Sens vs. Crunch 2/18/05 Articles: Starting with a stumble
February 19, 2005

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: Lindsay Kramer of The Post-Standard

Starting with a stumble

Syracuse opens six-games-in-seven-days run with a home loss to Binghamton.

Saturday, February 19, 2005

By Lindsay Kramer

Staff writer

The most grueling stretch of games in the history of the Syracuse Crunch has become an endurance test quicker than the team expected. And Friday night, the Crunch came up with the wrong answers.

Josh Langfeld and Brandon Bochenski scored second-period goals for Binghamton and an undermanned Syracuse squad watched its fuel gauge tilt toward empty come rally time as the Senators hung on for a 2-1 win at the Onondaga County War Memorial.

The contest was the opening act in a run of six games in seven days, the first time in the team's 11-year history that the Crunch has faced such a traffic jam of action. The team looked to Friday's game as a chance to get a running start into the fracas, but the Crunch tumbled instead.

Extra weight was tossed on Syracuse's shoulders when the team unexpectedly lost three players - left wingers Greg

Mauldin and Jeremy Reich and defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen - for a variety of reasons.

"You need everybody. It's like a car when one wheel falls," said Syracuse right winger Tim Jackman. "It's frustrating. Especially against Bingo, first game back after the all-star break, it would've been nice to get these two points. But we didn't get the job done."

Syracuse's itinerary has it hosting Cleveland tonight and then visiting Hershey Sunday, but some players may have different travel plans. Reports that the NHL owners and players union are close to a deal and that the canceled season might instead be played could mean that Syracuse's roster will soon be further tossed into array by personnel moves.

While that's reason for optimism, Syracuse forward Mark Hartigan wants to make sure this time the good news comes true before envisioning an NHL opportunity.

"I don't know. I still haven't thought of the NHL," he said. "I still think of it as canceled. We have to worry about what we do here. If the NHL happens, that will take care of itself."

The Crunch's losses started even before the game did. Earlier Friday, Mauldin was hit with a four-game suspension for delivering a high elbow to San Antonio's Luke Curtin in a game Feb. 9. There was no penalty called on the play, but the Rampage sent in a game tape for league review.

At the 3:41 mark of the first, Syracuse waved farewell to Reich for the game after a series of scraps in the Syracuse end that at one point had all 10 skaters wrapping up a partner. Reich got tossed when he came to the aid of Syracuse defenseman Aaron Johnson, who was getting roughed up by Senators right winger Danny Bois.

Reich pulled Bois away and started hammering him. That got Reich a game misconduct for intervening. Overall, 102 PIM were handed out to the participants in the scuffle.

"It's like starting from behind. You can't let that happen," Johnson said of losing personnel in the early skirmish.

At the 7:02 mark of the second, Tollefsen was tossed after getting a checking from behind game misconduct.

The Senators first made the Crunch pay at the 4:22 mark of the second. Antoine Vermette drove the right side of the crease on Crunch goalie Andrew Penner. Penner made the save, but when the rebound rolled to the left side of the crease Langfeld was there for the easy rebound.

Bochenski then doubled the lead with a hard shot from the left circle that beat Penner high to his left side at the 8:59 mark. Syracuse's Jeff Panzer answered that with a score just 1:48 into the third to give the Crunch some spark again.

But Binghamton goalie Billy Thompson was up to the task. He made 38 saves overall, including 14 in the third. The weary Crunch applied consistent pressure, but with little traffic in front and no tic-tac-toe plays many of the Crunch's bids wound up buried in his pads.

"The finishing touch just wasn't there tonight," Hartigan said. "Goalies have their night. He played well for them."

At least Syracuse now has two reasons to quickly refocus. There's still 10 points out there to be had in the next six days. And there might be a bigger payoff out there for the players who chase them hard.

"This is an opportunity, if the NHL starts, for guys to re-prove themselves," Johnson said. Binghamton 2, Syracuse 1 Binghamton 020 - 2 Syracuse 001 - 1 First period- No Scoring. Penalties- McGrattan, Bin triple minor-misconduct (unsportsmanlike conduct, roughing, roughing), 3:41; Komadoski, Bin minor-misconduct (roughing), 3:41; Bois, Bin minor-major-misconduct (roughing, fighting), 3:41; Watson, Bin minor-misconduct (roughing), 3:41; Reich, Syr double minor-major-game misconduct (unsportsmanlike conduct, roughing, fighting), 3:41; Johnson, Syr double minor-misconduct (roughing), 3:41; Lakos, Syr minor-misconduct (roughing), 3:41; Komarniski, Syr (boarding), 10:45.

Second period- 1, Binghamton, Langfeld 19 (Vermette, Volchenkov), 4:22. 2, Binghamton, Bochenski 22 (Kelly), 8:59. Penalties- Spezza, Bin (roughing), 7:02; Hamel, Bin (roughing), 7:02; Beauchemin, Syr (roughing), 7:02; Tollefsen, Syr major-game misconduct (checking from behind), 7:02; Kavanagh, Bin (slashing), 12:17; Svitov, Syr (slashing), 12:17; Hedlund, Bin (hooking), 15:04.

Third period- 3, Syracuse, Panzer 8 (Goertzen), 1:48. Penalties- None.

Shots on goal- Binghamton, 12-17-5 34. Syracuse, 12-12-15 39. Power-play opportunities- Binghamton, 0 of 2. Syracuse, 0 of 2. Goalies- Binghamton, Thompson (13-7-1), 39 shots-38 saves. Syracuse, Penner (3-4-0), 34 shots-32 saves. A- 5,873.