Features

By Jeremy Houghtaling

It was one smooth motion that brought the crowd to its feet.

On the doorstep of the Adirondack Phantoms crease, Richard Panik snatched the puck out of the air, set it down, and tapped the puck into the net, providing the Syracuse Crunch with a 5-0 second period lead at the Onondaga County War Memorial Saturday.

The effortless looking play was all instinct for Panik.

"The game is going so quick and fast, so you don't have time to think about anything," he said.

By Jeremy Houghtaling

Growing up, Radko Gudas modeled his game after two players.

The first, his father Leo, represented his country in multiple world championships and won the bronze medal for Czechoslovakia in the 1992 Olympics.

"I learned how he played, and that's how I play," Gudas said. "He was a really hard hitter, he had a good shot – a really good defenseman."

North American hockey fans are more familiar with the second player – longtime NHLer Scott Stevens, a fearsome defenseman with the most penalty minutes of any player enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Elitserien (Sweden)
Brynas 4 @ Linkopings 1

Johan Harju, Brynas, 0-1-1, +1, 0 PIM, 2 SOG
Season totals: 21 GP, 7-4-11, +1, 29 PIM

Bolstered by Andreas Thuresson's two goals and and Robin Rahm's steady performance (28 total saves) in net, Brynas leapfrogged Linkopings in the standings with a decisive road victory. Johan Harju had the primary assist on what proved to be the game-winning goal by Sebastian Enterfeldt with just over three minutes remaining in the first. Harju now has points (2 goals, 2 assists) in three of his last four Elitserien games dating back to October 30th. Calle Jarnkrok, selected in the 2nd round of the 2010 NHL entry draft by Detroit, hit the stat sheet with two assists. Late in the second period, Simon Hjalmarsson managed the lone score for Linkopings, which sent plenty of rubber (23 shots) Rahm's way over the middle and final frame but could not get the score any closer. Up next for Brynas (9-6-3-3, 36 PTS) is a showdown with league-leading HV 71, (12-4-3-1, 43 PTS), which has won the last three matches between the two clubs, on Thursday.

Official Recap | Box Score | Highlights

By Jeremy Houghtaling

JT Brown was just getting his feet wet in the National Hockey League.

In the final game of the 2011-12 regular season – his fifth game since the free agent collegian chose the Tampa Bay Lightning – the highly sought-after prospect registered an assist for his first professional point.

But more importantly, the short time in Tampa gave Brown a taste of the NHL lifestyle, the speed of the game, and the coaching systems.

By Jeremy Houghtaling

Alex Killorn certainly doesn’t seem like a rookie.

With nearly as many playoff games as regular season, the 6-foot-1, 201-pounder is quietly piling up points like a veteran.

Registering six points over his first seven games in his first full professional season with the Syracuse Crunch, Killorn is improving on the impressive pace he set during his first taste of pro hockey last spring.

“When he came in, the game slowed down for him right away, within a couple of games,” Crunch head coach Jon Cooper said. “You look at some of our other rookies…It took those guys a little bit more time."