Syracuse Speaks

In this episode, recorded February 9th and 10, 2021, Alex discuses the Crunch's return to regularly season AHL action this past week. In the first part of the episode, she breaks down some of the highlights of Syracuse's win over the Utica Comets from February 6th, including: The surprise emotional impact of having hockey back; Gabriel Fortier's first - and second - pro goal; Samuel Montembeault's excellent play; the team's cohesion.

In section two of the episode, she briefly discusses the news that New York State will now be allowing a small percentage of people into arenas and venues, although she doubts this new will change the Crunch's plans much. She then goes on to ponder the team's upcoming schedule, including a game that was in progress at the time of recording: The Crunch's Wednesday game in Rochester. With fingers crossed for no COVID protocol news over the next few days, she offers discourse on the strangeness of discussing divisional standings when nothing about the season is normal.

In this episode, recorded January 26th, 2021, Alex does some housekeeping before welcoming guest Patrick Williams! Patrick writes for the NHL.com and has various other projects in the works, including his Around the A podcast. Throughout the course of the episode, Alex and Patrick discuss anything and everything about the "new normal" in the AHL and how it's affecting teams like Syracuse. 

In this episode, recorded January 12th and 13th, 2021, Alex starts by celebrating the return of the podcast from holiday break. She then breaks down the latest Crunch news, starting with the biggest and most obvious: Crunch hockey is back, and, boy, is it weird!

Throughout the podcast, Alex dives into the following:

Alex ends the podcast by answering a question from Twitter (thanks, Deana!): Which team does she see being the Crunch's biggest competition this season? Spoiler alert: Considering the three teams Syracuse is going to be playing, the answer is not exactly a surprise...though a lack of live fans may take some bite out of things.

In this episode, recorded November 17th, 2020, Alex spends some time briefly hyping up her latest article for The Sin Bin, a gift guide to the Crunch's garage sale. If you missed it, please go check it out, and maybe check off some gifts for your loved ones in the process!

She then goes on to discuss the next jersey in her game-worn jersey collection. This jersey, worn by former Syracuse forward Andy Andreoff during the 2018-19 season, is a favorite of Alex's for a few reasons:

1. It's gorgeous.

2. It was part of Syracuse's first game-worn jersey collection for Hockey Fights Cancer.

3. It was worn by Andreoff, who was a huge part of the Crunch's success during the 2018-19 season.

The jersey, won thanks mostly to Alex's best friend (thanks again, Chuk!), played a part in a night that honored cancer survivors and those who have been lost to it.

Alex finishes the podcast by expressing seasonally-appropriate gratitude to her listeners. 

As always, thanks so much for listening!

In this episode, recorded November 3rd and 4th, 2020, Alex begins by discussing the AHL's new return to play date of February 5th, 2021. She covers the potential obstacles to this date, the specific complications Syracuse faces, and the reaction of Crunch owner Howard Dolgon to the new date. Dolgon, who had originally expressed doubts as to whether the Crunch could play without fans in the stands, has since changed his tune and has stated that his team will be ready to play whenever the AHL is. Speculation about this sudden change mostly points to the Tampa Bay Lightning pitching in to help the independently-owned team get their season going even without revenue from the fans.

Alex then continues her Jersey Series with a jersey of a player she has followed since the beginning of her time as a Crunch fan: Karl Goehring. Goehring, who played the better part of five season with Syracuse and who coached the team for three, has been a favorite of Alex's since she first started watching hockey and the team in 2004. The jersey she has of his is from the 2007-08 Crunch season, and it is one of the most beloved in her collection.

On this episode, recorded October 20 and 21, 2020, Alex starts off by recounting the Lightning organization's free agency so far, including:

She then goes into the continuation of her Jersey Series. This time, she delves into the fan she used to be back when she first started watching the Crunch by discussing Jeff Szwez. Szwez, a forward who was a bit of a fighter in his days with Syracuse, was the name on the back of the very first game worn jersey Alex was able to collect. Her memories of Szwez - and other fighters who have made their way through Syracuse throughout the years -  conflict with the fan she is now, a fan who struggles with the physical and mental cost hockey enforcers pay to entertain their fans.

On this episode, recorded October 7th, 2020, Alex actually has news to discuss! Over the course of the podcast, she covers the following topics:

On this episode, recorded September 23rd, 2020, Alex discusses the next jersey in her collection: a St. Patrick's Day jersey worn by forward Mark Rycroft during the 2007-2008 Crunch season. 

A bit of context: On March 16th, 2008, the Crunch would don St. Patrick's Day jerseys and would claw to an overtime victory against in-state rivals Binghamton, winning in overtime 4-3. At the time, fans were excited by the continuation of what was a mini-winning streak, one that stood at three after the victory over the B-Sens.

That winning streak would go on to end up in Syracuse's record books, finally ending with the culmination of the regular AHL season on April 13th, 15 games after the streak had started. That series of games in March, a series that started on March 8th and included the game with the St. Patrick's Day jerseys, was the beginning of a special time for many Crunch fans, including Alex. This jersey in her collection is a bit more than just one that belongs to a former player.

On this episode, recorded September 15th, 2020, Alex starts off by examining the case of the EIHL, otherwise known as the Elite Hockey League over in the UK. The EIHL recently made the decision to suspend their 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alex mades direct comparisons between their league and the AHL, using the Cardiff Devils and their press release as her focal point. Unfortunately, the EIHL's decision does not give Alex confidence in the AHL being able to start their own season in December.

She then goes on to discuss the next two jerseys in her collection, both belonging to former Crunch captain Mike Angelidis. She discusses Angelidis' impact on both the Crunch organization and the city of Syracuse itself. She also dives into her own memories of the captain and the impact he had on her as a fan.

On this episode, recorded August 25, 2020, Alex starts a new series for her podcast that will discuss her collection of game worn jerseys. She kicks it off with her memories of former Syracuse Crunch captain Dan Smith, a defenseman who played for the team from 2007-2009 when the Crunch was affiliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets. This episode takes the listener through her decade-old bond with him.

The inspiration to publish this particular tale was based on her newest jersey acquisition, which Smith offered to sign for her. Posting a picture of the jersey on social media prompted her realization that many of her listeners weren't fans of the team when he played there. She felt his story - and the team history in his jersey and the others in her collection - deserve to be shared.

The royalty-free music featured in this episode was by Purple Planet Music and Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

Thanks for listening!