It’s early in the 2010-11 American Hockey League season, but Syracuse Crunch left wing Nicolas Deschamps has already emerged as the team’s most potent scoring threat.
Deschamps netted two power play goals as the Crunch topped Norfolk 3-1 on Oct. 22, at the War Memorial. The next night in Hartford, Conn., Deschamps helped set up Josh Green’s game-winning overtime marker to dispatch the Wolf Pack, 2-1.
After the Crunch’s first six games this season, Deschamps leads the team with three goals and one assist. He and his line aren’t doing anything fancy, Deschamps said. He’s simply making a point to “compete for the puck.”
That’s what he did Oct. 16, when the Crunch won its first game of the season, 2-1, against the Binghamton Senators, at the War Memorial. With five minutes left in the first period, Crunch forward Nick Bonino froze a defender with a fake shot before passing off to Deschamps who scored handily.
The 20-year-old native of Lasalle, Quebec, played a great game for the Crunch. Not only did he score his first goal of the campaign, he also turned in several vicious body checks, including the “Nick Orso Body Shop’s Collision of the Game,” and selflessly threw himself to the ice to block shots.
Judging from last year’s statistics, Crunch fans can expect to see Deschamps among the team’s to scorers all season. In 2009-10, when he played for two different teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Deschamps scored 39 goals and passed for 57 assists.
While Crunch shooters such as Deschamps, Bonino, Sbisa and Kyle Palmieri represent real scoring punch, they still need to be convinced to shoot more often.
Last Friday here, the hometown team was outshot 38-18. Fortunately, rookie goalie Timo Pielmeier made 37 saves for the victory, but Syracuse can’t count on miracle netminding all season.
Saturday in Hartford, Crunch shooters nearly balanced the shots-on-goal stats, taking 23 shots to the Wolf Pack’s 27, but that was the first time that Syracuse notched more than 20 shots. Over its first six games the Crunch were outshot by its opponents 201 to 112. Nevertheless, the team stands at 3-2, having scored 12 goals while allowing 11.
Coach Mike Holick knows that Pielmeier’s golden goaltending is only one facet of a complicated game. Holick will need to see more hustle from his position players as well as more shooting and tighter defense, or it’s going to be a long and frustrating season. Besides the marvelous goaltending, the most encouraging aspect of the Crunch game has been its penalty kill which has held fast on 30 of the first 31 penalties assessed against Syracuse this season.
Crunch face Senators Friday
The Crunch, newly affiliated with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, face off against the Hershey Bears at 7:30 p.m. Friday Oct. 29, at downtown’s War Memorial. The Bears are affiliated with the Washington Capitals.
On Saturday, the Albany Devils celebrate Halloween weekend with a 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 game against the Crunch. Albany’s the top farm club of the New Jersey Devils.
Ticket prices range between $13 and $22; 473-4444; syracusecrunch.com.
