12/21/02 HERE COME THE HATS by Don  J-F Labbe fails to pick up a win in his 3 game conditioning stint but does gain Syracuse another point in a 5-4 overtime loss to Springfield. A game that saw a combined nine goals scored on 75 shots provided plenty of offense and work for the goalies.  The 1st period saw Springfield open the scoring with a power play goal from Jeff Taffe at 4:55. Picking up an assist on the goal was former Buffalo Sabre Brian Holzinger. Mathieu Darche quickly tied it up at 1-1 with a Short Handed goal that went unassisted at 5:38. Taffe would again pick up a goal, this time Short Handed at 7:46 with Holzinger picking up the assist again. Adam Borzecki was given a 5 minute major for boarding in the first period after an exceptionally hard hit on Springfield’s Frank Banham.  The second period saw Syracuse put the Power Play to work scoring 2 Power Play goals one by Matt Davidson from Ling and Bicanek at 3:47 and the other by Kent McDonell from Borzecki and Nedorost at 11:15 giving the Crunch a 3-2 lead. The lead however was short lived as Jason Bonsignore on the power play scored with assists from Martin Cibak and Michael Schutte at 14:06 followed shortly after by a goal from Darren Rumble assisted by Holzinger and Taffe at 16:27. The Crunch played hard in the 2nd despite being out shot 33-17 in the first two periods.  The 3rd period saw only one goal scored but it was an important one. Not only did it give the Crunch a tie game but also it was the first goal scored by Mike Pandolfo. So, congratulations, it only took you 29 games ;). Picking up assists were Andre Nedorost and Dan Watson. Time of the goal was 5:15. The Crunch Power Play fell apart as quickly as it awoke this period as the Crunch went 0-3 in the 3rd. Included in those attempts were several good chances, but none were picked up on.  In Overtime Dan Watson decided it was time for him to take an ill-advised hooking call setting up Jeff Taffes’ game winning goal at 2:24 of the Overtime, giving him the Hat Trick. Picking up assists on the goal were Brian Holzinger and Frank Banham. My three stars of the game are #3 Brian Holzinger with his 4 assists #2 with the Hat Trick and an assist Jeff Taffe. Now I suppose you are wondering, gee, the guy gets a hat trick and only 2nd star? Well my #1 star of the evening goes to Syracuse Crunch captain David Ling. Why? 0 minutes spent in the box last night. So he deserves my #1 star of the evening.  All in all a good effort by the Crunch after the 1st period last night. At least they managed a point. 4 goals was a nice offensive night, and one would figure enough for a win with Labbe in nets, but it wasn’t to be. Also it was very cool to see one of my favorite NHL players of all-time in person last night. It was a thrill to finally get to see Marty McSorely in person. I’ll be back Friday night after the Maple Leafs game. Until then LET’S GO CRUNCH!!