by
Jeff Parzych
Pick a cliché, any cliché. It was a Jekyll and Hyde type performance for the Crunch. Or maybe it was a tale of two teams, if you prefer Dickens over Robert Louis Stevenson. Either way it all adds up to the same thing. Another disappointing one point earned for the Crunch as they surrender three unanswered third period goals and tie the Phantoms 4-4 on home ice Friday night.
After a scoreless first period, the Phantoms opened the scoring at the 7:37 mark of period number two. James Laux deflected a Peter Vandermeer shot over the shoulder of Crunch goaltender Pascal Leclaire for his second of the season and a 1-0 Philly lead.
Just over two minutes later, Syracuse answered the Phantom tally with a goal of their own. After some good sustained pressure on the Phantom cage, Kent McDonell hopped on a loose puck in the Philadelphia crease and easily poked the shot into the open net to tie the game at one.
From there it was all Crunch in the second period as they peppered the Philly net with 17 shots total in the period and scored two more goals, all of the hard-working variety.
Jeremy Reich struck first as he out muscled a Phantom defender for the rebound of a Brad Moran shot and flipped the puck top shelf for Syracuse's first lead of the night. Next it would be Ben Knopp taking his turn on the lunch pail brigade as he collected yet another Niittymaki rebound and slipped it past the prone netminder to make it a 3-1 game heading into the third period.
The Crunch wouldn't stop there. Just 2:58 into period number three, Trent Cull registered his first of the season on a blistering slap shot from along the advertising just inside the Phantom blue line giving the Crunch what seemed to be an insurmountable three-goal cushion.
That is when the wheels came off. Three unanswered goals by the Phantoms, the last by Peter White with just over two minutes left in regulation, pulled Philadelphia even and forced Syracuse into overtime for the fourth time in their last five games.
In that extra-session the Crunch hung on for dear life as they were out shot 7-1 by the Phantoms and were forced to settle for the 4-4 tie. Syracuse has now gained 2 of a possible 6 points on this extended home stand in December as they continue to plummet in the North Division standings.
Crunch Ice Pack:
Date:December 19, 2003
Where:War Memorial at Oncenter
Opponent:Philadelphia Phantoms
Attendance:3,961
Boxscore:
First PeriodScoring-No Scoring. Penalties-Sugden, Syr (interference), 5:37; Stock, Phi (unsportsmanlike), 13:24.
Second Period-Scoring-1. Philadelphia, Laux 2 (Seidenburg,Vandermeer), 7:37. 2. Syracuse, McDonell 3 (Knopp, Johnson), 9:40. 3. Syracuse, Reich 4 (Moran, Jackman), 17:02. 4. Syracuse, Knopp 3 (McDonell, Hartigan), 19:44. Penalties-Kane, Phi (high-stick), 10:58; Levokari, Syr (high-stick), 14:12;
Third Period-Scoring-5. Syracuse, Cull 1 (Reich, McDonell), 2:58; 6. Philadelphia, Deschenes 2 (Laux, Law), 4:56. 7. Philadelphia, Furey 2 (Law), 8:57. 8. Philadelphia, White 7 (Jones, Deschenes), 17:43. Penalties-MacNeil, Phi (hooking), 5:07; Seidenberg, Phi (tripping), 9:46; Kane, Phi (double-minor)(holding, unsportsmanlike), 11:36.
Overtime:-Scoring-No Scoring. Penalties-Law, Phi (minor-major-misconduct)(instigator-fighting), 5:00; Seidenburg, Phi (major-misconduct)(Fighting (secondary), 5:00; Johnson, Syr (major-misconduct)(fighting, (secondary), 5:00; MacLean, Syr (major-fighting), 5:00.
Shots on Goal-Philadelphia, 8-12-10-7--37; Syracuse, 6-17-14-1--38. Power Play Opps.-Philadelphia, 0-2; Syracuse, 0-6. Goalies-Philadelphia, Niittymaki (7-5-4), 38 shots-34 saves; Syracuse, Leclaire (7-6-1), 37 shots- 33 saves. Referee-Bob Langdon (37); Linesmen-Mike Baker (11), Jeff Walker (17).
Three Stars:
1. Kent McDonell: It was a great game for hard-working types like McDonell. He finished the night with a goal and two assists and was a +2.
2. Ben Knopp: Knopp was another hard-worker for Syracuse as he had a two point night and was a +3.
3. Peter White: What can you say about White. He continues to pile up the points in the AHL and recorded the game-tying goal for the Phantoms late in this one.
Lineups:
Phantoms:Goal:Neil Little, Antero Niittymaki, Chris Houle.Defense: Freddy Meyer, Kirk Furney, Randy Jones, Dennis Seidenberg, Joey Hope, James Laux, John Slaney, Wade Skolney. Forwards:Kirby Law, Mark Murphy, Mike Peluso, Peter Vandermeer, P.J. Stock, Nick Deschenes, Mike Siklenka, Ian MacNeil, Ben Stafford, Peter White, Boyd Kane, Craig Berube.
Crunch:Goal:Pascal Leclaire, Karl Goehring.Defense: Darrel Scoville, Aaron Johnson, Zenith Komarniski, Paul Traynor, Pauli Levokari, Trent Cull. Forwards: Mark Hartigan, Ben Knopp, Joe Motzko, Donald MacLean, Jeremy Reich, Tim Jackman, Kent McDonell, Brad Moran, Tyler Sloan, Brandon Sugden, Mike Pandolfo.
Pre-Game Skate:
Syracuse did not sit anyone out for this one. The Phantoms scratched goaltender Chris Houle, defenseman Joey Hope, right wing Mike Siklenka and defenseman John Slaney.
Taking Stock in One's Self:
His antics surprised no one. After all that is just what he is done since joining the ranks of professional hockey some seven seasons ago. Nevertheless, Phantom antagonist P.J. Stock endeared himself to no one in the War Memorial last night, on or off the ice.
For starters he went out and played his usually game, despite wearing a full face shield after suffering a broken orbital bone. It just doesn't seem right when a player goes out and pulls the stunts that he does with no fear of reprisal at all because of the shield. Maybe a tiger can't change his stripes (another cliché), but in that situation something has to give. No one is saying don't play physical or stop hitting, but if you can't back it up, you have to tone down the cheap stuff.
Also, his antics on the ice at the end of the overtime (playing to the crowd with the game puck) were totally classless and surely regrettable by Stock. He has been around way too long for displays like that.
Crunch One-Timers:
The Crunch's own Bob McElligott received "the call" this past week and will be handling the play by play duties on radio for the Blue Jackets Tuesday night when they face the Phoenix Coyotes. Bobby will be filling in for George Matthews, Columbus' regular play by play man. Fans can hear him via the web by visiting Bluejackets.com… …….Trent Cull, who returned last Friday after missing the previous 16 games, is a +1 and has recorded one assist in his first two games back. Prior to being injured Cull was held pointless and was a -2 in 7 games…..On Thursday the Jackets officially loaned Andrej Nedorost to Mettallurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian Elite League. Columbus will still retain Nedorost's NHL rights…..Despite all the talk David Ling remains in Columbus and skated last night against Calgary. He still is receiving limited ice-time, just 5:08 on Friday, and remains a candidate for demotion at some juncture. Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, recalled earlier in the week by Columbus, was scratched against the Flames.
On Deck:
The Crunch continue their almost December long home stand Saturday against the St. John's Maple Leafs. The baby Leafs visited Ricoh Coliseum last night and defeated Toronto 5-3. They are currently in second place in the North Division with 33 points. The puck drops at 7:30 PM.