AHL Farm Report: Crunch Time For Leclaire

In football, they say defense wins championships, while baseball is all about strong pitching.

Hockey's equivalent is good goaltending and the Syracuse Crunch are a prime example of what can happen when a team struggles between the pipes.

What started off as a position of strength quickly eroded into a huge question mark for the Crunch when starter Pascal Leclaire went down with a groin injury back in November. Prior to getting hurt, Leclaire was starting to turn the corner after battling inconsistency in his first two years as a professional.

"I have always believed in his skill level and I have always been very impressed with his god given quickness," stated Columbus goaltending coach Rick Wamsley. "And he was starting to understand the best way to use his skills and be efficient."

Fourth-year pro Karl Goehring filled in admirably at first, but seems to have fallen in the same trap that Leclaire encountered during his first two seasons. Goehring's up and down play has left the Crunch searching for answers, as the North Dakota product sandwiched a pair of nice winning streaks around a six-game losing skid.

ENTER PENNER

Former OHLer Andrew Penner was promoted to backup and proceeded to shut out the Hershey Bears 3-0 in his first AHL start. However, the 22-year-old rookie followed up with a subpar outing against Rochester before being pulled in his next game on the road in St. John's. Since then, head coach Gary Agnew appears reluctant to use Penner in what have already become must-win games for the Crunch.

Wamsley, however, disagrees with that assessment and feels Penner may have been unfairly judged.

"I think he has played seven periods and five of the seven periods have been pretty good. I thought he was outstanding for two periods against Rochester and if he wasn't as good the game would have been over by the thirty-minute mark," said Wamsley.

Wamsley also answered decisively when asked if he would be hesitant in calling Penner's number regardless of the circumstances.

"No, none at all," retorted Wamsley. "He is here to learn and to develop and also to play if needed. It is up to him to show that he can play and if he gets the opportunity to take the net, keep it."

The situation may have come to a head this past week in back-to-back games against the Cleveland Barons, the closest team to the Crunch in the North Division standings. After blanking the Barons 1-0 on Wednesday to pull out of the cellar, Goehring struggled mightily in Friday's rematch surrendering five goals on only 28 shots in a 6-4 loss.

Saturday seemed like the perfect time to give Penner another opportunity to grab the reins, but Agnew again opted for Goehring, who appeared to respond. However the rest of the team did not and the coach pulled his starter after back-to-back breakaways put the Crunch down 3-0 midway through the second period.

Penner took over but was beaten on the first shot by Barons defenseman Doug Murray, prompting Agnew to reinsert Goehring. After huddling with Wamsley during the second intermission, Agnew decided to go back to Penner, who shut the door during the third period.

PASCAL'S PRINCIPAL

Leclaire has already missed a total of 18 games with his injury and appears to be at least a few more weeks away from returning.

"He has skated, but he basically has put the pads on and moved around a little bit," said Wamsley. "He hasn't attempted to stop the puck or do the splits or anything like that so he is a while away here."

That leaves Goehring and Penner to mind the store and, with the Crunch already 12 points out of the final playoff spot, someone will need to step up if Syracuse has any hopes of returning to the postseason this year.

PAILLE LEARNING ROPES

Waiting to test the Crunch netminders this weekend will be Buffalo Sabres prospect and current Rochester American Dan Paille.

The former OHL standout is beginning to assert himself after struggling initially with the transition to the pro ranks.

"I felt a little bit awkward at first," claimed Paille. "But I feel like I am starting to play a lot better than I did at the beginning of the year."

For a good portion of the first half, Paille has skated on a line with fellow prospects Paul Gaustad and Chris Thorburn. The trio have clicked well together and given Rochester a formidable checking unit.

"Gaustad and Thorburn are both great players who work hard and go to the net," stated Paille. "They also have a lot of skills. You can tell out there that they know how to dangle, especially for their size."

Yet, despite the wealth of offensive talents, Paille is quick to point out that their primary objective as a line is to stick with the basics.

"We just keep it simple. We make the chip plays and support each other to outnumber them in their zone," said Paille. "We also read off each other well and that really helps out."

NO DISAPPOINTMENT FOR BURNS

Brent Burns played one AHL game last season for the Houston Aeros. Had it not been for the NHL lockout, that might have been his only encounter with the league. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, yet Burns is still quite pleased with how things have worked out.

"I'm not disappointed with things at all," deadpanned Burns. "It's great hockey down here and guys are working really hard to get to the next level."

Spending time in the American League has also aided Burns in his transition to the blueline from forward.

"I have a lot to learn going back to defense," said Burns. "It has been a little slow but our team looks great and I am looking forward to having a good year here."

Having an affinity for the defensive end has helped Burns in his conversion.

"I definitely prefer defense," said Burns. "I think I get a lot more opportunities playing defense than I did at forward. I just get the puck a lot more and feel more confident."

ICE CHIPS

Dallas Stars prospect and former Sudbury Wolves netminder Mike Smith recently set a franchise record after appearing in 16 straight games for the Houston Aeros. Smith broke the record in fine fashion as he blanked the Edmonton Road Runners 2-0 for his fourth shutout of the season. Smith has been pressed into action due to an injury to Regina native Josh Harding .. Manchester Monarchs center Yanick Lehoux will miss the remainder of the season after tearing knee ligaments during a hip check by Worchester IceCats defenseman Brendan Buckley, who was slapped with a four-game suspension. The 22-year old Lehoux, a Los Angeles Kings prospect, was third in league scoring at the time of the injury ….. Binghamton Senators forward Brandon Bochenski leads all AHL rookies in scoring with 15 goals and 15 assists in 37 games. Known as a pure finisher during his collegiate tenure at North Dakota, Bochenski has benefited greatly from skating on a line with locked-out NHLer Jason Spezza.