By Michael Wax
For the second consecutive week, the Crunch went 1-1-0-0 in their games. Following a 4-2 defeat on Friday the 27th against the Utica Comets, the Crunch responded with a dominant 5-0 win over the Laval Rocket on Saturday the 28th. Before we get into what we saw this weekend, here is some admin:
Pyotr Kochetkov returned to the Crunch after just over a week with the Hurricanes, including a game against the Lightning in which he made 20/23 saves in a 3-0 loss.
Defender Roman Schmidt was assigned to the Crunch on Saturday, signaling the 20-year-old was ready for a return. The 2021 third-round pick suffered an undisclosed injury during the 2023 Rookie Showcase and was placed on season-opening injury reserve. Schmidt should see his first professional action next weekend, after 28 points in 64 games last year with the OHL's Kitchener Rangers.
Forward Jaydon Dureau was recalled to the Crunch from the ECHL's Orlando Solar Bears on Sunday afternoon. Dureau could be the lineup replacement for Tristan Allard, who took a big hit in the first period in Saturday's game and did not return. Dureau has one goal in two games so far with the Solar Bears.
Here are three things we noticed over this weekend's games from the Crunch:
(Max)imum
After playing for Hockey East's Providence College for four years and being named captain in his senior season, Max Crozier signed his entry-level last year, and he saw playing time for the Crunch in the regular season and playoffs. This season, Crozier is looking to continue the early success. He saw in his limited sample size last season and has gotten off to a promising start.
Friday against Utica, Crozier put up his first professional goal, being the recipient of a beautiful play from forward Gage Goncalves. As Goncalves spun around his defender, Crozier made his way down towards the goal from the right circle. Goncalves would then thread a great pass over to Crozier, who was in the right circle, and the 23-year-old would corral the puck before sending it past the outstretched glove of Comets goalie Isaac Poulter. to tie the game.
Crozier would follow up with a big-time assist off the rush against Laval on Saturday. In a 2-on-1 with Félix Robert, Crozier waited for the defender to slide down and then waited some more, getting the pass around the skates of the outstretched defender and perfectly on the stick of Robert, who was able to tap the puck home for the game's fifth goal.
Crozier still has a lot of work to do. Whether adapting defensively to professional hockey after a stellar defensive career in college or staying out of the penalty box (his 10 PIMs are third), Crozier has much to learn as he continues his first pro season. This weekend was a giant first step in showing the potential that Crozier has on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Return Man
For any player who sustains a season-ending injury, the questions surrounding when they'll be back to 100% are always at the forefront at the beginning of the season. In the case of Syracuse Crunch newcomer Mitchell Chaffee, those questions have been answered with a resounding idea that he's back in business.
Chaffee had sustained a pretty bad knee injury as a member of the Iowa Wild last season but had a track record of being a solid goalscorer throughout college and the AHL. He was a 23-goalscorer in the 2021-22 season with Iowa and put up five goals in 10 games before his injury.
Coming into this weekend, Chaffee had been piling up the assists, but the sharpshooting that he was known for seemed to be missing. That all changed in Saturday's game.
After Robert walked in front and got a shot on net, a juicy rebound was available. Chaffee was the first one to get to it and outwaited Laval goalie Strauss Mann before putting the puck in the back of the net and increasing Syracuse's lead further.
Hu-no
Last week, I mentioned that it was important for Hugo Alnefelt to have a sustainable amount of success throughout the season rather than a hot streak and an extremely cold end. What I did not anticipate was that in his only start the next week, he would allow four goals on 16 shots.
This game was certainly one to forget for Alnefelt. The first goal was a tip-in but had no screen in front, and probably should've been stopped. The second goal allowed was off the rush, but with the defender doing enough to take away the pass, Alnefelt should've been squared to the shooter and had a better opportunity to stop the shot (he was not). After a third goal that was more of the defense's fault, Alnefelt gave Utica their insurance tally by kicking the puck right to the goal scorer after an initial save.
Seeing as it's the AHL, bad games are bound to happen. However, this is a make-or-break season for Alnefelt, and hopefully, this type of performance doesn't snowball.
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