by
Jeff Parzych
Heading into the current campaign one of the biggest concerns facing the Syracuse Crunch was the state of the goaltending. Questions abounded as to whether or not the tandem of Pascal Leclaire and Karl Goehring were solid enough to carry the Crunch back into the postseason.
After 14 games those questions seem to have subsided. A 7-5-2 start along with some fantastic play from last year's whipping boy, Pascal Leclaire, will tend to do that.
That doesn't mean that the Crunch is without their problems. The latest may be the play of their blueline, a unit that may be one of the most talented in the AHL and good enough to carry this club deep into the postseason.
"With Rohloff, Scoville, Eriksson, Johnson, Levokari, and Komarniski that is a championship caliber blue line," stated Head Coach Gary Agnew. "That group right now is but it could change in three days and it won't be."
The telling number that tends to jump out at you when looking at Syracuse's defensive statistics is the number of shots allowed by the Crunch. Syracuse has been out shot in ten out of fourteen games this season, including their last six. Everything may have come to a head in the last two Crunch contests, both loses to Wilkes-Barre and Binghamton respectively.
On Saturday night at Wachovia Arena, Syracuse was out shot 43-17 by the baby Pens, including 19-5 in the final period. Fast forward now to Monday in Binghamton. Syracuse lead after one period of play 1-0 and then watched as the Senators proceeded to fire 22 shots on Karl Goehring in the second, a new Binghamton franchise record, and scored three times to blow the game wide open.
While those numbers do concern Agnew, he is also quick to point out that many times the defensive system that the Crunch play is conducive to being out shot.
"Essentially what we are trying to do is if we are going to give them shots they are from the outside, which our goalie will save," said Agnew. "The system is designed to give them maybe a little more time of possession, but not great scoring chances. No two on ones or three on twos and once you get in the zone try and keep everything outside."
Agnew also mentioned that as with any system execution is key and the Crunch haven't been doing that so well in the last few contests. One thing that's for sure is that winning is a great deodorant and if Syracuse remains near the top of the North Division standings all is well. If that doesn't occur what happens next remains to be seen.
The Crunch's AA affiliate, the Dayton Bombers, currently occupy the basement in the Northern Division of the Eastern Conference with a record of 3-4. That record may be a little deceptive since Dayton has won three of their last four after opening the season with three straight defeats.
The Bombers may have fell victim to some quirky scheduling by the ECHL. They are currently in a stretch where they play only once in twelve days and their seven games played is the fewest in the league to date. That lack of activity may have contributed to the 9-1 shellacking they received at the hands of the Wheeling Nailers this past Sunday. Dayton will try to right their ship in the upcoming weeks has they are scheduled for nine contests in the next fifteen days. The Bombers kick off that stretch with a home and home this weekend against Peoria.
Jason Deskins leads the Bombers in scoring with 7 goals, 1 assist in seven games. Blue Jacket goaltending prospect Andrew Penner seems to be in a battle for the number one job with Bujar Amidovski. Both players have appeared in 4 games for Dayton with Amidovski holding a small advantage in the stat department. Amidovski was also voted runner-up for the Itech Hockey ECHL saver of the Week for the week of Oct. 27-Nov. 2, which is quite an accomplishment in a league the size of the ECHL.
In Elmira, the Crunch's UHL affiliate, the Jackets other goaltending prospect, Shane Bendera, seems to be up to his old tricks again. The former Red Deer Rebel struggled mightily in his only start of the season and he now finds himself on the suspended list with the Jackals.
In his only start of the season so far, back on the Halloween night, Bendera was yanked after surrendering four goals on twenty shots in two periods. Two days later Bendera was a no-show for a scheduled workout.
That prompted extended conversations between Elmira Head Coach Todd Brost and the Jacket brain-trust, most noticeably Assistant Jim Clark, since Bendera is Columbus property. "I spoke with Jim Clark right before he left for Europe and he told me to do what I would do with any of my players," stated Brost. Bendera was placed on suspension on 11/5 and is actually eligible to come off at any time, but Brost is still waiting to hear from Clark again before deciding Bendera's fate.
This isn't the first time the former sixth-round selection in 2000 has faced disciplinary action. Last year he was sent home by the Jackets from the Dayton Bombers for conduct detrimental to the team and to supposedly contemplate his future. Looks like this young netminder will have more time to do just that.
Another player that might be of interest to Crunch fans is forward J.F. Boutin. The speedy Boutin has been hampered by that nagging sports hernia type injury that plagued so many Crunch players last season. He has appeared in only two games this year with the Jackals and has yet to register a point.
"He hurt it in camp," said Head Coach Todd Brost. "He played in two games and was 60-70% of what he can be when healthy." Brost also stated that they are being cautious with the talented Boutin. "If this were the playoffs he could probably go, but with it being so early we decided to take it easy.
Boutin currently is on the 21 day injured -reserve. and may return to the Jackal lineup next weekend.