2003-04 RECORD: 38-25-10-7, 93 points (21-8-6-5 home, 17-17-4-2 road), second place, North Division

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS

Wednesday, April 21 @ Rochester (37-28-10-5), 89 points, third place, North Division

Friday, April 23 @ Rochester (37-28- 10-5), 89 points, third place, North Division

Sunday, April 25 vs. Rochester (37- 28-10-5), 89 points, third place, North Division LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Friday, April 9 CRUNCH 3 Rochester 2

Saturday, April 10 Rochester 6 CRUNCH 0

CRUNCH HIT ROAD FOR GAMES THREE AND FOUR: The Crunch’s best-of-seven first round series will continue Wednesday night (Game Three) and Friday night (Game Four) in Rochester before shifting back to Syracuse for Game Five on Sunday night. Tickets for Game Five (Ticket C) are available by calling the Crunch’s sales office at (315) 473-4444, stopping by the Oncenter box office, located on the State Street side of the War Memorial or by calling TicketMaster at (315) 472-0700.

The remaining schedule for the Crunch’s North Division Semifinals is as follows:

Game 3 Wednesday, April 21 Syracuse @ Rochester 7:05 p.m.
Game 4 Friday, April 23 Syracuse @ Rochester 7:35 p.m.
Game 5 (C) Sunday, April 25 Rochester @ Syracuse 5:00 p.m.
*Game 6 Wednesday, April 28 Syracuse @ Rochester 7:05 p.m.
*Game 7 (D) Saturday, May 1 Rochester @ Syracuse 7:30 p.m.

* if necessary

COLUMBUS SIGNS GREG MAULDIN: The Syracuse Crunch announced today that the Columbus Blue Jackets signed center Greg Mauldin to a multi-year deal. Mauldin 21, appeared in two games with the Crunch this season, following a six-game stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Boston native spent the past three seasons at the Universty of Massachusetts, tallying 48 goals, 46 assists in 98 games. Columbus selected Mauldin in the seventh round, 199th overall, in the 2002 Entry Draft.

PLAYOFF DEBUTS: Seven players appeared in their first professional playoff game on Friday night (Dan Fritsche, Tim Jackman, Aaron Johnson, Pascal Leclaire, Joe Motzko, Mike Pandolfo and Tyler Sloan) and five players appeared in their first Syracuse playoff game (Brendan Buckley, Trent Cull, Mark Hartigan, Shawn Limpright – first AHL playoff game, and Donald MacLean). Game Two (Saturday night) was the professional playoff debut for Karl Goehring.

ROCHESTER PLAYOFF HISTORY: This years North Division Semifinals is the third time in team history the Crunch has faced Rochester in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Rochester defeated Syracuse in the prior two meetings, beating the Crunch 4-1 in the 1995-96 Western Conference Finals and 3- 0 in the 1996-97 Northern Conference Quarterfinals.

ALL-TIME PLAYOFF POINTS LEADERS: 1. Lonny Bonohos – 26 points (16g, 10a), 2. Brad Moran – 20 points (8g, 12a), 3. Rick Girard – 19 points (10g, 9a), 4-T. Denny Felsner – 17 points (5g, 12a), Scott Walker – 17 points (9g, 8a), Reggie Savage – 17 points (9g, 8a).

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS:

ROCHESTER (BUFFALO SABRES): Syracuse visits Rochester on Wednesday, April 21 and Friday, April 23 for Games Three and Four of the North Division Semifinals, in which Syracuse has home-ice advantage. The series is tied 1-1, after Rochester defeated Syracuse 6-0 in their last meeting on April 17 at the War Memorial at Oncenter. Center Domenic Pittis (2g, 2a) paces all players in head- to-head scoring with four points. Right wing Tim Jackman (1g, 1a) and center Mark Hartigan (2a) leads Syracuse in head-to-head scoring with two points. Pascal Leclaire appeared in both games, posting a 1-1-0 record, with a 4.34 goals against average and a .893 save percentage. Ryan Miller has appeared in both games for Rochester, posting a 1-1-0 record, a 1.51 goals against average and a .952 save percentage.

NATIONWIDE INSURANCE COLUMBUS UPDATE: The Blue Jackets (25-45-8-4, 62 points) finished the season in fourth place in the Central Division. Columbus’s Rick Nash (80gp), Calgary’s Jarome Iginla (81gp) and Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk (81gp) finished the NHL regular season with 41 goals each. Nash was Columbus’s leading scorer with 57 points (41g, 16a). Through April 13, 2004, 25 players have appeared in both a Blue Jackets and Crunch jersey (Donald MacLean, Brad Moran, Jeremy Reich, Kent McDonell, Mark Hartigan, Darrel Scoville, Joe Motzko, Tim Jackman, Mike Pandolfo, Derrick Walser, Zenith Komarniski, Aaron Johnson, David Ling, Todd Rohloff, Jamie Pushor, Anders Eriksson, Lasse Pirjeta, Sean Pronger, Greg Mauldin, Espen Knutsen, Pascal Leclaire, Andrej Nedorost, Dan Fritsche, Jean-Luc-Grand-Pierre and Fred Brathwaite).

PRACTICE SCHEDULE: The Crunch's weekly schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, April 20 10:30 p.m. practice @ War Memorial at Oncenter

Wednesday, April 21 10:00 a.m. skate @ War Memorial at Oncenter

7:05 p.m. game @ Rochester

Thursday, April 22 10:30 a.m. practice @ War Memorial at Oncenter

Friday, April 23 10:00 a.m. skate @ War Memorial at Oncenter

7:35 p.m. game @ Rochester

Saturday, April 24 10:30 a.m. skate @ War Memorial at Oncenter

Sunday, April 25 5:00 p.m. game vs. Rochester

*All practice times and locations subject to change

CRUNCHABLES: Tim Jackman (1g, 1a), Mike Pandolfo (1g) and Joe Motzko (1g) recorded their first professional playoff points on Friday, April 16… Game Two was the first time in their Calder Cup Playoff history that the Crunch were shut out (45 total games)… The Crunch’s 64 penalty minutes in Game Two were the most-ever for a playoff game… The combined 118 penalty minutes ranks third most in a playoff game, following 129 (May 5, 1996 @ Baltimore) and 119 (April 20, 1996 @ Binghamton)… The Crunch’s 6 goal loss in Game Two ties the mark for largest playoff defeat in club history (May 12, 1996 vs. Baltimore).

Pictured: Pascal Leclaire, above; Trent Cull, previous page.