Syracuse Crunch
AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2012.
The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team based in Syracuse, New York, and serve as the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning. Their home games are played at the Upstate Medical University Arena.
The franchise began in 1992 as the Hamilton Canucks, an affiliate of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. After two seasons in Hamilton, Ontario, the team moved to upstate New York in 1994. A public vote chose the name "Crunch" from five options. The Crunch debuted in Syracuse on September 30, 1994, tying the Albany River Rats 7–7, with Lonny Bohonos scoring the team's first goal. Their first win came on October 2, 1994, a 4–1 victory over the Hershey Bears. They finished their inaugural season 29–42–9–0, placing fifth in their division and missing the playoffs. The following season, they went 31–37–5–7 and made the playoffs, advancing to the 1996 conference finals before losing to the eventual Calder Cup champion Rochester Americans. The team led the AHL in sellouts during the 1996–97 and 1997–98 seasons. In 1997, the Crunch added the Pittsburgh Penguins as a second NHL affiliate.
The 1998–99 season was the worst in franchise history, with a league-worst 18–50–9–3 record. On November 25, 1998, the Crunch suffered their worst loss, a 14–2 defeat to the Providence Bruins, allowing an AHL-record 10 goals in the first period. Goalie Craig Hillier allowed seven goals before being pulled for Mike Valley, who also gave up seven. The Penguins ended their affiliation after that season to launch the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. On October 30, 1999, goaltender Christian Bronsard scored the only Crunch goalie goal in team history, becoming the fourth AHL goaltender to score. The Crunch qualified for the playoffs in the 1999–2000 season, their last as Vancouver's affiliate, but lost in the first round to the Hamilton Bulldogs.
After the 1999–2000 season, the Crunch became the affiliate of the newly formed Columbus Blue Jackets. They made the playoffs in their first season under Columbus, losing in five games to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the first round. In 2001–02, the Crunch won their first division title, led by goaltender Jean-Francois Labbe, and also claimed the Western Conference regular-season title with 96 points.
Quick Facts
- Text Color
- #000000
- Team
- Syracuse Crunch
- City
- Syracuse, New York
- League
- American Hockey League
- Conference
- Eastern
- Division
- North
- Founded
- 1992
- Arena
- Upstate Medical University Arena (Capacity: 5,800)
- Owners
- Howard Dolgon
- Coach
- Joel Bouchard
- Captain
- Steven Santini
- Media
- Syracuse Post-Standard / ESPN Radio 97.7 & 100.1 / AHL.TV (Internet) / CW 6 (Televised home games)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The franchise began as the Hamilton Canucks, an affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, playing two seasons in Hamilton, Ontario, before relocating to Syracuse in 1994. The team was renamed the Crunch from a public vote. Their first season ended with a 29–42–9–0 record, missing the playoffs. They made the playoffs the following season and reached the 1996 conference finals. The Crunch led the league in sellouts in 1996–97 and 1997–98. In 1997, they added the Pittsburgh Penguins as a second NHL affiliate. The 1998–99 season was the worst in franchise history, finishing 18–50–9–3, including a 14–2 loss to Providence where they allowed an AHL-record 10 goals in the first period. The Penguins affiliation ended after that season. On October 30, 1999, goaltender Christian Bronsard scored the first Crunch goalie goal, becoming the fourth goaltender in AHL history to score a goal. The Crunch qualified for the playoffs in 1999–2000, their last season as Vancouver's affiliate, but lost in the first round.
Reader's Guide
The Syracuse Crunch have a notable history of affiliations and achievements. Under the Columbus Blue Jackets (2000–2010), they won their first division title in 2001–02 and were regular season Western Conference champions. They played the first outdoor game in AHL history on February 20, 2010, the Mirabito Outdoor Classic, setting an AHL attendance record of 21,508. The Anaheim affiliation (2010–2012) produced future NHL players such as Kyle Palmieri, Nick Bonino, and Patrick Maroon. Since becoming the Tampa Bay Lightning affiliate in 2012, the Crunch have reached the Calder Cup finals twice (2013 and 2017), losing both times to the Grand Rapids Griffins. The 2012–13 season saw immediate success, including a division championship and Tyler Johnson winning the Les Cunningham Award, Willie Marshall Award, and President's Award. On November 22, 2014, the Crunch set a United States indoor professional hockey attendance record of 30,715 at the Carrier Dome for the Toyota Frozen Dome Classic. The team also played their longest game in team history on May 5, 2018, a 2–1 double-overtime loss to the Toronto Marlies lasting 95 minutes and 10 seconds.
More in AHL Teams 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced