5 things to know about the Syracuse Crunch’s AHL All
The Syracuse Crunch is hosting the AHL All Star Classic for the second time in its 22 year history. The Crunch also welcomed the event in the 1997 98 season. Monday. For ticket information, contact the Crunch front office at 473 4444.
The Crunch will be represented by goalie Kristers Gudlevskis, defenseman Matt Taormina and forward Mike Angelidis. Angelidis was named one of two honorary playing captains.
Here are five things to know about the event:
The 2016 rosters feature 41 first time participants, nine AHL rookies and 18 former first and second round NHL draft choices. In addition, 24 of this year’s all stars have appeared in a NHL game already this season. Subban and Mats Zuccarello.
Syracuse will also be a hockey hotspot off the ice. The AHL holds its winter board of governors meeting at the event, drawing top officials from every team. NHL front office types looking to network with each other and catch up on business and/or scouting will also stop by.Cheap Jerseys free shipping
Elsewhere across the United States, the events will be seen on more than 25 regional networks. Overall, the event is expected to reach more than 110 million households.
“We’re live on TV. We’ve got a massive network across the United States and Canada,” said AHL president Dave Andrews. “It really is an exclusive window for us and a big part of that is showcasing Syracuse.”
The events are also available for free on AHL Live.
Why did the AHL change the game format?
The all stars will be divided into four teams, one representing each of the league’s divisions (Atlantic, North, Central, Pacific). Each team will then play three mini games of nine minutes apiece in a round robin tournament (six games overall). The first half of each game will be played at 4 on 4, and the second half at 3 on 3.
The two teams with the best records at the end of the round robin tournament will face off for the championship, a six minute game played at 3 on 3. Including breaks between games, the whole event is expected to fall within the time frame of a normal contest of less than three hours.
The format eliminates the pretense of hitting and defense and plays to the stars’ strengths of speed and offensive creativity. The end to end chances should be a lot more entertaining for fans. The use of 3 on 3 in both NHL and AHL overtimes this season has generally gone over well.
