When the Tampa Bay Lightning’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate takes to the ice for its season opener on Friday, Oct. 13, it will mark the beginning of the 30th season for the Syracuse Crunch. Howard Dolgon has been the owner of the Crunch for all of their 30-year tenure in upstate New York. Ironically, he was sitting in the suite of the president of the Lightning when he got the call back in 1994 that the Vancouver Canucks were in as an NHL affiliate for his new AHL franchise in Syracuse.
The Crunch played their first game in Syracuse on Sept. 30, 1994, against the Albany River Rats in a 7-7 tie, with Lonny Bohonos scoring the first Crunch goal. However, it was the pregame activities that garnered the most interest from people and the media around the United States and Canada. In addition to appearances by heavyweight boxing champion Riddick Bowe and the popular ring announcer Michael Buffer, it was the invitation of hockey great Gordie Howe that gathered the most attention.
As part of those ceremonies, the Crunch signed and intended to have Howe play for them in that first game. The media all over North America panned the move as being disrespectful to Howe and the game. Another vocal critic was Dave Andrews, president of the AHL from 1994 to 2020. Even though Howe did not play due to health concerns, Andrews was highly critical of the move in a 2021 interview. “To have him skate in a warmup or be in the building is one thing but to actually have him sign a contract to play in the American League for promotional purposes, for me, was disrespectful to the game. And I still feel that way.”
Pre-Tampa Bay Affiliations
The Crunch took over the franchise that had been the Hamilton Canucks, but went belly up midway through the 1993-94 season. After the Vancouver Canucks took over the franchise for the rest of the season, Dolgon and Alan Taylor agreed to purchase the franchise and move it to Syracuse. The affiliation with the Canucks lasted until 2000, which also included two years in which the Pittsburgh Penguins became dual affiliates with the Canucks. The Crunch have played all 30 years at the Onondaga County War Memorial stadium (now Upstate Medical University Arena), a venue that has a history of its own, having been the location for several scenes in the movie Slap Shot.
As mentioned, Bohonos scored the first goal for the Crunch in playing to a 7-7 tie with the River Rats. He was one of the more popular players in the Crunch’s early years and went on to play 83 games for the Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Brent Sopel is also a notable alumni from those early years, as he went on to win a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010.
In 2000, the Crunch entered an agreement to become the affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who entered the NHL that year as an expansion team. The Crunch did have some success during the growing pains of the Blue Jackets. Their most notable achievement during that time was they played the first outdoor game in AHL history on Feb. 20, 2010, against the Binghamton Senators. The Mirabito Outdoor Classic took place at the Grandstand at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. The game set a then-AHL attendance record of 21,508.
The Crunch had a two-year affiliation with the Anaheim Ducks from 2010 to 2012 and had on their rosters three notable players who had successful careers in the NHL: Kyle Palmieri, Nick Bonino, and former Lightning Pat Maroon.
Affiliation With the Lightning
The Crunch signed a multi-year affiliation deal with the Lightning beginning with the 2012-13 season, starting a successful partnership that has led to 31 Crunch regulars being a part of the Lightning’s Stanley Cup runs in 2020 and 2021. Current Lightning head coach Jon Cooper was the head coach of the Crunch during that first season, leading the team to a 39-18-3-5 record, the best in the AHL at the time of his promotion to the Lightning.
Besides the players that have led to the success of the Crunch, the franchise had some notable achievements during its partnership with the Lightning. On Nov. 22, 2014, they set a new United States indoor professional hockey attendance record with 30,715 fans at Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome (now known as JMA Wireless Arena) for the “Toyota Frozen Dome Classic”. Syracuse defeated the Utica Comets 2-1.
Of all the players who have donned the Crunch sweater, Nikita Kucherov would have to be one of the best NHL players who have ever skated in the War Memorial. The likely Hall of Famer played in 17 games for the Crunch before being called up to the Lightning during 2013-14, scoring 13 goals while adding 11 assists. Also in the discussion would be Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Russian netminder compiled a record of 21-10-5 with a 2.29 goals-against average in the 37 games he played from 2014-2016.
During their time with the Lightning, the Crunch also picked up a secondary affiliation during the 2020-21 season when the Florida Panthers AHL affiliate in Charlotte did not field a team due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One player of note from the Panthers’ organization who played on that team is goaltender Sam Montembeault, now the backup goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens.
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As they enter their 30th season, the Crunch will look to continue their success as part of the Lightning organization, hoping to build off the momentum of reaching the North Division Semi-Final in 2022-23 and, along the way, develop more players who can hopefully help the Lightning win another Stanley Cup.
