The Syracuse Crunch sit in second place in the North Division, and it’s a surprising surge in the standings. The Crunch have a great culture to develop prospects but aren’t typically the dominant team in the division or in the American Hockey League (AHL). It’s all come together this season, which is fascinating for a typical hockey fan.
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The Crunch aren’t just winning games; they are beating down on teams. They stomped the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday to extend their winning streak to five games. In a league that values possession and controlling the pace against the other team, the Crunch do it better than most and while boring to watch, it’s effective.
The Crunch Are Winning With Elite Defense & Goaltending
The Crunch allow only 2.5 goals per game. They do so by protecting the dangerous ice and don’t allow a lot of scoring chances either. “The reason we want to defend hard is that we want the puck,” Crunch head coach Joel Bouchard noted in a conversation with Hockey Hot Stove.
It showed in their last two games. The Crunch shut out the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins 5-0 and then shut down the Phantoms 3-1 in a game where the Phantoms only generated two shots in the first period. Sure, both teams were tired and the game reflected that but the Crunch came prepared by playing a grind-it-out style that worked to their advantage.
It helps when they have elite goaltending. Brandon Halverson has a .907 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.31 goals-against average while Ryan Fanti has an .897 SV% but makes up for it with a 2.54 GAA. However, the defense stands out because of a complete buy-in which starts at the blue line and works its way to the forwards.
The Crunch has one of the best forward lines in the AHL with Jakob Pelletier, Mitchell Chaffee, and Conor Geekie, a trio that has 49 goals and 83 assists this season. Yet, the defense stands out and is leading them to a dominating season.
The Tampa Culture Helps
The Crunch and Tampa Bay Lightning have a great AHL-NHL relationship that has helped both teams for years. It’s not a coincidence that when the Lightning moved their AHL affiliate to Upstate New York, they became a dominant team that developed the players who became key parts of their Stanley Cup runs.
That culture was created by Julien Brisebois, the general manager (GM) of the Lightning, along with Mathieu Darche and Stacy Roest. This season, however, with Darche hired as the New York Islanders GM and Roest now leading the Rochester Americans, Bouchard is both the head coach and the GM. Many hockey historians will note that teams were once managed that way, with one coach who made all the decisions but it’s rare to see that these days, even at the AHL level.
Bouchard mentioned his relationship with Brisebois and how it’s helped him in the role. “I have a really strong relationship with Julien,” he stated, “We all talk, there’s always communication, and there’s no agenda.” The Lightning have multiple talent evaluators below Brisebois, and they are constantly talking to Bouchard and giving him advice.
They can see the game from a bird’s eye view and pick up on things Bouchard misses. Then he calls the shots while confirming his moves with Brisebois. It’s a template that is unique and one that’s hard to replicate, yet if the Crunch stand out this season, it’s possible other teams will replicate it.
The Crunch As A Calder Contender
The Laval Rocket are the team to beat in the North Division. They have seven wins in a row and are the most complete team in the division. The catch is that the Crunch can defend with anyone, and when the games slow down, they have an edge. The Calder Cup Playoffs are when the teams that defend stand out, and it works in the Crunch favor.
They are the resistance in the AHL. In a league that favors speed, where every team likes to pick up the pace and gash teams on the rush, the Crunch slows things down and grinds down teams. They have the right formula in place to make a run but they still have to round out their game to get to that spot. “Everybody’s got to get better,” Bouchard mentioned about the team. “If you don’t push your team to get better, you get worse.” So, maybe they make some noise and turn heads, in case they haven’t done so already.
