by
Jeff Parzych
Karl Goehring registered 26 saves and Mark Hartigan scored 2:40 into overtime to lead the Syracuse Crunch to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Roadrunners Saturday night in American Hockey League action.
After a listless start Saturday evening, Syracuse didn't record a shot on goal until just prior to the nine minute mark, the Crunch received a spark from enforcer Brandon Sugden. The Toronto native, Syracuse's resident traffic cop and in this case momentum changer, returned to the lineup after missing the last five contests with an injured ankle.
Out on the ice for the first time in the game with Roadrunner tough-guy Rocky Thompson, Sugden induced Thompson into a bout at the end of a shift. Plenty of haymakers were thrown by both and the bout seemed to light a fire for Syracuse, at least under Joe Motzko that is.
On the ensuing face-off, Motzko corralled a loose puck in the neutral zone and broke in on Roadrunner netminder Michael Morrison. With two Toronto players in chase, Motzko pulled the puck to his backhand and slipped a shot just under Morrison to give the Crunch a 1-0 lead.
The momentum that Syracuse gained from the Sugden bout and the Motzko marker did not carry over into the second period. Just 3:06 into the second, Toronto evened the score thanks to a give-away in the Crunch zone.
Forward Jani Rita hopped on the loose puck and found Brad Winchester just inside the left face-off circle. Winchester flipped a shot on net that found its way thru the five-hole of Karl Goehring to tie the game at one.
Later in the second the Crunch were able to regain their one-goal advantage thanks to back-to-back penalties whistled on the Roadrunners that resulted in a five on three Syracuse power play.
On the ensuing man-advantage, lady luck broke out the welcome wagon for one of the newest members of the Crunch, Espen Knutsen. Darrel Scoville's shot from the point deflected off a skate right on to the tape of Knutsen and the long-time Blue Jacket buried the gift into the open side.
Another Crunch give-away, this time with Syracuse holding a man-advantage, late in the second enabled Toronto to even the score heading into period number three. Nate DiCasmirro was the beneficiary of the Syracuse turnover as he broke in alone on the Crunch cage and easily beat Goehring for the short-handed tally with just 12 seconds remaining in the period.
After a scoreless third period, the two teams headed to overtime. In the extra session, Syracuse received a rare overtime power play when Tony Salmelainen was whistled for a high-stick on Syracuse defenseman Pauli Levokari. On that power play, Mark Hartigan, off a feed from Darrel Scoville, one-timed a shot past Morrison for the game-winner.
Karl Goehring registered 26 saves for Syracuse as he ups his record 4-5-2 on the season. Michael Morrison recorded 23 saves in taking the loss for Toronto.
Crunch Ice Pack:
Date:December 6, 2003
Where:War Memorial at Oncenter
Opponent:Toronto Roadrunners
Attendance:4,306
Boxscore:
First Period Scoring-1. Syracuse, Motzko 5 (unassisted), 16:46. Penalties-Winchester, Tor (roughing), 4:42; Traynor, Syr (roughing), 4:42; Hogan, Tor (hooking), 7:33; Grand-Pierre, Syr (tripping), 13:00; Thompson, Tor (major-fighting), 16:36; Sugden, Syr (major-fighting), 16:36; Grand-Pierre, Syr (holding), 18:55.
Second Period-Scoring-2. Toronto, Winchester 2 (Rita), 3:06. 3. Syracuse, Knutsen (Scoville), 15:38, (pp). 4. Toronto, DiCasmirro (unassisted), 19:48, (sh). Penalties-Traynor, Syr (charging), 3:51; Scoville, Syr (tripping), 5:36; Bishai, Tor (obs-hooking), 9:43; Thompson, Tor (cross-check), 13:58; Wright, Tor (holding), 14:23; Wright, Tor (cross-check), 19:34.
Third Period-Scoring-No Scoring. Penalties-Reich, Syr (boarding), 2:31; Moran, Syr (tripping), 7:31; Lynch, Tor (holding), 14:28; Hogan, Tor (slashing), 15:32; Scoville, Syr (slashing), 15:32.
Overtime:Scoring-5. Syracuse, Hartigan 6 (Scoville, Knutsen), 2:40, (pp). Penalties-Salmelainen, Tor (high-stick), 1:11. Shots on Goal-Toronto, 9-6-13-0--28 ; Syracuse, 6-11-7-2--26 .
Power Play Opps.-Toronto, 0-6 ; Syracuse, 2-7.
Goalies-Toronto, Morrison (4-4-1) 26 shots-23 saves; Syracuse, Goehring (4-5-2), 28 shots-26 saves.
Referee-Harry Dumas (44); Linesmen-Brian Lemon (25), Derek Sylvester (76).
Three Stars:
1. Mark Hartigan-The St. Cloud State product notched the game-winner in the extra session giving Syracuse that critical extra point in the standings.
2. Joe Motzko- The second St. Cloud product to gain a star on the evening. Motzko put the Crunch on the scoreboard with his first period tally.
3. Nate Dicasmirro- Notched the big goal late in the second period that was almost a back breaker for the Crunch.
Lineups:
Roadrunners:Goal:Michael Morrison, Chris Madden, Stephen Valiquette.Defense: Rocky Thompson, Dan Smith, Doug Lynch, Jan Horacek, Brent Henley, Mikko Luoma, Peter Hogan, Mathieu Roy. Forwards:Tony Salmelainen, Chad Hinz, Brad Winchester, Nate Dicasmirro, Peter Sarno, Jani Rita, Joe Cullen, Jamie Wright, JJ Hunter, Dan Tessier, Michael Henrich, Sean McAslan, Mike Bishai, Dave Roche.
Crunch:Goal:Pascal Leclaire, Karl Goehring.Defense: Darrel Scoville, Jamie Pushor, Zenith Komarniski, Paul Traynor, Pauli Levokari, Sean Connolly, Trent Cull. Forwards: Mark Hartigan, Ben Knopp, Joe Motzko, Donald MacLean, Jeremy Reich, Tim Jackman, Riley Cote, Brad Moran, Tyler Sloan, Brandon Sugden, Andrej Nedorost, Mike Pandolfo, Espen Knutsen, J.L. Grand-Pierre.
Pre-Game Skate:
The Crunch scratched left wing Riley Cote (healthy), left wing Andrej Nedorost (concussion- like symptoms), defenseman Sean Connolly (healthy), and defenseman Trent Cull (foot). Toronto sat out goaltender Chris Madden, defenseman Jan Horacek, center JJ Hunter, center Dan Tessier, right wing Michael Henrich and defenseman Mathieu Roy.
Temporary Guests?
After watching their roster get picked over like markdowns in a sales bin by the parent Blue Jackets, Syracuse received some good news on Friday when Columbus decided to dispatch Espen Knutsen and Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre to Syracuse. Fans in Syracuse may want to temper their enthusiasm regarding the two due to the fact that both players may only be temporary residents in the salt city.
For Grand-Pierre, he stated after the game that Columbus informed him that he would be in Syracuse for the weekend. Despite the fact that he only packed for a few days, Grand-Pierre, from experience, realizes that those few days could turn into much longer.
"It is something I am prepared for," stated Grand-Pierre. "They told me a weekend, but I have seen Bicanek and Heward go thru the same thing the last couple of years so I don't want to be too optimistic. I would rather expect the worst and make the best of it."
Knutsen's situation is quite different. It has been reported that a buyout was being negotiated. An offer was put on the table by the Jackets, but no agreement was reached. "They gave us an offer and we didn't take it," stated Knutsen. He also admitted that playing overseas was definitely an option, but for now is trying to remain optimistic.
"That is just part of the business and things like this can happen," said Knutsen. "I am just going to make the best out of it."
When inquiring with Head Coach Gary Agnew he stated that he received little information on the two from Columbus, but he did state that length of stay was not discussed.
"Quite frankly I really didn't talk to anybody other than (Blue Jacket Assistant GM) Jimmy Clark just saying that both guys are coming down and there was no time frame given to me."
Crunch One-Timers:
Prior to game the Crunch announced that they have released center Greg Koehler from his professional try-out contract. Koehler appeared in one game with Syracuse and did not record a point. Koehler is expected to return to Syracuse's UHL affiliate in Elmira……Espen Knutsen and Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre both made their 2003 Crunch debuts last evening. Knutsen, wearing number 9, played a good portion of the evening on a line with Mark Hartigan and Tim Jackman. He finished the night with one goal and one assist. Grand-Pierre wore number 32 and was paired on the blueline for most of the evening with Pauli Levokari.
Parent Pulse:
What an exciting couple of days it has been for the parent Blue Jackets. Despite splitting a pair of contests at home against Anaheim and Nashville, it was all smiles in Nationwide Arena and for good reason.
For starters, the Blue Jackets first selection from the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and the fourth selection overall, Nikolai Zherdev, finally made his NHL debut with Columbus. After months of what seemed to be fruitless negotiations, Zherdev seemed to have his fill of Russian red tape and embarked on a trip to North America.
He made his debut on Tuesday evening versus Anaheim and despite a brutal travel schedule flashed the talent that prompted the Jackets to tab him so high in the past Entry Draft. On Thursday, after catching up on some much needed shut-eye, he looked even better and had in my opinion a three-point night.
Officially he was only credited with one goal and an assist after having his first goal waved off with a very dubious call. Goal or not, Head Coach Doug MacLean's reaction after the disputed goal was just priceless. He flashed a sly smile, not only because it was a highlight-reel type goal, but also because the possibilities this young forward presents.
Also making a much less heralded debut was defenseman Aaron Johnson. Summoned to Columbus earlier in the week, Johnson looked far from out of place on the Jacket blueline.
On Tuesday, his NHL debut against the Mighty Ducks, Johnson took 12 shifts and saw 9:11 of ice time. Thursday evening versus the Nashville Predators Johnson upped his ice time to 11:57 on 18 shifts and also recorded his first NHL point when he assisted on Zherdev's tally in the third period.
On Deck:
Right after Saturday's game the Crunch pack their bags and head to Hershey for a late afternoon tussle with the hometown Bears. Hershey is one of the early season surprises in the AHL. They are currently tied for first in the East Division with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Those two teams squared off Saturday night at the Arena at Harbor Yard and true to form they tied at two. Game Time is set for 5:00 PM