Maybe the sky is not falling after all.
Heading into this past week doom and gloom surrounded the Syracuse Crunch. Losing eight of nine games tends to do that. Losing also tends to draw the ire of fans that follow the club and over the last few weeks almost no one has been spared when it came to pointing the finger of blame.
Headman Gary Agnew's ears surely have been burning of late and let's not forget about Blue Jacket Assistant GM Jimmy Clark. Rumor has it that Oncenter security may have been beefed up during his last visit just has a precautionary measure.
But all may not be lost after all. Don't look now but the Crunch have won three of their last four and the flat line that once stood for Syracuse's chances this season has been replaced by a faint beep.
Some however may not be sold just yet. For those still straddling the fence we give you this: ten reasons (in no particular order) to keep the faith.
Far too often, even in the most dysfunctional dressing room, compliments involving team chemistry are tossed around more than chuck-a-pucks during intermissions. With this club, however, it really rings true. Not only does this team genuinely get along, but they are also loaded with character guys. That was never more evident than in this last four game stretch.
On Wednesday they found themselves trailing heading into the third period against the Albany River Rats. It was the eighth time this season the Crunch has been in this same predicament and each time they came out on the losing end.
Not this time. Ten seconds into the third period Alexander Svitov pounded home the rebound of a Greg Mauldin offering and the Crunch were on their way to a shootout victory over the Rats.
"You really have to give it to our team for displaying a lot of character," stated winning goaltender Karl Goehring. "We really fought hard and battled back and fortunately we came out with two points."
Momentum seemed to be on Syracuse's side come Friday against Wilkes-Barre. Two quick goals in the first staked the Crunch to an early lead, but Syracuse surrendered three unanswered in the third and fell to the Pens by one.
Lesser teams may have not rebounded from this, especially on the road in a hostile environment, but not this one. The Crunch walked away from Albany on Saturday with another two points and then did what no team has been able to do since way back on October 22nd; they beat the Philadelphia Phantoms.
"I think this really shows a lot (about our team)," said Tim Jackman from a victorious Crunch locker room on Sunday. "I think we are really starting to find our groove and we are starting to play the way we know we all can play."
Sheer odds dictated that the Crunch's power play would have to come around at some point. That became harder and harder to envision when just over a few weeks back Syracuse was still converting less than 7% of the time with the man advantage.
Since that time things have started to click for the Crunch. They have converted at least once with the extra attacker in five of the last seven contests and on Saturday at Albany they had their first multiple power play goal game since way back on the 3rd of November, a span of 10 games.
Coinciding with the emergence of the power play has been a return to the lineup by two critical cogs in Syracuse's arsenal. Mark Hartigan returned to the lineup after missing three games with a bad back and rookie Greg Mauldin also made his way back after missing six straight games due to a shoulder injury.
The first few weeks of the 2004 season were not very kind to promising defensive prospect Aaron Johnson. After recording a helper opening night, Johnson went six straight games before recording another point and even spent one game watching from the stand in street clothes.
Johnson rebounded with points in back-to-back games in Edmonton, but he followed that up with another six game pointless drought before missing Syracuse's home game against Houston with a shoulder injury suffered the night before versus Hamilton.
Johnson returned last Wednesday against Albany looking like the Johnson of old. Two points in his last four games, including the game-winner to derail Philly's streak on Sunday, were sure signs that he may have turned the corner.
Further evidence includes the growing number of gray hairs on the head of Crunch coach Gary Agnew. Quite often Johnson's forays into the offensive zone send Agnew in search of the closest bottle of Maalox and Sunday was no exception. Prior to notching the eventual game-winner on Sunday, Johnson had Agnew's stomach turning by quite possibly pinching in to the offensive zone too much against the Phantoms.
"I guess the boys were saying on the bench that Gary was getting pretty mad at me that I was going down low," stated Johnson. "But after I scored he didn't say too much."
For Johnson jumping into the play is all he knows and despite the risks involved changing now isn't really an option.
"Some times it goes your way and sometimes it doesn't, but that has always been my style," claimed Johnson. "To jump into the openings and try to create offensive plays."
Heading into 2004 the rookie out of UMass flew under the radar somewhat after a less than auspicious debut last season with both the Crunch and the parent Blue Jackets. Even as the team broke camp this preseason questions remained as to whether Mauldin should look for housing in Syracuse or maybe the greater Dayton area.
That sure seems like a longtime ago. Mauldin has emerged as maybe the biggest surprise for the Crunch this season along with becoming a critical component in Syracuse's arsenal. With another point on Sunday, Mauldin now has seven points (2g, 5a) in 12 games along with being a team leading +7. If that isn't enough the team is now 6-0 when Mauldin records a point.
Having such early success seems lost on the affable Mauldin who is as engaging off the ice as he is on it.
"I just wanted to come up here and I thought I would be a fourth line player and work from there," stated Mauldin. "I tend to have a little bit more confidence in myself when the coaches have confidence in me so I just kept working hard and they have given me the chances."
Reason 5: NHL Talks Heating Up
Ever since last week's article in the Philadelphia Daily News came out, rumors continue to swirl regarding possible talks resuming between the owners and the players. Time is running short and any news regarding talks or new proposals has to be considered promising.
The reason this is good news, besides having the NHL back in action, is that if and when play resumes on the big stage, Syracuse's talent base should improve in relation to other clubs in the league out of sheer attrition. That is attrition to the other clubs, not the Crunch. While teams like Rochester, Binghamton, Houston and a host of others stand to lose multiple players to the NHL should play resume, the Crunch stand to lose very few.
Right now if play were to begin the next few weeks the most critical component Syracuse may possibly lose would be goaltender Pascal Leclaire. Not only has Leclaire preformed well enough to warrant the opportunity, current back-up in Columbus Arturs Irbe is once again rehabbing after a second operation on his knee last month.
You may also see a defenseman get a look, possibly Aaron Johnson or Francois Beauchemin and maybe even one surprise player, Brandon Sugden. The Columbus brass would love to add some more toughness to their lineup and a one-two punch of Sugden and Shelley would definitely open up some ice for the likes of Rick Nash and Nikolai Zherdev.
That being said the Crunch still come out ahead when you consider a situation like that of the Rochester Americans or the Binghamton Senators, who stand to lose up to five or six players if play resumes at the NHL level.
Reason 6: Emergence of Tim Jackman
When searching for answers to Syracuse's slow start this season; many fans lamented the fact that the Crunch just didn't have the talent base to match up with many clubs in this new and improved American Hockey League. While that may hold some truth, what fans neglected to see was the fact that many of the players that were here were just plain underachieving.
Take Tim Jackman for example. At the start of the season, after his impressive 23-goal sophomore campaign, Jackman's name was being thrown about as one player who may have made the big club. 16 games and only two goals later Jackman found himself in street clothes watching the Houston game last Saturday from the stands.
"I really didn't know what to do when I was scratched," said Jackman. "I was pretty disappointed and I am happy to be back in the lineup to try and get some wins."
Some may argue that Jackman's game was starting to come around even before receiving the subtle message that he needed to pick his game up. Just one night earlier the second year power forward had one of his better games of the season against the Hamilton Bulldogs when he recorded an assist and finished the evening a +3. Either way Jackman accepted his medicine and tried to use it as motivation.
"They just sat me down and had a talk with me and said they want me to play harder and better," claimed Jackman. "I am starting to feel better and hopefully I can stick in the lineup and contribute every night."
So far that is exactly what he has done. In the four games since that night Jackman has recorded one goal and one assist and he is back playing that physical brand of hockey that brought him so much success last season.
Hartigan was another member of the Crunch who was slow out of the gates to start the season. After only two goals in his first 12 games, Hartigan found himself in the trainer's room suffering from a bad back. He chose to forgo any surgical solution to his aching back, instead opting for rehab and rest.
Amazingly Hartigan returned to the Crunch lineup after missing only three contests and he hasn't looked back since. Despite being a little stiff and somewhat rusty, Hartigan tallied twice in his first game back. Since then he added another multiple goal night along with points in three of his last five outings.
In a lineup short on pure scorers Hartigan is one of the few members of Syracuse's forward unit who may be irreplaceable and having a healthy Hartigan is key to any future success the Crunch may have.
Oh what a difference a year makes. For the last two seasons in Syracuse former first round draft pick Pascal Leclaire has taken his share of lumps, on and off the ice. In goal Leclaire has battled inconsistency and that in turn made him a marked man for the throngs of fans that follow the club.
So far this season it has been quite a different story, at least on the ice. Fans have warmed to the Quebec native, but that pales in comparison to his improvement on the ice. For the first time as a professional Leclaire goals against average is well under three and on most evenings he is the best player on the ice for the Crunch.
Blue Jacket goaltending coach Rick Wamsley just chuckles when queried about Leclaire finally reaching his potential in his third season as a professional.
"What is amazing is he is only 22," said Wamsley, now breaking into a full belly laugh. "So when you start using words like finally and he is only 22 playing a tough position in a good league that's something."
Sugden's story is all about optimism. A number of parties exhibited a boatload of optimism when they decided a little over a year ago to give Sugden a second chance and look where it has taken them. In just over one season Syracuse's top cop is on the verge of going from purgatory to the penthouse and he is leaving a trail of weak-kneed enforcers in his wake.
The fact that Sugden has fared well with his fists is really no surprise. He's big, strong and fearless and also possesses a knowledge of the sweet science second to none in all of hockey. Where Sugden has surprised is how his overall game has evolved since signing on the dotted line with the Crunch.
Make no mistake about it Sugden's progress has not gone unnoticed by the people in power with Columbus and he will receive his shot at some point and time in the near future. Until then don't miss this chance to catch his act while you still can. Then in a few years when you turn on the tube and you see him dancing with the likes of Scott Parker or Peter Worrell you'll smile and say "remember when.....".
Teams experience ups and downs. Game to game, even season to season. That is given. True fans are aware of that and they remain fans, for better or worse.
This doesn't mean they aren't disappointed at times, confused or even confounded by events that unfold. That is all part of the package, but through thick and thin their loyalty is never compromised.
One of the greatest moments in Crunch history occurred just minutes after what was quite possibly the scene of their biggest disappointment. Syracuse had just lost game seven to the Chicago Wolves in the Western Conference Semifinals, ending perhaps the greatest run in franchise history.
Amazingly after watching the players exchange the obligatory handshakes that accompany the conclusion of every playoff series, a majority of the fans in attendance remained in their seats, seizing the opportunity to serenade the heroes just one more time.
Little did they know it was their to turn to be thanked and before heading off to a deathly silent dressing room, Crunch players congregated at center red tapping their sticks on the ice. It was their way of say thanks, for filling the barn and fueling them when they thought they had nothing left to give.
Aspiring for another scene like that should be enough to drive any fan and make it oh so easy to keep the faith.