Game 2-Syracuse Crunch (1-0-0) vs. Toronto Marlies (0-1-0). 7:30 P.M. Wednesday, October 12, 2005. Ricoh Coliseum.
The Crunch hit the road for the first time this season as they open the North Division portion of the schedule in a game versus the Toronto Marlies. It will be the home opener for the Marlies, who lost 8-5 to the Rochester Americans in their first game of the season.
It is the inaugural season for the Marlies, who take over as the primary affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs from the now defunct St. John’s Maple Leafs. Behind the bench for Toronto is Paul Maurice. The former Hartford Whaler and Carolina Hurricanes head man has coached over 700 games in the NHL, taking the Hurricanes to the finals in 2001-02.
Players to Watch:
Offensively the Marlies are going to need some fresh faces to step after losing their top six scorers from last season. Gone are David Ling, Harold Druken, Nathan Barrett along with late season addition Joel Kwiatkowski. Two other key ingredients are also missing in Matt Stajan and Kyle Wellwood. Stajan made the big club out of camp and Wellwood was recently recalled to replace the injured Mats Sundin.
Rookie forward Colin Murphy will try and fill the void left by the multiple departures. Murphy, a rookie out of Michigan Tech, joined the Leafs at the conclusion of last season and recorded 8 points in 12 games to close out the regular season and added four more points in the post season.
Toronto also recently added veteran forward Bates Battaglia. The 30 year-old Battaglia has appeared in 485 NHL contests, registering 68 goals and 99 assists. Last season Battaglia played 25 games for the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL where he recorded 6 goals and 11 assists.
Toronto also brought in center John Pohl, who they acquired in a trade from the St. Louis Blues. Pohl is looking to rebound after missing most of last season with an injury. Prior to that Pohl recorded 99 points (42g, 57a) in 123 games with the Worchester Ice Cats.
Defensively the Marlies return prized prospect Carlo Colaiacovo. Toronto’s first round selection in 2001, Colaiacovo is on the verge of sticking with the big club and has already appeared in one game this season with the Leafs.
Toronto also signed former Minnesota Wild captain, Brad Brown, who has appeared in over 300 NHL games. He will join returning blueliners Ian White (4g, 22a), Brendan Bell (6g, 25a) and veteran Marc Moro (2g, 6a).
Sharing the goaltending duties will be Jean-Francois Racine along with former Crunch netminder Jean-Sebastien Aubin. Racine split last season between St. John’s and Memphis of the CHL while Aubin went 12-9 in 23 games with the Baby Leafs.
The Fight Card:
The Marlies were accessed five majors in their first game of the season versus Rochester with Kris Newbury, Brett Engelhardt, Ben Ondrus, Brendan Bell and Mike Hoffman all dropping them in a rough and tumble third period against the Amerks.
The 6’4”, 240 Hoffman is the top cop for Toronto. He played last season with the Cleveland Barons and was the person that Crunch enforcer Brandon Sugden injured his thumb against in a bout at Nationwide Arena.
Unfortunately Hoffman won’t be in the lineup on Wednesday after receiving a one-game suspension for receiving an instigator penalty in the last five minutes of their opener against Rochester. Hoffman received the penalty at the 19:47 mark of the third in a bout against the Amerks Dan Focht.
Crunch One-Timers:
The Crunch announced on Tuesday that Columbus has reassigned defenseman Andy Delmore to Syracuse. Not known for his defensive abilities, Delmore may cause Crunch assistant coach Ross Yates a few sleepless nights due to his lack of proficiency on that half of the ice. That being said his prowess on the power play may be exactly what the Crunch have been searching for dating back to last season…………..The Crunch’s 0-15 start with the man advantage is painfully reminiscent of last season when the Crunch went a dismal 2-34 in their first five games…………The October 11th edition of the USA Today ran a story detailing Al’s race for the office of Syracuse mayor. The story, which appeared on page 3C, has the headline of You go, Gorilla: Mascot on thin ice in mayoral race…………Ricoh Coliseum, home of the Marlies, was constructed in 1922 and it is the oldest active pro hockey arena in North America.