The Syracuse Crunch will be led by their new head coach Rob Zettler this season. Zettler is a former player himself who had a playing career spanning close to fourteen years with different teams. With Zettler’s expertise leading them forward, Crunch will be looking to make their mark on the league. It will be an interesting campaign for everyone associated with the team. This might well be the year that sets the pattern for where the team goes from this point onwards. That is the reason why the upcoming Crunch season is being highly anticipated by the fans.
The Syracuse Crunch have had a rollercoaster ride since joining the American Hockey League. They have been to the playoffs multiple times over the years but it still could have been better. They were busy recruiting new players in the offseason and there are now some signs that things are starting to look up for them. All they need is some luck and all the support they can get from their fans. This is the time to stick together and there is no better way to do that than buying Syracuse Crunch tickets and rooting for your favorite team live.
The Beginning
The Syracuse Crunch trace their roots back to the year 1992 when the Hamilton Canucks joined the hockey fraternity as minor affiliates of the Vancouver Canucks. That team remained active for two years and made it to the postseason once during their last campaign.
The franchise was then moved to New York’s upstate region in the year 1994. The team now needed a new name so the public was given the chance to pick their favorite from a list of five. Crunch got the most votes and that is how the team started to play under its current form.
Syracuse Crunch Start to Play
The Syracuse Crunch made their debut in the 1994-1995 season and posted as 29-49-9 record to capture fifth spot. They performed slightly better next season and that earned them a spot in the playoffs. They went all the way to the third round where their dream run was cut short by the Rochester Americans. They made it to the playoffs the following season as well and only went as far as the first round.
It was in the 1997-1998 season that the Syracuse Crunch posted their first winning season on the board. They went 35-32-11-2 that year with a .519 record but didn’t make it beyond the first playoff round. The remaining two years of the decade brought only one playoff appearance.
First Title and Now
The arrival of the next millennium turned out to be lucky for the Syracuse Crunch. They made it to the playoffs once again in 2000-2001 but went one step further the next year. In what turned out to be their most successful season till then, the team went 39-23-13-5 to go all the way to lifting the division title for the first time in their history. They now had momentum on their side but things didn’t go according to the script after that in terms of titles won.
Crunch went to postseason festivities for half of the next ten years but no titles were won. That however changed in 2012-2013 when Crunch turned things pretty great. They racked up 43-22-0-6 record to win not only their second division title but also their first conference championship.
That success gives them another chance to make their mark on the league. They joined hands with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2012 as their affiliates and the onus is now on Crunch to make the most of it. This season will go a long way in showing where they end up going in the long run which adds that little bit of extra spice to the whole scenario.