Just like that, it was all over. After the most successful season in franchise history, the Syracuse Crunch fell just short of their first Calder Cup championship in their first appearance. The Tampa Bay Lightning also narrowly missed having their AHL affiliate crowned champion for the second consecutive season. It was a valiant effort by the Crunch, in what was ... Read More »
Before Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals, the Syracuse Crunch had lost just one game throughout the entire AHL postseason. Not only that, the Crunch hadn’t lost back-to-back games since April 9 and 12. Following Sunday night’s 6-4 loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins, however, the Crunch have now lost back-to-back games and face the threat of elimination with ... Read More »
When the American Hockey League began its 2012-2013 season, the NHL lockout was in full swing. The players kept their heads down, kept playing and have finally reached the pinnacle of AHL play. Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET, Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals kicks off in style. The Syracuse Crunch have run roughshod through the postseason, losing ... Read More »
For the second year in a row, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s American Hockey League affiliate is running rough shod through the AHL playoffs. Last year, it was the Norfolk Admirals, winning 15 out of 18 games on their way to the Calder Cup championship. This year, it’s the Syracuse Crunch, who have clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals ... Read More »
For the second straight year, a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization has been named the American Hockey League Most Valuable Player. The AHL announced on Friday afternoon that Syracuse Crunch center Tyler Johnson has been named the 2012-2013 MVP. Former Bolt Cory Conacher won the Les Cunningham Award last year on the Calder Cup champion Norfolk Admirals. “I’m ... Read More »
In not so stunning news, Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Brendan Mikkelson is headed back to Syracuse. Bolts general manager Steve Yzerman announced on Monday that Mikkelson, a frequent healthy scratch for coach Guy Boucher, has cleared waivers and will return to the Lightning’s American Hockey League-affiliate Syracuse Crunch. Mikkelson has played in just four games for Tampa Bay this season, ... Read More »
The Tampa Bay Lightning made a move late Thursday morning to bolster the goaltending depth for its American Hockey League-affiliate Syracuse Crunch, according to vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman. Tampa Bay traded slumping goaltender Dustin Tokarski, a 2008 Lightning draft pick, to the Hamilton Bulldogs (affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens) for goaltender Cedrick Desjardins. Yzerman believes Desjardins, 27, ... Read More »
It hasn’t been the best season for the Connecticut Whale. For a franchise that has only missed the AHL Playoffs once in its existence (1997-98 was their first season), 4th in your division and 12th in the conference isn’t where you want to be around early January. But with the end of the NHL lockout on the horizon, some on ... Read More »
Happiness fills the entire hockey community as the NHL lockout ends, but for certain teams like the Phantoms, a troubling season just became more troubling. When the Phantoms lose Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier and Erik Gustafsson to the Flyers sometime this week, their top point scorer will have only 13 points, thirty-three games into the season. The Phantoms find themselves ... Read More »
The beginning of a new year is always a time for optimism. Everyone makes a pact with themselves that the new year will be a better year full of hope and promise. New Year’s resolutions are made, followed, and then – let’s be honest – completely forgotten about. For the Adirondack Phantoms, 2012 hasn’t been a year of optimism and ... Read More »
Recently, I was reading a report by Mike Ozanian, a sports money analyst for Forbes.com. He calculated the total team values of NHL franchises after the 2011-2012 season. As one would expect, the Maple Leafs, Rangers, and Canadiens were among the most valuable, with Toronto even managing to break the one billion dollar mark. Along the way, he unearthed some ... Read More »
Earlier in the season head coach Roy Sommer tested the waters in Worcester by giving alternating starts to Harri Sateri and Alex Stalock. His plan was to ignite competition between the two goaltenders, evaluate their performances and determine who would be his go to net minder for the 2012-2013 season. With 15 games already in the books for the Sharks ... Read More »
November Reign Rain for the Manchester Monarchs. The Manchester Monarchs continue to soul search as they drop to second in the Atlantic division on Saturday with a (4-0) shut-out loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Facing only 25 shots, goaltender Anders Nilsson was able to secure the win and shut-out against a team that seems to have a hard time ... Read More »
“The team that traded you, you want to do well against them. That’s what I’m going to look to do and I’ll try to have a big game.” Those were Brayden Schenn’s comments on Tuesday, the day before he would face the Manchester Monarchs – his former team – for the first time. Schenn had the biggest game of ... Read More »
So, I’ve decided to change the name of this recurring column to “Burning Questions.” I didn’t really think “Greatest Fears” had quite the same ring to it, but let me know what you think down in the comments. Anyways, in light of the absolute stoppage of CBA talks on top of the already-occurring work stoppage, I have decided to ask ... Read More »
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