CRUNCH FACE AMERKS IN PRESEASON OPENER
The Crunch play the first game of their preseason slate tonight against the Rochester Americans at Blue Cross Arena.
The teams, who faced off in the North Division Semifinals in 2023, will go head-to-head 12 times in the regular season, beginning with a match on Nov. 1.
Syracuse will finish its two-game preseason schedule Saturday at home versus Utica.
A NEW COACHING STAFF
Tonight will be the first game behind the bench for the Crunch's new head coach Joel Bouchard. The 49-year-old was announced as the club's 10th head coach in franchise history on June 26, 2023. He replaces Ben Groulx, who won a franchise record 256 games from 2016 to 2023.
Bouchard has been a head coach for four seasons in the AHL; he spent three seasons with Laval (2018-21) and one campaign with San Diego (2021-22). He has a 111-100-18-13 record in 242 games, and he led the Rocket to the Canadian Division title in 2020-21.
Prior to that, Bouchard had a 160-80-32 record as the head coach of the QMJHL's Blainville-Boisbriand Armada from 2014 to 2018.
Bouchard's staff is rounded out by assistant coaches Dan Jacob and A.J. MacLean, goalie coach Max Vaillancourt and video coach Jake Wheeler.
CRUNCH CAMP
Tonight's preseason opener comes on Day 3 of #CrunchCamp. The team's preseason roster consists of 27 players-16 forward, nine defensemen and two goalies.
Out of their 16 forwards, 12 skated in at least one regular season or playoff game for the Crunch last season. That includes their captain
Gabriel Dumont, plus
Daniel Walcott, who established a new franchise record for games played in a Crunch sweater.
Gage Goncalves is their leading scorer among returners; the third-year pro notched 54 points (13g, 41a) in 71 games in 2022-23.
Five defensemen spent time in Syracuse last season, including a pair of rising second-year-pros
Jack Thompson and
Declan Carlile. Those two, plus veteran returner Phil Myers, all netted eight goals for the Crunch last year.
NETMINDERS
The Crunch have a pair of goaltenders on their training camp roster.
Hugo Alnefelt is back for his third season with the Crunch. The 22-year-old is 27-19-6 with a 2.92 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage in his first two AHL seasons. He improved across the board in 2022-23, going 17-12-2/2.77/.904 and posting his first three career shutouts.
Evan Fitzpatrick is new to the organization after signing an AHL deal with the Crunch on July 1. He has split time between the AHL and ECHL since turning pro in 2018-19. He is 5-3-1/2.44/.907 in 13 career AHL games.
The Crunch will likely add another goalie down the road, but both Matt Tomkins and Jonas Johansson are in Tampa Bay as Lightning starting goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to miss the first two months of the season due to injury.
30TH SEASON
The Crunch are celebrating their 30th season in the American Hockey League in 2023-24. Beginning play in 1994, the Crunch are the fourth-oldest franchise that has been continually operating in the AHL; only the Hershey Bears, Rochester Americans and Providence Bruins have been in operation in their city longer than the Crunch.
The Crunch will officially begin their 30th season on the road next Friday, Oct. 13 at Utica. Their 30th home opener takes place the following night, Saturday, Oct. 14 against the Bridgeport Islanders.
The Crunch have faced the Amerks more than any other opponent in their team history. In 315 regular season matches, the Crunch are 145-126-19-12, with 13 ties, head-to-head against Rochester.
