by Jeff Parzych
Mark Hartigan learned rather quickly Saturday night that making history is not without its sacrifices. Moments after leading the Crunch to a 7-4 win over Albany by torching the Rats for four goals, Hartigan was approached and asked to surrender the stick he used to tie a franchise record for goals scored in a game.
Hartigan's ear-to-ear smile quickly disappeared pondering the prospects of giving up his lucky lumber. Fortunately for the St. Cloud product there was a slight misunderstanding and they only wanted the stick when it was no longer useful to the red hot center ice man. The smile quickly reappeared and Hartigan went about his business. That may not bode well for the Cleveland Barons, Syracuse's opponent on Sunday.
Hartigan kicked things off Saturday evening just past the midway point of period number one. He corralled a loose puck to the left of the Albany cage and patiently skated into the slot before unleashing a quick wrister to beat Scott Clemennsen for a 1-0 lead.
"I realized I had time because I felt everyone was going up the ice when it hit off the back of their guy," said Hartigan. "The puck was on edge so I just kind of faked it and when I brought it back to my backhand it went flat on me so I just shot it."
Early in the second period Hartigan again displayed the poise of a cagey veteran to notch number two on the evening. After picking up a loose puck off the stick of the newest member of the Crunch, Shawn Limpright, Hartigan patiently carried the puck in the zone before unleashing another good bingo.
"It was like a turnover at the blueline and Albany's players were all going the other way," stated Hartigan. "I wanted to freeze that d-man so he wouldn't block the shot and I was aiming low corner and it just went in."
Hartigan has been teamed the last two night's with the newcomer Limpright and also his old college teammate Joe Motzko. Together they have accounted for 12 points and are a combined +18 in the last two Syracuse contests, both wins.
Head Coach Gary Agnew was quick to praise the new combination and also the moxie displayed by Syracuse's freshest face. "I really like that combination," stated Agnew. "I also like the way the kid (Limpright) has played the last two games actually. He has got a little bit of bite to his game and some grit."
Hartigan was equally impressed with Limpright. "We are starting to play well as a line," said Hartigan. "Me and Motzko play well together and then Limper comes in and he playing great too and fits in well."
Two quick goals by Albany erased the Crunch's cushion and set the stage for Hartigan to record the first hat-trick for Syracuse since Matt Davidson's three-goal outing against Rochester back on February 5th of 2003.
"It was a nice breakout right off the draw it went back to Scoville and we went up the ice," stated Hartigan. "Then he hit Motzko coming across the blueline and I opened up on the far right side. A one timer just hit an open net."
The Rats kept fighting and a late goal in the second by Adrian Foster tied the game at three heading into period number three. That is when Syracuse's other hot hand put the Crunch in front for good.
Donald MacLean, himself on a personal five-game point streak, banged home the rebound of a Derrick Walser shot for his 9th of the season and a 4-3 Crunch advantage. MacLean's marker came seconds after a quick whistle form referee Wes McCauley denied Brad Moran from breaking the tie himself.
With Syracuse clinging to that one-goal lead, Hartigan and Motzko teamed up once more for the record-tying goal. A quick pass from the rookie found Hartigan breaking in and he fired a rather harmless shot that wound up touching twine.
"Motzko just gave me a pass over," claimed Hartigan. "I just tried to put it on net and it found a way."
Mike Pandolfo also scored late for Syracuse along with Joe Motzko, who notched an empty-net tally with just two seconds remaining in the contest. Pascal Leclaire went the distance for Syracuse, recording 19 saves on 23 shots as he snaps a personal six-game winless streak.
Crunch Ice Pack:
Date:January 3, 2004
Where:Onondaga War Memorial at Oncenter
Opponent:Albany River Rats
Attendance:6,071
Boxscore:
First Period-Scoring-1. Syracuse, Hartigan 9 (unassisted), 10:19. Penalties-Clouthier, Alb (fighting), 10:50; Sugden, Syr (fighting), 10:50; Pikkarainen, Alb (roughing), 13:00; Brown, Alb double minor, major, misconduct, game misconduct (instigating, unsportsmanlike, fighting), 15:32; Hanchuck, Alb (unsportsmanlike), 15:32; Cull, Syr (unsportsmanlike), 15:32; Limpright, Syr (roughing), 15:32.
Second Period-Scoring-2. Syracuse, Hartigan 10 (Limpright, Motzko), 3:46. 3. Albany, Suglobov 10 (Giroux, Foster), 4:22, (pp). 4. Albany, Giroux 6 (Hulbig, Balmochnykh), 8:16. 5. Syracuse, Hartigan 11 (Motzko, Scoville), 11:57. 6. Albany, Foster 3 (Bicek), 18:00. Penalties-Sloan, Syr (tripping), 4:03; Nittel, Alb (slashing), 11:45; Reich, Syr (slashing), 11:45; Uchevatov, Alb (tripping), 13:59.
Third Period:Scoring-7. Syracuse, MacLean 9 (Walser, Cull), 11:24. 8. Syracuse, Hartigan 12 (Motzko, Johnson), 12:18. 9. Syracuse, Pandolfo 5 (Walser, McDonell), 14:03. 10. Albany, Giroux 7 (Balmochnykh, Hulbig), 17:19, (pp). 11. Syracuse, Motzko 8 (unassisted), 19:58, (en). Penalties-Foster, Alb (high-stick), 3:24; Bench Minor, Syr (too many men, served by MacLean), 16:35.
Shots on Goal:Albany, 2-8-13--23; Syracuse, 9-9-13--31.
Power Play Opportunities:Albany, 2-2; Syracuse, 0-5.
Goalies-Albany, Clemmensen, (4-11-4) 30 shots-24 saves; Syracuse, Leclaire (7-7-1) 23 shots- 19 saves.
Referee-Wes McCauley (41); Linesmen- Peter Feola (33), Dan Murphy (21).
Three Stars:
1. Mark Hartigan: What more can you say about Hartigan. Four goals and he finishes the night a +6. Wow!
2. Joe Motzko: Another St. Cloud product. Motzko registered four points and was a +5.
3. Shawn Limpright: The Crunch's newest member is endearing himself to many in Syracuse. He records a point for the second straight night and his gusty play may keep him here longer than just the weekend.
Lineups:
Albany:Goal:Matus Kostur, Scott Clemmensen.Defense: Sean Brown, Matt Demarchi, Mike Matteucci, Victor Uchevatov, Alex Brooks, Krisjanis Redlihs, Tyler Hanchuk.Forwards:Adrian Foster, Jiri Bicek, Joe Hulbig, Ilkka Pikkarainen, Steve Kariya, Ahren Nittel, Chris Hartsburg, Ryan Murphy, Brett Clouthier, Aleksander Suglobov, Eric Johannson, Greg Crozier, Maxim Balmochnykh, Rob Skrlac.
Syracuse:Goal:Karl Goehring, Pascal Leclaire. Defense:Darrel Scoville, Jamie Pushor, Paul Traynor, Pauli Levokari, Aaron Johnson, Derrick Walser, Trent Cull. Forwards:Mark Hartigan,Ben Knopp, Joe Motzko, Don MacLean, Jeremy Reich, Kent McDonell, Shawn Limpright, Brad Moran, Tyler Sloan, Brandon Sugden, Mike Pandolfo.
Pre-game Skate:
Scratched for Syracuse was defenseman Pauli Levokari. It was the second straight game Levokari sat out for the Crunch. Albany did not dress defenseman Matt DeMarchi, left wing Steve Kariya, right wing Chris Hartsburg, defenseman Krisjanis Redlihs and left wing Rob Skrlac.
Crunch One-Timers:
Mark Hartigan's hat trick on Saturday was the 28th in the history of the franchise. Lonny Bohonos recorded 6 in his career with the Crunch and Brian Loney registered 3 to lead Syracuse's all-time list….Saturday's crowd of 6,071 was the largest for the Crunch this season. Thank-you Sponge Bob, Syracuse's guest of honor Saturday evening…..Former Crunch defenseman Dan Watson was recalled by the Cleveland Barons on Saturday from Columbus of the UHL and he may be in uniform Sunday when the Barons visit the War Memorial. Watson has appeared in 22 games with the Stars, recording 1 goal, 5 assists, and 12 penalty minutes…..Another former Crunch player was also in the news. Blake Bellefeuille was signed on Saturday to a P.T.O. by the Norfolk Admirals.
Another Miracle?
Maybe its not Lake Placid, but Team U.S.A. at this year's World Juniors is one game away from a miracle of their own. They advanced to the gold medal game on Monday by downing Finland 2-1 on Saturday. Blue Jacket Dan Fristche tallied the game-winner for the U.S. as they look to win gold for the first time in the history of the tournament.
They will play Team Canada in the finals after the Canadians downed Czechoslovakia 7-1 in the other semi-final match on Saturday. Game time is set for 11:30 A.M on Monday and it will be covered live on the NHL's Center Ice Package. Fans can also listen via the web at www.usahockey.com.
On Deck:
Syracuse concludes their three games in three night stretch with a late afternoon tilt versus the Cleveland Barons. The Barons downed the baby Leafs 5-1 on Saturday and currently stand in third place in the North Division with 38 points, three points ahead of the Crunch.