By Michael Wax
The Syracuse Crunch have started their season and started it with a bang. Amid all the chaos of what the goaltending situation has brought and a new head coach, the Crunch went 2-0-0-0 to begin their season, their tenth under the Lightning affiliation. Before we get into what we saw this weekend, here are a few notes:
After seven seasons and a franchise-record 256 wins, Benoit Groulx was offered a position in the Lightning's front office. In his place, Joel Bouchard would step in as head coach. Bouchard had been head coach of both the Laval Rocket and the San Diego Gulls of the AHL from 2018-22, posting a 111-100-31 record. The 49-year-old took over head coaching duties during the 2023 Rookie Showcase, with many being impressed with the Lightning's play style and free-flowing skating.
The Crunch currently have an interesting situation in goal. Originally supposed to be a goalie duo of Hugo Alnefelt and Matt Tomkins, the injury to Lightning starter Andrei Vasilevskiy necessitated Tomkins' call-up to the main roster. With the next-best option being Evan Fitzpatrick, the Crunch made a shrewd move bringing in Carolina Hurricanes goaltending prospect Pyotr Kochetkov on loan to provide some much-needed relief. The Carolina Hurricanes, Kochetkov's NHL team, do not have an AHL affiliate this season due to the Chicago Wolves becoming an independent organization. With nowhere for Kochetkov to go, the Hurricanes loaned their third-string goaltender to the Crunch for what looks to be the remainder of the season. Kochetkov would start the opening series, with Alnefelt serving as his backup.
Here are four things we noticed over this weekend's games for the Lightning's decade-long affiliate:
Steady Eddie
After a tough beginning to his rookie season of pro hockey in Syracuse last year, forward Lucas Edmonds ended his year strong with 12 goals and 19 points in his last 22 games. He continued that trend on the first weekend of his sophomore season, putting together two goals and justifying his placement on the top line.
Each goal showcased different parts of Edmonds' game. In the season opener against Utica, a team he had the most success scoring against last season, he followed up on a rebound and turned and fired in the slot, using pinpoint accuracy to get home a power play goal. In his second game, Edmonds found himself at the front of the net and again with an opportunity to bury a rebound. Instead of taking a full-fledged shot, Edmonds made use of the little space he had to shovel multiple chances on net, and was rewarded for his tenacity with a putback goal.
It remains to be seen if this sophomore surge is real, but plenty of playing time and early results indicate that Edmonds could be on the fast track to a league-leading season in Syracuse.
Robert Rock
It was surprising to see the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins non-tender forward Félix Robert after the 2021-22 season. What was the Penguins' loss quickly turned into the Crunch's gain, as he had an excellent first season in Syracuse and has started his second year with a bang. Much like Edmonds, Robert had two different styles of goals that showcased his ever-growing game.
In the overtime win against Utica, Robert was the late man into the offensive zone and showed quick hands, releasing a one-timer that ultimately won the game for the Crunch. The next night against Bridgeport, he used his solid hand-eye coordination to deflect a shot from the blue line for a power play goal and, ultimately, the insurance marker.
Net Presence
In the admin section of this article, I mentioned that the Crunch would have some decisions to make between starting Lightning prospect Hugo Alnefelt and Carolina Hurricanes prospect Pyotr Kochetkov. In the opening weekend, the goaltenders split the net, and both put together solid performances to give the Crunch a chance.
On Friday against Utica, in front of a loud and passionate Comets crowd, Kochetkov stopped 31 of 34 Utica shots. Even though the Crunch blew a 3-1 lead, Kochetkov did his best to make sure they bent but didn't break and came away with a season-opening win.
In front of a home ground on Saturday, Alnefelt also blew a two-goal lead but got stronger in the third period and shut down all Bridgeport's seven shots in the third period to give the Lightning a two-game win streak to start the season.
Man Down, Man Up
It's early, but the special teams are on a roll for Syracuse. The penalty kill is a perfect 8/8 to start the season, and the power play has seen three successful tries on nine attempts. Ilya Usau, Edmonds, and Robert had the goals for the power play, each coming uniquely: Usau off the rush, Edmonds from the slot, and Robert on a deflection.
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