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The AHL's version of the winter classic will be played later this afternoon, at 1:00pm ET. This is significant for Jacket fans because the event is being hosted by their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. The Crunch will take on state rival the Binghamton Senators.

This is the AHL's first attempt at an outdoor game, and the excitement that is surrounding this game can be summed up by this quote from Senator Charles Shumer:

"This first ever outdoor AHL hockey game – which I hope will become an annual tradition – will bring the eyes of the sports world to Syracuse," said Senator Charles E. Schumer. "It has the potential to bring in serious tourism revenue for Syracuse and be a financial shot in the arms in difficult times. I look forward to seeing the puck being dropped and watching the Crunch and the Senators battle it out on our fairgrounds. This will be a boon to hockey fans from Syracuse to Binghamton and beyond!"

The game will be broadcast on The NHL Network. This will be a great opportunity for fans of the Blue Jackets to catch a glimpse of the players that are in the development system. There are without a doubt a handful of future Blue Jackets on the Crunch roster.

Go Crunch!

Sorry that it has been a couple weeks since my last report but things got a little crazy leading up to and through the holidays, but I will update the last five games the Crunch have played.

I would like to start off with the signing of Jared Aulin to an AHL only deal. This is long overdue and I will not argue with the move much except it should have been a two way but I won't complain because he did get signed after all.

The Crunch visited the Houston Aeros on Monday December 28th. Brent Regner opened up the scoring on the power play with his 3rd from MacKenzie and Clitsome. Houston tied it up shortly after but Brendan Bell tallied his 5th from Aulin and Clitsome. The Aeros scored the next two, but Bell scored again from MacKenzie and Regner. Newly found sniper in the Pelletier trade Tomas Kana notched his 4th from Clitsome and Sigalet, But the boys could not hold the lead and went to OT tied at 4. Houston won it 52 seconds into OT but the Crunch put on a good show and got a valuable point.

Tuesday they saw action in Texas against the Stars and this became the Jared Aulin show. Jared scored his 7th from Kana and Battaglia and seconds later his 8th unassisted. The Stars tied it up in the second when Kana (5th) from Battaglia and MacKenzie put the Crunch up again but for the second game in two nights went to OT again. This time the Crunch were able to make it to the shoot out where Jared Aulin and Brendan Bell potted goals to give the Crunch the win.

Wednesday was a visit to the San Antonio Rampage where we took an early lead from MacKenzie with his 5th from Battaglia. Mike Radja scored his first from Ferguson and Frischmon. The Rampage scored the next three to send the Crunch home with a 1-1-1 road trip.

The new year started with a bang as the Crunch hosted Albany on January 2nd and this was a very fun game plus it featured the return of Mike Blunden. Kana open the scoring with his 6th from Battaglia and Mackenzie and Radja scored his second from Sigalet and Frischmon. The Rats tied it up in the first with two of their own but then Blunden took over.Clitsome recorded his 2nd from Blunden and Kana and less than a minute later Radja (3rd) from SIgalet and Smotherman to re take the lead. Albany got one more but Blunden scored his 1st unassisted and then his 2nd (empty net) from Kana and Aulin.

Sunday was a visit to the Hartford Wolf Pack and Jared Aulin's scoring continued with his 9th from Fritsche but the Pack tied it in the third to send it to OT and then the shoot out. This time the Crunch could not get a goal to get that second point.

All in all the Crunch has started playing much better but lets hope it is not too late as mid season is upon us and we still sit in last place in the division. They did gain some ground during this stretch but with the play over the last five games and against the competition they faced this was a very good sign.

The lines from this stretch were as follows,

Battaglia  MacKenzie  Fritsche/Kana
PIcard/Blunden  Aulin  Fritsche/Kana
Smotherman  Frischmon  Radja
Mirasty  Kronschnabel  Feguson/Harvey

Bell  Clitsome
Holden  Sigalet
Reese/Regner  Liffiton

Lalande
LaCosta

Lalande has seemed to claim the #1 spot but LaCosta in his last couple games has played very well to keep the competition in goal going strong.

The who's hot is very simple this time

Tomas Kana   6 goals 3 assists +4 in 12 games
Jared Aulin     3 goals 2 assists and a shoot out goal in his last 5 games.
Mike Radja    3 goals 2 assist in five games.
Grant Clitsome   1 goal and 3 assists in 5 games

The players who have not been hot have been Fritsche and Battaglia. They haven't been bad, just not as good as I have come to expect. Smotherman continues to disappoint and Mayorov has been out with an minor injury but made his return against Hartford.

My overall summary is that the Crunch are moving in the right direction with recent signings and the call ups and send downs. Even with Roy, Picard and MacKenzie in Columbus right now the current roster can make a potential run at the playoffs.

I will be writing a post on the affiliation between Syracuse and Columbus this weekend and also I will take a look at the moves made to make the Crunch a better team. Should be a fun couple weeks here in snowy Syracuse leading up to the outdoor game. There is a good chance the outdoor game will be on TV as it takes place during the Olympic break The NHL network is very interested from what I hear. It will be on Time Warner sports in Syracuse so maybe a feed will be available as well through the internet.

Friday the Crunch welcomed back Stefan Legein and the Adirondack Phantoms for the first time since the trade. The first goal was a 190 foot shot from Grant Clitsome that somehow went in. It was the only tally of the first period even though the Crunch had 22 shots on net.

In the second period Kevin Harvey got his fourth from Ferguson and Liffiton. Picard knocked in his ninth of the year from Smotherman. Newly Aquired Tomas Kana scored a very nice goal from the right circle with a nice wrist shot to make it 4-0.

Then came the Legein of Doom as he scored the next two goals. I have stated before that Columbus made a very bad decision as Michael Ratchuk is not nearly worth what Legein is and will become. Very bad trade as Ratchuck has played in 8 games and has nothing but a -9 rating and Legein has 11 goals in 20 games for the Phantoms.

Dan Fritsche scored an empty net goal from Battaglia to seal the 5-2 win and a truly dominant game. Dan LaCosta started the night in net but had to leave after suffering back spasms. He should be ready to go this weekend.

Saturday the Crunch traveled to Binghamton and to say that all hell broke loose might be an understatement. The Sens took an early 1-0 lead but Jared Aulin evened it up in the first from Picard and Smotherman.

In the second down 2-1 Battes Battaglia scored a short handed goal from Holden but the Crunch gave up the next two goals. This is where the fireworks started. Down 3-2 It looked like Aulin tied it up but the referee waived it off as he was out of position and never once went to talk with the goal judge. This obviously bothered the Crunch as moments later they gave up another goal with only seconds left.

As both teams were leaving the ice Kevin Lalande slashed Drew Bannister. Then Lalande received a two game suspension for flipping off the Binghamton crowd. Minor scrums broke out everywhere and there were many ejections as well. There are other clips on youtube if interested.


Tuesday the Crunch traveled to Rochester and had call-up goal tender Dan Taylor in net. It was also the first game for Derek MacKenzie since being sent down from Columbus. I was not able to watch or listen to the game but the Americans continued their mastery of the Crunch by winning 5-3.

Syracuse outshot Rochester 42-31 but could only get goals from Regner, Reese, and Liffiton. The strange thing about that is all three are defensemen.

Jared Aulin and Alex Picard were the hot hands this week. Smotherman is a huge disappointment thus far as he does not use his weight or size at all. This guy could dominate but he just goes through the motions.

There was a meeting between Crunch owner Howard Dolgan, Jackets President Mike Priest and the rest of the Blue Jackets upper management about the affiliate contract. This was all but a done deal last month but since the Crunch have struggled so much Howard has put off signing it until he gets a commitment from Columbus to help the Crunch out.

This is just my opinion but this may be a coaching issue more than a player issue here. There is an abundance of talent here but for some reason they just can not win games. This team is 8-3-1-1 at home but on the road are 2-12-1-1. This is crazy to be this much better at home then away and to me has to be coaching. The last 4 years as well this team has started out so bad that it has to do everything in it's power just to make a playoff push after being bottom feeders. If they do make the playoffs they have nothing left in the tank.

I have been a supporter of coach Ross Yates but year after year it is the same story as the players have changed but the results have not. Maybe it's time for Tyler Wright to step in and get his feet wet as a head coach.

As most have heard on February 20th the Syracuse Crunch will hold the first ever outdoor game at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse NY against the Binghamton Senators. Crunch owner Howard Dolgan has invested over $500,000 to put this on and has seen great response from local businesses in terms of sponsorships. Some of the main sponsors are Mirabito Energy Products, Time Warner Cable, Toyota, Labatte Blue, Dunkin Donuts, Coca Cola, Renaissance Syracuse Hotel, and Wynit along with other smaller companies.

The total cost of the event is in the area of $750,000 to $900,000 but New York State is letting the Crunch use the fairgrounds for free. If not for that this the game most likely would not happen. Tickets are going for $40 and $30 a piece with estimates being around 25,000 seats available.

Season ticket holders have free admission by having tickets already but had to reserve their seats and also had the option for 20 more extra tickets. My group purchased an additional 18 seats and some of my friends who are season ticket holders have also purchased any where from 2 to 20 extra seats. The last I heard sales were close to 10,000 seats sold but not sure if that includes the season ticket holders or not. If so there will be limited number of tickets left.

Binghamton fans have also been buying them up as they are only 90 minutes down the highway from Syracuse. I have sat with many fans from the Senators and could not be happier that they are the opponent. The two teams have played 6 games so far this season and have split those so far. This should make for a competitive game and with the rivalry growing game by game should feature great fights, hitting, along with hopefully a close game.

In addition to the game the Crunch will be bringing in past and present hockey players with roots from New York. A quick list I could come up with is as follows:
Dustin Brown (Ithaca), Ryan Callahan (Rochester), Eric Cole (Oswego), Tim Connolly (Syracuse), Craig Conroy (Potsdam), Brian Gionta (Rochester), Chris Higgins (Smithtown), Patrick Kane (Buffalo), Mike Komisarek (West Islip), Rob Schremp (Syracuse), Rob Scuderi (Syosset), Tom Sestito (Rome) , Tim Sestito (Rome),Lee Stempniak (West Seneca),  and Zack Bogosian (Massena). Also could include hall of famers from the Rangers, Islanders, and Sabres.

This game will not be a money maker for the Crunch as they will be lucky to break even but there has been talk of not only being on TV locally (Time Warner Sports) But ESPN, VS, and even the NHL Network has been rumored. Nothing but Time Warner right now is a definite but look for a major network to take the chance.

The one downfall for this game is the date. For someone not familiar with Central New York weather we live due east of Lake Ontario and it is a major influence on the local weather. Lake effect snow is something most do not know about but when cold air passes over the warm waters produces one of the most intense winter weather conditions on the planet. Syracuse averages over 120 inches of snow per season but just 25 minutes north can get over 400 inches of snow. Redfield NY is the snowiest place in the United States east of the Rockies and is less than a hour drive from Syracuse. Syracuse has had almost 200 inches of snow some years so this could make for an interesting event.

Sunday the 21st of February is a make up date if the weather will not allow the game to be played. Fingers are being crossed and this week the Texas company that will be installing the rink are in town to evaluate the site and level it off. The actual rink will be brought here as well to be stored until 10 days before the event. The Grandstand does have a roof but there will be additional seating that will be exposed to the elements if there is snow or freezing rain. One good thing is the average temperature for that time of year is around 30 Degrees Fahrenheit as the temperature can drop to -10 or -20 Degrees Fahrenheit.

If anyone is interested don't wait get your tickets now as this should be a blast one way or the other and if you like snow just come to see the scenery in upstate NY in the middle of the winter. The number to contact the Crunch for tickets is (315) 473-4444.

The Crunch only had two games this weekend with a home and home against the Binghamton Senators. Friday I was out of town so did not get to watch or listen to the game in Binghamton but with a 5-0 drubbing it did not seam like I missed much.

Kevin Harvey elbowed Paul Baier and has once again been suspended by the AHL. This time for only two games and served his first game Saturday. On a side note Jon Mirasty and Jeremy Yablonski faught and these two are a joy to watch. Here is Fridays fight:

Saturday the game started very defensive for both teams and not much action except the Mirasty - Yablonski fight where the two squared off on the opening face off. Yablonski did not return to the game. Here is the clip for Saturday:

Dan Fritsche started the scoring with helpers from Pelletier and Liffiton. After the goal Dan pointed to Lalande as to say that was for you and skated down and said something and tapped him on his pads. Not sure what it was all about but the Crunch seemed to be trying hard to get the win for Lalande. The Senators tied it up eight minutes later but Nick Holden got the lead back 1:48 later. Clitsome and Fritsche assisted on Holdens second of the season.

Jared Aulin', who was playing in his final game of his 25-game PTO scored the third goal from Picard and Clitsome. Picard was a game time decision as it was not sure if his plane would arrive in time after being sent back from Columbus. He did not skate in the pre game warm up. Bingo had a goal in the final two minutes with their goalie pulled for the extra skater but the Crunch held on for the 3-2 win.

News and Notes:
Tom Sestito will miss the next 2 to 3 months with hip surgery. This is his third season with a serious injury. His health is becoming a concern in my opinion as he needs to play a lot of minutes to get better and with these season-ending and 2 or so months out at a time injuries he is just not learning what he needs to make the next step.

Jared Aulin was resigned to another PTO contract for the Crunch. Not sure why he was not signed to at a minimum AHL-only deal as he has been a nice addition but there must be reasons. Not sure if it is for another 25 games or not as details were not released.

Bryan Lundbohm was released from his PTO but the Crunch signed former first round selection Daniel Tkaczuk to a PTO. Tkaczuk has been playing in Europe for the last 6 years but started this season in the ECHL for the Charlotte Checkers where he had 6 goals and 12 assists in 12 games. Looks like a Sestito replacement and is also another centerman.

Clitsome had a real nice game along with Holden on Saturday. The defense as a whole played really well with David Liffiton starting to get a lot better. He is becoming that shut-down physical type which this team sorely needs.

McBride was traded to to Peoria for future considerations and MIke has stated that Pelletier was traded for Bell and Kana.

Lines for Saturday were:

Battaglia  Fritsche  Pelletier
Mayorov  Aulin  Picard
Ferguson  Frischmon  Smotherman
Miller  McBride  Mirasty

Holden  Clitsome
Sigalet  Regner
Liffiton  Reese

Lalande

The Jackets big offseason pickup for the Crunch this past summer-Pascal Pelletier- was traded to the St. Louis Blues today for defenseman Brendan Bell and prospect Tomas Kana. Things just weren't working out for Pelletier in Syracuse, and the Crunch defense needed an upgrade. Bell played over fifty games in the NHL last year with Ottawa, and will be another callup-worthy blueliner for Columbus. Kana is a prospect that I liked back in 2006, a guy I was following. I'm not sure why he hasn't been putting up major points in North America thus far, but I am excited to see what he can do in a fresh organization like Columbus. Without knowing the actual numbers, I'd say we have to be at or near the top of the league in terms of Czech players.

I like this move a lot for both the Crunch and the Jackets. Bell is a more offensive-minded defenseman, so in the case of injury, depending on who on the Columbus blueline gets hurt, Mathieu Roy won't be the default option. If they need points, call up Bell. Grit- call up Roy. Kana is intriguiing because he is a fairly recent second round pick who may just be a late-bloomer.

Good trade.

The Syracuse Crunch played 4 games in 5 days which I, along with many other fans hate but this happens a lot in the AHL. The good thing is they pulled out 2 wins in this stretch and also had back to back wins and their first road win.

This iron man week started off in Albany on Wednesday where things were bleak even before the game as they were going to be without Mathieu Roy and Grant Clitsome due to injuries. With the depleted defense the Crunch fell behind 2-0 early in the first but newly aquired Bates Battaglia netted his first of the season with helpers from Pelletier and Regner.

In the second Albany made it 3-1 but Mayorov gets his 4th of the season with the setup from Picard. The Rats answered back less than five minutes later and that was the end of the scoring for a final of 4-2. Lalande was in net and had a decent game but with an inexperienced defense in front of him it could have been a lot worse.

Friday saw the Houston Aeros come to town and the return of Tom Sestito from Columbus. It also saw the recall of Alexandre Picard to the Jackets. The first period was very sloppy by both teams and the Aeros struck first but Tom Sestito punched in his 6th of the season with the assists from Holden and Roy. Jordan Smotherman netted his second of the season from Frischmon and Liffiton. Smotherman has started to look better in the last few games after a very slow start to the season.

Houston scored the next 2 goals to silence the home crowd but David Liffiton scored his first of the season to get us back in the game. Jared Aulin had the lone assist on Liffiton's goal. No more goals would be scored until the shootout. Lalande was brilliant in the skills competition stoning all four Aeros. Battaglia and Aulin had goals to give the Crunch the 4-3 win. Both of these guys are on tryout contracts only.

Saturday saw a ride down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to face the Penguins. Once again the Crunch find themselves down early but Aulin was able to tie it up with assists from Roy and Mayorov. Syracuse took the lead in the second with Battaglia getting his second of the year from Pelletier and Fritsche. The next two goals were scored by the Penguins but Dan Fritsche tied it at three with his fifth with Battaglia and Pelletier setting it up. Kevin Harvey scored the game winner and Smotherman had the assist. Lalande made the start again as it looks like Dan LaCosta has become the backup goaltender.

Sunday was the sixth meeting so far this year between Syracuse and Rochester. This is one of the biggest and longest rivalries in the AHL. The last few years in has been dominated by the Crunch but this season is a very different story.

It seemed like the game was 4-0 Amerks in the snap of the fingers as Lalande I feel should have had the day off. After he gave up thse 4 goals on 15 shots he was given the rest of the game off. LaCosta coming in seemed to spark the team as Battaglia scored from Pelletier and Sigalet to get things started. Sestito made it 4-2 with Simon Ferguson getting the lone assist.

Going into the third period it seemed the Crunch had the momentum but Rochester shut that door very quickly. Fritsche tried to open it back up with his sixth from Battaglia and Pelletier. Jonathan Sigalet then made it a one goal game with his second of the year, also unassisted. The Amerks stretched the lead again and it looked liked Roy had a clear goal but no light came on and the ref signaled no goal even though all the players were celebrating. There was no talk between the ref and the goal judge or even the linesmen to see if it might have went in.

Rochester got another goal to make the final 7-4 and the rivalry got a shot in the arm with the antics of the Amerks goalie as he was taunting LaCosta by throwing the puck the length of the ice right on Danny after a whistle. LaCosta did not do anything but you could see he was on his way down to fight him but just shot the puck back down. The next game between the two clubs should be an interesting affair.

Lines for the weekend were

Battaglia  Fritsche  Pelletier
Sestito  Aulin  Mayorov
Harvey  Frischmon  Smotherman
Ferguson  Lundbohm Mirasty/Miller

Roy  Holden
Sigalet  Regner
Liffiton Reese

Michael Ratchuk has been the odd man out on defense and has not shown much in his limited games. With Roy almost certain to get the recall after Klesla went down against the Blues and Clitsome still out we will see what the team can do. I liked Legein and think the Jackets lost this trade horribly thus far.

Hot

Pelletier 5 assists in 4 games
Battaglia 3 goals 2 assists in 5 games
Fritsche 2 goals 1 assist 4 games

Players to watch

Smotherman
Sigalet
Mayorov
Liffiton

The week started Wednesday in Albany against the River Rats where the defense seemingly forgot to make the trip allowing 44 shots on goal. Kevin Lalande made 39 saves. The Crunch lost this one 5-2 with goals from Picard and McBride with his first professional goal. Smotherman continues to struggle and he was a -3 for the game however Picard continues to shine.

Friday was another trip to Rochester to face the Americans. This rivalry is become very one sided as this season the Crunch are winless against the Amerks and that continued with a 5-2 loss. Defense was better as they allowed only 30 shots this game but LaCosta struggled as did the offense- they only generated 18 shots on goal for the game. Dan Fritsche and Trevor Frischmon had the goals. Picard, Mayorov and Fritsche with assists for the night. This was the season debut for Bates Battaglia and he did not show much but that was expected as he has not played for a while.

Lines for the first two games were very similar to last weeks lines but Saturday Crunch coach Ross Yates switched everything up:

Battaglia  Fritsche  Pelletier
Mayorov  Aulin  Picard
Harvey  Frischmon  Smotherman
Miller   Lundbohm  Mirasty

Clitsome  Roy
Reese Sigalet
Holden  Regner

The new lines with the addition of Battaglia and the return of Harvey from his suspension sparked the team as a whole as it was by far the best game of the season. The Crunch hosted the Hartford Wolf Pack and put on a defensive clinic allowing a season low 23 shots on goal and they outshot their opponent for the first time in 13 games. Mayorov (short handed) and Harvey with goals with assists from Reese, Holden and Smotherman. This great effort gave the Crunch a 2-1 win.

Season standings have the Crunch at 6-9-2-2 for 16 points and only one team has fewer points and they have a game in hand. For those new to the Crunch this has been the norm for many years and the team makes great comebacks to either make the playoffs and have nothing left and fall just short. I am hoping it will be different this season but the trend seems to be repeating.

Players to watch this week are:

Mayorov  1-1 in 3 games
Picrad 1-1 in 3 games
Fritsche 1-1 in 3 games
Frischmon 1-1 in 3 games

The not list:

Pelletier, Aulin, Smotherman.

I am worried about Aulin as his tryout will be expiring in a couple weeks and after a hot start has not done much not earn another (or a contract for that matter) He did have a high light set up with Picrad on Saturday as he stick handled into the zone and went straight to the net with Picard following. His passing lane was cut off so he dropped the puck to his skate and with it behind him kicked the puck to Picard and Pic did all he could but it just did not go in. Here is the link to the play: