.
» Continue reading “Norfolk Admirals: Your 2012 Calder Cup Champions”
