Latest / Backchecking the Bolts / Syracuse Crunch 2025-26 Season Recap | Lukas Favale on Tampa Bay’s Top AHL Affiliate

Transcript

Syracuse Crunch 2025-26 Season Recap | Lukas Favale on Tampa Bay’s Top AHL Affiliate · Backchecking the Bolts

• Jason Linkes: Coming up, I'm back checking the bolts. Is there a player since you've been broadcasting that you saw that you're like, This is an NHL guy. This is a guy that I know I'm gonna see in the big show. Well, I go back to my intern days. We Nikita Kucherov for a month and and he did not belong in this league at all. He came in, he was he was so good right away. And I think we all were like, We're not gonna see him long. And he we didn't see him long. It was a month and he was up, and obviously he wasn't dominant year one with the lightning, but we know what he's become now. Welcome to Back Checking the Bolts. Back Checking the Bolts is your cup of coffee to get you the latest on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Join hosts Jason Lincas and the managing editor of Raw Charge, Justin Godfrey, as they break down the Lightning's most recent games and go beyond the highlights, telling you what the box scores didn't. It's time to drop the puck. Hi, everybody. Welcome to another podcast of Back Checking the Bolts. I'm your host, Jason Lincoln. Justin Godfrey is sitting on the golf course probably somewhere today. So I'm going to take over and we're going to be interviewing Lucas Fivale, the voice of the Syracuse Crunch. He's going to break down last season, but also tell everyone hey, what's down on the farm? Who could be possibly coming up for the Lightning in the 26-27 season? Now it's time to bring him in. Lucas Favoli, the voice of the Syracuse Crunch. Lucas, how you doing today? Doing great. It's ⁓ you know, summer's flying by, so I'm excited to be talking about some hockey again. It it feels like the season just ended a week ago, but ⁓ yeah, looking forward to being here and and talking crunch and lightning and whatever else comes up. It's hard to believe training camp is next month. That's when I've looked at the calendar, it's already ⁓ August seventh and I'm thinking to myself, training camp is next month and the NHL season starts at the end of September. When does the AHL season start? Yeah, so the first crunch game is ⁓ is October second. So I and I don't know if there's any preseason or anything. So it's basically, you know, the the next week right after the NHL gets going. So yeah, we are we're a week ahead as well. It is it's coming quick on us and we're looking forward to it. But I do like summer at the same time. So it can slow down just a little bit. Give us a little bit more summer here before ⁓ before hockey kicks back into gear. Yeah, you might have a few more opportunities to head out to Lake Ontario and enjoy the nice weather up there, even though you're getting a little Florida weather up there right now. Yeah, it is hot and humid. I'm I'm dying right now. We were on the golf course yesterday and I barely made it through 18. It was it was getting ⁓ pretty steamy by the end. So Lucas, let's talk about last season. A great a great finish to the season. ⁓ Just missed out on the division title, finished second in the north. You were a couple overtimes away from advancing into the playoffs. Several players developed a the Lightning had to rely a lot on Syracuse last year with all of the injuries with the club. You had the one of the best power plays in team history. When you look back on the 25-26 season, what do you remember the most? Well, first of all, it was just, you know, the group as a whole, it was such a fun team to be around. ⁓ you know, the the leadership was great. The the characters on the team were terrific. They they mean they kept the the group, the room so loose all season long. It was just such a fun team to to you know to be in invested in and be ingrained in throughout the course of the year. So it was an easy team to root for. ⁓ Crunch fans got ⁓ great pleasure of seeing some terrific players too. I mean, it was a a high octane team, a lot of scoring most of the year. ⁓ they, you know, it was a really good defensive team. And like you said, there was a the you the lightning depended a lot on the crunch. And in particular, most of the time it was defensively. A lot of defensemen going, you know, up and staying up in Tampa. So what we thought at the start of the year was gonna be the crunch's maybe top six, top seven D, it got maneuvered around so often and so frequently. It was a totally different look by the end of the year, but it was still really good. And that and that I think was one of the biggest surprises for the team last year was just how good defensively they were with ⁓ Guys like Declan Carlisle, Charles Edward Dostoo, who started the year here, played most of the year in Tampa Bay. Steven Santini, the captain for the Crunch, was up in Tampa Bay most well, maybe not most of the year, but probably good half of the year. He was up in Tampa Bay, yeah, whether he was playing or at least as, you know, a depth role i if needed. So the crunch relied on a lot of players down here, like Tampa did up top, and and a lot of guys stepped up, great development, like you said. Jacob Pelletier had an MVP caliber season. He led the league in scoring. Connor Gee, he was down here most of the year. And when he was, he was terrific. So I think there was a lot of positives that we saw from this team this year or this past year. And ⁓ a lot to build on. Now, like you said, just missed out on the division title. ⁓ good series against the Cleveland Monsters in the playoffs, but came up short, heartbreaking finish in the and you know, all those overtimes in in in Syracuse. So ⁓ disappointing end of the year where they thought they this was a team that probably could have had a long run of the playoffs. ⁓ but all in all it was such a fun team to to be around and I think that's what I remember most from last year is just, you know, the the players, the personalities and and some of the the highs that the team had last year. Tell us about Jacob Peltier. Now he did play a little bit with the Lightning last year, but 79 points, led the league in scoring. He's twenty five years old. And I have to feel that going into this training camp, this is a this might be a make or break training camp. For him to find his way into the NHL. But tell Lightning fans a little bit about his game and why he was so successful in Syracuse. Yeah, I'll I mean I'll get to his game in a moment, but for I you know, I was talking about the personalities of the team, and he is number one on that list. Like he is such a a a great guy, like perfect, perfect human being. He's terrific. He he you know, he accepts everyone into the room. Like he is he was the glue guy last year. ⁓ just keeps it so loose and fun. And then you add to the fact that he is a dominant player, at least at the AHL level. He's been so good in his career wherever he's been in the AHL and Calgary and in Stockton with you know the the Flames organization. ⁓ and he came in last year and obviously before, you know, in in the offseason last year he he signed a three year contract with the Lightning, two-way year one and one ways this upcoming year and the following year. So I I think the plan was probably to be in Syracuse last year and then hopefully make the Lightning the next two years, at least in terms of what you're looking at contract wise. So I don't know if that's gonna happen or not. We'll see. But he was so good on the ice. He just sees the game so well. He's such a great distributor. He can score. He had a great year, you know, putting in goals as well this past year. He just does everything on the ice. And, you know, add to the fact that he is a really good defensive player. I think that was where his game took the biggest step last year was he rounded out his game defensively as well. Big on the pedaly kill. He was key shorthanded, had a lot of shorthanded goals or assists. ⁓ I think All in all, he is a sixty, you know, ⁓ three zone ⁓ two hundred foot player ⁓ that if he can crack the NHL and and make it a full-time thing, he could be a fun player to watch. Now, whether the game translates like it does from the AHL to the NHL for him is you know obviously still to be determined. But the AHL, he's great. and you know, for Crunch fans, they really were ⁓ shown a treat this past season. So we'll see where he is this upcoming year. But I think ⁓ all in all He is a big part of this organization. And like you said, I think it's a big year for him. I think th this training camp is crucial for him. maybe a spot or two open up in Tampa. We'll see where things shake out in training camp. But I I think his expectation is probably to to really be competing for a spot there. I think the organization is probably expecting that as well. Another player that I think a lot of Tampa fans are expecting to see in Tampa is Connor Geeky. A young guy spent the majority of the season last year in Syracuse. despite two years ago spending the majority of the season in Tampa, from when you saw Connor Geeky at the beginning of last year to the end, how did his game develop and do you think he's ready to make that jump? Yeah, I think the biggest question for for Connor is just, you know, where does his where is his spot in the NHL, right? I and I think that's kind of what is I don't want to say plagued him the past couple of years, at least this past year and sp ⁓ specifically, but at this level, I mean he is What his skill set is is a top six player for sure. And you know, the lightning don't have a ton of those spots available right now. So it's more routing out the rest of his game when if he can be in a you know a top nine or if he has to be a fourth line or whatever it might be. ⁓ you know, at again at the AJ level, he's got great skill. As you've seen at times up in Tampa Bay, like he can he can do anything with a puck. ⁓ and his game also you know, he got better skating. He was a good defensive player, ⁓ and he really I think this past year he really enjoyed his time in Syracuse. Like year one as a rookie, you know, you make the Lightning out of camp, you think maybe you're an NHL or he came down that year to the the crunch and yeah, he was invested at that point too. ⁓ then this past year, like you said, he spent most of the year with a crunch. So I think he he really enjoyed his time this past year. I think he saw his game develop. I think the organization saw his game develop. Obviously he ended the year with the Lightning and in in the playoffs and that kind of hurt the crunch as well with him not available for the crunch in the postseason. ⁓ but I think he ⁓ like just like Jacob, I mean those two guys are two guys are gonna be competing for spots in the NHL level. ⁓ and I I think it's a big camp for for Connor Geeky as well, where he might fit in the NHL. I I think his game is rounding out more. ⁓ you know, ⁓ maybe he can find a role that is not a top six role with the lightning, but ⁓ I think that's where he belongs. If he gets into an NHL spot at some point, it's gonna be in a top six position. How hard is the adjustment for guys like Geeky? Who are used to playing power play, maybe some penalty kill, but they're used to playing twenty minutes a night. How tough is that when you're used to playing twenty, you get caught up, but maybe you're playing eight to ten. Just emo ⁓ just mentally, how hard is that when you talk to those guys? Yeah, i you know, it is it's definitely an adjustment. And then you have to try to make the most of those minutes when you're not, you know, you're not taking every shift, you're you've got shorter shifts, you're playing with different players, not just take anything away from the guys in the NHL. Obviously, they're all skilled, they all can do whatever on the ice, but it it's kind of a different role i in that situation. So it is an adjustment for the guys. And then on the flip side, when you're coming back down, you have to readjust and get your legs going again and all that stuff. So it is it's tough for those players ⁓ when you know the expectations of what you're looking to accomplish on the ice are different. You know, if you're in the you know the third line, you're if you can score great, but you're in a checking role, right? Like you're you're trying to create some energy, you're you're trying to and maybe land a check or get in on the four check and maybe create some offense and if you do that's great, but you have to find other ways to contribute in those roles. And for some guys it is just more natural. And and sometimes you see guys who don't explode at the AHL level, like they don't stand out a ton, actually make bene better NHL players because they have that in them that that it kind of fits better at the NHL level. So ⁓ we'll see where that stands with some of the guys, whether it's a Connor Geeky, Jacob Peltier, or any of the other guys who are coming up through the organization over the next couple of years. But it it definitely is a mental and physical adjustment, making the most of those fewer minutes at the NHL level ⁓ in a different role than what you're seeing maybe at the AHL. You were talking about Connor Geeky, the difference between year one and year two in Syracuse. From your perspective, when what is the hardest thing for players coming out of junior hockey in the NCAA? when they get to the AHL. What's the hardest thing that they have to adjust to? It really is the speed of the game. That's what the guys always talk about, how much faster it is, ⁓ you know, whether it's coming from junior or college, whatever it might be. Like you're playing against men who are bigger, they're faster, they're stronger, they're, you know, they they they know how to play. And, you know, I I've seen a couple of coaches now here in Syracuse, Ben Gru, and now Joel Bouchard, and I remember Ben always saying, ⁓ you know, you have to almost some of these players, especially coming out of junior, have to unlearn what they're doing at juniors to then relearn it at the AHL because what you know, some of the especially the high end guys in you know, in junior hockey who can it's not that they're not trying, but they can they can dance around some of these sixteen year olds if they're a twenty year old without making it look difficult at all. And then they come in and they're playing against twenty five, you know, twenty six year olds, whatever might be at the AHL level and The y you can't get away with what you're doing in the ⁓ you know, in juniors ⁓ in the AHL. So I I remember Ben always saying, you know, some of those guys, their potential is there, they're gonna get there at some point, but they have to kind of unlearn some of the the habits that maybe creeped into their games, ⁓ to then figure it out and and become better pros. So I think the biggest adjustment, like I said, is is dealing with the speed, dealing with the the size of the players and just kind of the the the smarts that pro players have. Like Players are in this league for a reason. They're really good hockey players in the AHL and obviously in the NHL too. So you you really have to grind down on the details, make sure you know where you're supposed to be, what you're supposed to be doing, and and be dialed in for those sixty minutes each and every night and and it you know, it's not easy. And then the other part of it is, like I just said, every night. C the consistency is a lot of the times what holds guys back. Even if they're you know, you see the flashes for a week, two weeks, a month. Then all of a sudden you're like, where is this guy for the next month and a half? So it it is that consistency along with everything else that really separates the guys who maybe make it to the AHL, but don't quite get to the NHL. I remember when I was announcing USA junior hockey and the one thing that I always that always caught my eye, those guys would s some guys would skate with their head down just a little bit too long. And as the play got better, those guys got their bells rung because you just can't do it. You have to skate with your head up. In each level that you progress, you see that. But let's talk off the ice. What's the biggest adjustment for these guys off the ice the first time that they're in a Syracuse, first time they're in the ECHL? You've been through various levels of hockey. What's that off-ice adjustment like? Yeah, I think it's it's definitely different from the different pipelines, right? If you're coming from college, you're probably a little older, you're a little more mature, you you've lived in a college environment at least where you're you're responsible yours for yourself, right? Like but if you're coming from junior, a lot of the time you are you're living with a Bilbock family. Maybe you're not doing your own laundry, you're not doing your own cooking, like that and and makes a difference. It does. Like and legit the the guys coming in here it it it can be a little bit of an adjustment when you are now they get food at the rink, like they get lunch at the rink, they get breakfast at the rink, like that stuff is taken care of, but dinner What am I cooking tonight? Like what I'm out of clothes. What's going on? I don't have any pots and pans. So it's it's some of the things that, you know, people don't really think about. ⁓ but these guys are still young. Like they are they're coming out of again, college ⁓ probably a little more put together because they're probably a little older ⁓ and a little more mature. But the most of the time the guys coming out of junior or the guys coming over from Europe, like it's a big adjustment when you're figuring out how do I live on my own. Now a lot of the times guys have roommates too, which helps. ⁓ or at least live in the building with someone else if it's an apartment complex or whatever. ⁓ so they have some help along the way. And then, you know, the Crunch Fund Office helps for some of the other things that maybe they're not thinking about as well. But it's it's not easy. Right like th there it's a big step when you're trying to be a pro hockey player. Think about all that stuff. Get better on the ice, you know, get better in the gym and you also have to worry about the, you know, the the just real life things that are going on too. And then the always there's always that threat that you might get caught up, you might get traded. It's really tough for these guys to to just focus solely on hockey because just like you and I, we have to live our lives and so do they. Yeah. And it's funny, like I and guys coming up from the East HL too, right? Like they're if they're on the AHL contract but they're in Orlando, they're coming up and you don't know how long you're gonna be up. You have a suitcase, you're in the hotel for a day, a week, a month. Who knows? Like i it's just there's so much ⁓ so many variables away from the rink that again, the crunch organization, the crunch front office, the lightning, they we try to minimize that stuff or make it as seamless and easy as possible, but there's still a lot of things that they've got to worry about and and while doing that have to try to win games and and develop as hockey players. The Bolts and the Crunch just announced they extended their partnership through twenty thirty. Now when you look at the record over the twelve seasons Five hundred and twenty and three thirty one. You can't beat that winning percentage. What makes this partnership so successful? It really is a great synergy between the two organizations. And and I think we were looking at it the other day. I think it's the third most wins in the AHL or fourth most wins in the A I I don't have the number in front of me, but it's it's right near the top over the, you know, the time we're during the affiliation since twenty twelve. ⁓ and it's a great synergy. Like two cup ⁓ you know, Call of the Cup finals appearances for the crunch in twenty thirteen and in twenty seventeen. So The on ice success has been there and it really has started, you know, with Julian Brisbane, Steve Eiserman at the time when he was ⁓ general manager of the Lightning, ⁓ and Howard Zolkin, the crunch owner, and Jim Sarosi, like they they they just mesh so well together and the philosophies really align with each other and and you know, the lightning have put a premium on winning at the AHL level. you know, I I know the the playoff success hasn't been here of late for the crunch, but the regular season success is there. ⁓ and it's no it's no secret, like ⁓ you wanna develop winning at this level to have them winning, you know, at the NHL level and the the Lightning won a Calder Cup in Norfolk in twenty twelve, went to the finals of the Crunch in twenty thirteen, went to the finals in twenty seventeen, and it all led up to those championship teams for the Lightning, you know, the finals team in twenty fifteen and the back to back cups later on. So I think it works well for the Crunch because the Lightning want to win and the Crunch wanna win. Like that is it's not like that in every NHL AHL affiliation. A lot of AHL teams are now owned by their NHL club, so it's a little bit of a different mindset. You know, the Crunchers are still independently owned, one of the the longest running now in the league. And Howard Dolgan wants to win desperately. And the Lightning are committed to putting a team on the ice that will be successful, that, you know, the the fans will enjoy here in Syracuse, that will help their organization up top. ⁓ there's great support on and off the ice. There's, you know, all the the the development coaches, the skills coaches, the skating coaches. They the lightning have really invested significantly in, you know, the on ice and off ice stuff for their prospects at this level. So I think all of that has led to the success that we've seen. ⁓ and I know at the end of the day, the crunch still aren't satisfied because, you know, this organization wants to win a Calder Cup. And I know the Lightning, while happy with what we've seen over the years with over a hundred players now coming through this pipeline. They want to win here too. So I it it is it really works well because of that, that the philosophies are so well aligned that there's been a great synergy over the years and it does help that, you know, we've seen some pretty good players over the years, especially early on when there was it was loaded up and you know while the maybe the pipeline has dried out a bit because of all the the Stanley Cup runs, there's still some really good players coming through here that, you know, the organization has been able to develop. Because they're privately owned, unlike a lot of organizations that own their AHL affiliate. They are, I think, one of eleven right now AHL affiliates that are privately owned. Do the owners have to invest a little bit more in the community and have a little bit more of a stake in order to make sure the community buys in year in and year out? Yeah, there's no doubt. And you we've been fortunate now we're kind of up on year thirty three of the crunch. So we're we're kind of embedded in this community at this point. But, you know, as when we I say we I wasn't around in nineteen ninety four, but when when the team started in nineteen ninety-four, you know, the the this city was deemed as we've kind of leaned into over the years, it was deemed a hockey graveyard. There'd been a lot of teams that had come through, there'd been AHL teams that had come through, they didn't last long. ⁓ and Howard Dolgan and his group came in, they they you know, they put this team here and it was a commitment to the community and and the number of community events that Crunch are in ⁓ you know, whether it's the players during the season, off season, you know, just today a lot of ⁓ the you know, the front offices out in the community at a cleanup at one of the local park like we are really invested in the community and and the the Crunch Foundation puts tons of money back into the community, raising money at games. ⁓ you know, it it's just it's what we have to do to succeed. Like we're there's no big league team in this city, but we have Syracuse University athletics, the football and basketball team are really big, so we're we're up against them. and you know, we do our best to stay as involved as we can possibly be. And we've been so fortunate that the fans have kind of embraced this team over the years. And ⁓ you know, it's it's not necessarily because of the on ice success. I think part of it is because of the the efforts in the community ⁓ and seeing all those different you know, just being out as much as we can be to to make those connections and try to bring new fans in and keep the you know the cycle going. Now, obviously on ice Success helps and we see boosts when the team is is really good on the ice. But you know, at the end of the day at this level it's it's it's twofold. You have to be in the community and you also have to put on a good show in the rink. You know, as we always say, we can't control what happens on the ice. Like that is not, you know, the lightning are the the the the folks who are putting the you know the on ice product together. So all we can control is, you know, the the fans experience in the building, whatever is going on around the game, we can control that to try to make it a fun environment. So Those are the two things we can really control. And then, like we said earlier, the Lightning have provided a pretty good team for us to to see on the ice as well. Is there some talk about a new arena in Syracuse? I I know Howard Dolgan, Crunch Owner, just put ⁓ you know, out a statement in that affiliation ⁓ agreement announcement that it's it's time. ⁓ and I think we would all agree it's it's time. Like Upstate Medical University arena, one of the oldest arenas in the in the in the league. i it's it is time. Like You're in the arena proper, you can't beat it. The the atmosphere is terrific. You know, it seats just over six thousand and and w however many happen there, it's gonna be loud. Like it is a great viewing experience from inside the arena, but there are challenges to the arena as we know. ⁓ Crunch fans know it too. I I mean it's the concourses are tight, parking's not great, like there's a lot of things that could improve around the arena. And and you gotta give the county credit. They've put in some money over the years to to either upgrade the seats, add suites new scoreboard, all that stuff to keep it as kind of new ish as possible. ⁓ but I think long term I it's inevitable that you know the the organization, the county should be looking at something new. ⁓ I don't think there's any current active plans for something to be coming up in a year or two, but ⁓ I do think that with Howard putting that out it it kind of at least maybe gets the ball rolling that ⁓ sooner than later, the Crunch wanna see a new building. I'm sure the Lightning would love to see a new building for the prospects to play it as well. I mean, we've seen some new buildings now around the league over the last, you know, decade or so with some of the new teams coming in, ⁓ renovated buildings, whatever it might be. The Crunch are well overdue for that, but at the same time it's y it there's such a charm to the as we call it, the old barn as well. ⁓ so it's it's hard to replace that. I don't think you could ever replicate the the atmosphere that we have in our building right now, but ⁓ some of the amenities that are lacking are are definitely lacking. At the end of the season, and it wasn't very long, ⁓ Mateo Petroniro, ⁓ Nick Abruzizi, Brandon Fury, they signed new contracts, but they didn't go to July first. They they re signed before they had to. One, were you a little bit surprised, but two, what does that say about the situation playing within the Lightning organization in Syracuse? Yeah, ⁓ well, it goes back to one of the first points I made, right? Like this group was so tight. They were so connected. ⁓ and some of those guys that played together, Mateo Petroniro, Nick Averiziz, you can throw in Tommy Miller who is re signed as well. They they all played together in Toronto before that. They're all really tight off the ice. ⁓ and you know, especially those two defensemen, Petranero and Miller, like those are guys who did not play opening night. And we were talking about, you know, the the top six D At the start of the year last year and how much it evolved. And those are two guys who I don't want to say came out of nowhere, but they were depth pieces probably at the start of the year and were terrific. I mean, Mateo Petronier had a career year scoring, you know, plus my he was great. ⁓ so he was one of those guys who I think really caught a lot of eyes in the organization. ⁓ so I think it was just the tightness and and this group wanting to take another swing of things, ⁓ which kind of helps You know, the the idea of bringing them back. Nick Abrazizy had a great year. ⁓ so that's another big piece to to bring back. And Brendan Furry was he he was really good in Lehigh Valley. I think the organization kind of had an idea what they were getting, but he was such an important piece for this team last year that he got hurt and with about a month ish to go in the era, he was out for the rest of the year. And that was I think one of the guys they just could not replace heading into the playoffs. He it was so, so good. And the problem is it was I think the day either the day of the AHL trade deadline or the n the next day. So ⁓ the worst timing possible. The worst timing possible. Yeah. And he's just such a guy. He's just so fast on the ice. Like he flies. Dominant penalty killer, tons of shorthanded goals or chances. Like he was such an effective part of this group. And then to lose him, you know, right after the trade deadline, it could replace him. So I th that was a big loss for them. And I think they're really excited to have him back as well. ⁓ Jared Tenortie re-signs a veteran piece. Like there's a lot of guys coming back to this team and it it really does circle around how tight this group was and the feeling at the end of last year was they it was an opportunity missed because of how good the the team was. so I think critical for this organization to bring it back and and it does speak to, you know, just how this organization runs that they're comfortable in this city. They like the, you know, the feeling of the team, the organization, everything, you know, around the organization as well. And no, some of those guys, we talked about those three coming from Toronto. That's a big difference, right? Syracuse and Toronto, big different cities, ⁓ you know, different ⁓ organizations and how they approach things like the the the Leafs and the Marleys have gobs of cash they can throw out ⁓ you know, at their organizations, but they they liked it here. Like they they enjoyed their time here and they wanted to come back again. So I think it's a really good sign for what this organization has done over the years, and we hope that continues. I want to talk to you about game four, the three overtime game. And ⁓ I don't want to talk about the game itself. I want to ask you as a broadcaster. Now I've announced probably a hundred and fifty, two hundred games during my broadcasting career, and I actually attended the third longest game in NHL history, the Flyers and the Pens. Back in 2000, game four, five overtimes. I actually had to catch a flight out of Cleveland that morning. So I I never went to sleep. But I have to ask you as a broadcaster, when the game goes that long, you're you gotta keep your voice. What did you do differently after the first and second overtime where you're like, hey, we might be here for a while. Is there anything that you had to do personally to get through that game? No, n I f I was very fortunate that I You know, I just I drank water. That was it. Like I there was I was feeling good th throughout the course of the day, the the night, like it it never really felt like, ⁓ boy, I'm running out of steam now. And maybe part of it is the adrenaline is really pumping at that point because every every moment i is so magnified the deeper into overtime number one and the number two and then you're into number three like Holy, this is still going on, right? And but like the adrenaline is pumping, you're feeling it. It it's flying by. It doesn't feel like you've been there for that long. Helped that it was an afternoon game, so it wasn't like two AM and we were still going. I think if it was a seven o'clock start that that game, I might have been hurting a little bit more. No, I don't know. It's just the the hardest thing is finding a chance to run in the men's room, right? All right. I got I gotta run. Thankfully I got I got the ⁓ you know, I had people in studio who were handling the iteration, so I had a couple minutes to Long commercial. Yeah, exactly. So I had a chance to collect myself basically. But ⁓ I unless I'm misremembering, I think my my voice made it through pretty good. ⁓ I now if the crunch had scored, I don't know if my voice would have made it through pretty good. The excitement might have been ⁓ through the roof, but ⁓ yeah, it just and you know, calling games sometimes you just have that sinking feeling and you just saw when that puck was turned over, like this is gonna be it. You knew it was coming and it it hit. and yeah, that that was that's about as tough a way to end a year as you could possibly ⁓ end a year. ⁓ I don't know, I think I'd rather go out seven nothing and and know it's over after the first period or something than being on the edge of your seat the whole time and then have the heartbreak. And and you know, it's it's I it's been a couple times now. I the crunch I I have to go back into my my brain a little bit here, but over the last couple of years, what was it, twenty twenty I'm trying to rack off the the the ⁓ the playoff series on my brain. The Crunch lost an overtime game five of the best of five against La Belle. It was either twenty one or twenty two. The next year, same thing, game five all at home, mind you. ⁓ game five, best of five, overtime loss against Rochester. And then the one this past year. So we're I don't want to say we're getting used to this because we're not, but it it really hurts. And it like the next day, it just ⁓ it kills when the team comes back in for their wrap up day. And ⁓ yeah. So back to your first question or the original question. Got through it okay. Didn't really do anything differently, but probably helped that it was an afternoon game. When the game goes that long, I remember being at the Penguins Flyers game four, and the Penguins were up two one in the series at the time. I remember telling my dad sitting next to me after the fourth overtime, whoever wins this game wins the series. Because when a game goes that long, you're so invested, but the emotional drain of losing is that much more. And I know I you're partial in this answer, but I'm gonna ask it to you anyway. If Syracuse wins game four, do you think they win game five? I think we had a great chance. I mean, partly because Connor Geeky would have been coming back because the lightning were, you know, on the verge of getting eliminated at that point. ⁓ but it's also different because the AHL playoff setup is a little strange in the first two quote unquote rounds. You have the play in round and you have kind of the the round the division semifinals that the crunch have been in. And it'll be different in an Orth division this year because they've added a new team, so it'll be a little bit of a different format of an Arthur Division. But ⁓ that first division series is best of five, and you have three weeks to get five games in. You can schedule it however you want. You can take the first week of the playoffs off when the best of three play in series is going. Or you can jump right in. You can end a week early. You can s so we had it the series was spreading out over three weeks again. So ⁓ if we had won that game it was another full week between games basically. So you might see that the if the Crunch won, the momentum may have carried over a week. Cleveland was going back home. They were coming back again the next week, so it would have been a weird Weird feel. Like I I don't know how the momentum would have carried over, but we also did see this a couple of years ago ⁓ with Rochester and it similar situation. The crunch for the home team at a game four up three nothing going into the third period. Lost that game in overtime. Rochester survived, forced a game five back in Rochester the following week, and the crunch came out and won game five. So I I don't know. Like i i I think the crunch would have had some momentum, but if it was played the next day, I think it would have been more momentum than no a week off. But I do think having Connor Geeky coming down. ⁓ I don't remember if anyone else was hurt or coming back or whatever, but I I think the crunch had a pretty good chance if they had won that game to at least take a swing at a game five on home ice. So the teams actually schedule they have five games that got to get in three weeks and then and these two teams just get together and say, when do you want to play? It's as simple as that. It's it's well, I wish it was as simple as that, but there's a like this this past year in particular, there was a lot of back and forth ⁓ with Cleveland in particular. It's the HL's you know, the their how it's set up is a little I don't want to say weird, ⁓ but it's more at the discretion of the teams and building availability. ⁓ and because of the distances between Syracuse and Cleveland, that series is a two three. So two games in Cleveland and then the final three in Syracuse. So even though the crunch of the higher seed and have home had Holmice advantage, they started on the road in that series. So ⁓ but there was a lot of there was a lot of arguing back and forth, I I would say to try to nail down a a a series format and ⁓ that's just how this one worked out this past year. And and sometimes, you know, the teams will agree to take that first week off, get a kind of a a buy, ⁓ which it's supposed to be, ⁓ in that first week when the the rest of the series, the best of threes are starting and then jump in the following week and then you have kind of more of a, you know, a more of a regular five game series schedule, I guess. But ⁓ we did not see that this past year. And ⁓ we'll see what happens this year. Now the Grand The Cruncher in the North Division, they've added the ⁓ a team in Hamilton, so now instead of seven or eight teams. ⁓ That's the Islanders affiliate, right? That went from Bridgeport. Okay. So the the playoff format in the North Division will be with eight teams, six teams will make the playoffs, but instead of three out of the you know, the five teams making it as it had been the last couple of years, getting the bite of the division semis, and it'll be the top two teams now. And then So i there's not gonna be the weird crossover in the North Division this year where you're gonna have division semis and and first round series kind of crisscrossing schedules wise. So I think that'll maybe make it a little more palatable for Crunch fans who have I I gotten used to this weird format, but maybe it'll be a little a little cleaner moving forward. Lucas, I wanna have the Bolts fans get a chance to get to know you. Born in Allendale, New Jersey. Now, if I remember correctly, now I used to live in Wappinger's Falls, New York, which is about forty five minutes right across the river from Newburgh, ⁓ right up two eighty seven to eighty seven. A big strawberry town, isn't it? ⁓ maybe. I don't know. I I can't say strawberries or celery is celery farm celery, yeah. The celery farm is for sure. That that is a thing. ⁓ and they probably grew strawberries in there. I don't know. But the celery farm is a thing. I a at one point they were growing celery, then it just became kind of a nature preserve. boy, I haven't thought about the celery farm in years. You're bringing back ⁓ all sorts of memories now. But yes, celery farm is a thing. yeah, but like I said, but when I was growing up, there may have been actual celery growing somewhere, but it was more of it had turned into a nature preserve from what I remember. And and ⁓ I'm not a huge nature guy, so I didn't go there a ton, but ⁓ yeah, i that that it's small town, but that's I guess one of the one of the things that ⁓ I hadn't thought about in years, but yeah, it's there. You were just outside of New York City, outside of Newark. Who did you and who did you grow up rooting for? So I was a New York Ranger fan growing up. ⁓ the Devils were actually playing in East Rutherford at, you know, when I was really growing up, ⁓ when I was off of Route three. You bet. So they were still there. the first NHL game I ever went to was actually you know, at I think it was Continental Airlines Arena at the time, maybe it was the ISOT Center. I remember what was called. Anyway, it was there, it was Devils and Rangers. ⁓ went to a shootout, the dreaded shootout. But ⁓ it it was ⁓ that there was quite an experience. It kind of got me into into the game in the first place, going to one of those ⁓ you know, Devils Rangers games at the time. ⁓ but yeah, grew up a Rangers fan in the heart of when the Devils were really ⁓ winning their Stanley Cup. So it was a little bit of a challenge, although North Jersey is a pretty good split. A lot of Ranger fans in New Jersey. There's quite a few Devils fans as well. There's a handful of Islanders fans. So ⁓ when the Devils were winning, the Rangers were not so good. So it was really a tough, tough ⁓ couple of years there. And then coming out of the lockout, things changed a bit. The Rangers started to I the Devils are still good, but the Rangers started to figure things out. They had ⁓ like my I don't want to say my earliest memories, but some of my ⁓ my finest memories were that first year out of the lockout Yarmir Jagger had Jagger was six plus like he was that was what drew me into the sport really was that first year out of the lockout with Yarmir Jagger. Again, I think it was fifty six goals and Henrik Lunk was bursting out of the scene and ⁓ that's what drew my love to the game and it's kind of been my favorite sport ever since. That was a tough series against the Buffalo Sabres that year. The Daniel Brere I remember I was at I think I was at Derby Lane in Tampa And a bunch of us were bet betting on the dogs and watching the game. But I mean that was that was a just a good team. And y that was Yager's probably best season outside of when he left Pittsburgh. Yeah. I mean he was he was dominant. Yeah. He had Yagger, you had Michael Neelander, you had Martin Stra like the I couldn't rattle off those names of that team, which just but yeah, that series with the Sabres, ⁓ like that Cr I think it was Chris Drury with seven seconds to go, ties the game, Maxi McFit a get off, wins it in overtime. Like, I know I'm up now I'm up in Sabre's country up here, but ⁓ man, that is still a series that just kills me when I think back on it. Especially when you're a kid. I mean you live and die with every single drop of the puck. And no, I mean th the but that was it was a hell of a series, but I mean When you look back at that, I and I just I talk about Jagger, but he is a player in my mind who is just he's underrated because he played in the league so long, but I think sometimes people forget just how dominant of a player he was. But even more than that, how good he was along the boards. I can't tell you how many times he would go in there one on two and come out with the puck every time. Yeah, well they'd always say he just stuck out his his rear end right and just, you know, he'd hold the guy off the puck and away he goes. Like he couldn't It was true. Yeah, you couldn't muscle him off of it. He was just so strong, so good with with I mean, whatever he was doing out there, he was just so much fun to watch. ⁓ and then could score like he had all the skill in the world, the great shot, everything. Just I mean, what a joy to to to see, you know, that year in particular, like I said, coming out of the lockout, just I mean, he was so dominant and such Fun to watch. ⁓ but yeah, such a great player. And I think he's still playing like you know over in Europe. He he's just he's never With CLAD though. Yeah, exactly. It's it's his team, his hometown team. He doesn't want the team to to fold. Like he's he's playing strictly for the love of the game at this point, and and I love it. Now your broadcasting career is taking to Mississippi, Elmira, and then to Syracuse. When you were with El Myra, you called their last ever hockey game, correct, with the Jackals? Yeah, that was ⁓ it was a tough year. I mean it was a tough year on the ice. The team was not great. I think we had seventeen wins all year. and you know, it was my first year and my only year in the ECHL and and ⁓ you know, I knew going into it that the team was not in a great place, you know, financially and and stability wise, but there was talks of the team being sold. It was owned by the county at that point when I joined the team. ⁓ and there was a a a ⁓ independent private owner who all year it was, yep, he's gonna buy it, he's gonna buy it, he's gonna buy it, he's gonna buy it. And it just kept going on and on and on. And one day it was like, yep, it's definitely happening tomorrow. We're gonna have an announcement, dah dah dah. The next day, hey, I'm not sure. And legit, like we got to the the ECHL has a a a deadline, you had you interviewed out for next year basically. And we got to that point. And I remember going in that morning And I had two I it was you know, I was a broadcaster and PR that all that whatever all the other titles you want. And I had two press releases written 'cause I didn't know going in what was happening. Are we being sold or are we folding? Like it was it was coming down to the wire. They were they were kind of finangling, I think, over the ownership not only of the team but of the building and and all the other things that come along with it. And so I had both things prepared. I didn't know what it was gonna be going in and it ended up being that the team was folding at the end of the year. ⁓ so there was it it was tough. I mean, that again, the team was not very good that year, but it had a pretty good run in El Myra. There were some really good years, some some great, you know, memories that I I wasn't personally involved in, but I know ⁓ you know, there there was some great support over the years there. So it was it was tough. ⁓ you know, seeing it all come to an end as quickly as it did, and then all of a sudden, now like now what? I'm out of a job. Now what? And then I I ended up I w always make the joke, I that summer I also ended up in Glens Falls with the Adirondack Thunder. ⁓ so I got hired there. and then the end of my first week I got a call from the crunch that Dan Duva who was here was going up to and cause I had interned here and under Dan Duva and he was going up to Vegas. And they wanted to bring me in and I was like, Well, great. I just unfortunately am five days into my new job here. Like I gotta figure out what I'm gonna do. And thankfully the ⁓ the Adirondite Thunder were all they were okay with it. They they ⁓ they pivoted and found someone else, but I always joked that the Thunder were the 'cause their broadcaster had got up to the AHL earlier that summer and I was hired as the replacement. And ⁓ so I joked that they were the only ECHL team that sent two broadcasters in the same ⁓ offseason to the AHL. Same season, that says something. ⁓ yeah now, so you joined the S Syracuse in 2017. What's your favorite memory? ⁓ boy. Yeah, I I'm throwing you on the spot here. Yeah. Well, ⁓ like it it's tough because I entered, like I said, with a team for two years and ⁓ you know, the my first year as an inter was twenty thirteen when I went to the Calder Cup final. So ⁓ like those That is a year I know I wasn't full time then, but I was really involved in that team. Like I as an intern, I'd call the game in the finals on the radio and the you know, the the team was also on television. So there are some unbelievable moments in that playoff run. ⁓ but I let me think full time. I I I'll remember there was a great game in twenty eighteen. I don't know if it's my my best memory or not, but it's it's a game that always sticks out to me. It was it was the crunch of the Rochester Americans. They were battling all year neck and neck for the division title. And it was, I think the it was either the second or last game of the year. Maybe it was the last weekend of the year. But they were playing, as they always do, I think it was game twelve of the season series. So you you got used to it at that point. But they were really competitive games. And basically if the Crunch won, they were winning the like if they won, they won the division. If not, it was coming down it must have been the the final weekend. It was coming out of the last day. And it was a back and forth game. Carter Verhage, you know, score to give the crunch the lead late in the third period. ⁓ they had an empty netter and they win it, they won the division. So, like that's a game that always sticks out to me as just kind of the one of those big time, you know, the barn was full, it was a sellout crowd, they won the division that night. Like it it just was it was a peak ⁓ regular season moment at least, and obviously we had some good playoff moments as well. But ⁓ yeah, I I I guess on the spot I'd I'd go with that. Was there a player Since you've been broadcasting that you saw that you're like, This is an NHL guy. This is a guy that I know I'm gonna see in the big show. Well, I go back to my intern days. We had Nikita Kutarov for a month and and he did not belong in this league at all. He came in, he was he was so good right away, and I think we all were like, We're not gonna see him long. And he we didn't see him long, it was a month and he was up and obviously he wasn't dominant year one with the lightning, but we know what he's become now. ⁓ so that's one who comes, you know, right off the off the hop. ⁓ I think I mentioned Carter for Hagee, like we didn't know what he was when he first joined the organization. Year one he was almost a point per game player, but in limited-ish action. ⁓ and then year two he led the league in scoring. He was he was so good. ⁓ I don't know if any was any of us thought he would become what he has become with the Florida Panthers. ⁓ but he was a really good player at this level. Anthony Sorelli jumped in right away and you could tell he was just he had the full complete package of of he'll he'll be an NHL or we don't know his ceiling in terms of offense, but you could tell he was gonna be a real legit NHL player. so I think those are a couple guys who, you know, right away kind of impressed you. ⁓ I'm sure there's a couple more that I'm I'm forgetting, but off the top of my head, those are a couple that were were, you know, who stuck out. You travel with the team, you're around these guys year round. When you see the guys off the ice, the guys like Kucharov, you know that they're studs, but what do you see them do off the ice that makes them a little bit different that you're like, you know what, this guy just gets it? Yeah, I think it ⁓ really i it depends on the person. I think some guys are so good at disconnecting from, you know, the the the pressures of being on the ice and and the pressures that come with being a a elite hockey player, right? Like they're able to whatever happens in in a game, whether they have a great game, they have a poor game, like they're able to just brush it off or move on to the next one. Like i i I think that's a big attribute that we see. ⁓ and then a lot of it is is the work that they put on off the ice in the gym. ⁓ the just the extra hours that we don't see as or people might not see as fans that they're putting in off the ice in the gym. ⁓ whether it's in practices, you know, being on the ice longer, you know, working on this skill, that skill, this specific, whatever it might be. So I think it's the guys who are driven, who are who have that growth mentality and that growth mindset ⁓ to to be open to knowing that maybe you're not quite, you know, you don't have everything polished off yet. And you're not expected to have it polished off when you're in the AHL, right? That's why you're here is to round your game into form. So I think it's those guys who have that mental approach of ⁓ I'm gonna get better on the ice, off the ice, be able to kind of separate the those things as well and and be able to wind down when I need to wind down and and then ratchet it back up and and be focused when I need to be focused is I think a lot of the times what we see really works for guys coming through. Lucas, I want to talk about your walking talks. You and I talked about it before the podcast. Absolutely love them. And if you haven't checked them out, we're gonna put a link. in the description. So it'll send you right to some of these walk and talks. But tell everybody in Tampa about these walk and talks. It's two and a half minutes, but I absolutely love ⁓ Well, thanks. Yeah. It it kind of it evolved. We we had talked about it at the end of the season two years ago, like w late in the year. And me and another person in in ⁓ our front office are, you know, kind of big Formula One fans. And it kind of i it you know, they have i don't know if you watch Formula One or not, but ⁓ in mornings of races, they have Martin Brundle do his grid walk on the grid. He's, you know, just walking up the grid, just finding people, whether it's a random person, whether it's someone there, he has a quick chat with someone and away he goes. And and those are always the highlight of the pre game for those Formula One races for me. And and so we were just chatting, we're like, ⁓ what you know, it'd be fun if we could do that for our players walking into the originally it was like walking into the game at night when, you know Now we have our media crew out taking the walk-in photos with all of whatever suit they're wearing or da da da like that's the big thing that everyone wants to see their their walk-in attire for games. But we were talking like, ⁓ let's w just chat ⁓ here's a game coming up, dah dah da. Well it didn't happen that year. And that was fine. Like we have a lot going on. It's hard to add a new element into things, you know, mid season. So we talked about it again in the off season and we thought, well, maybe it'll be better, you know, we don't have to worry about it on a game day where they're thinking about other things. We've got other things going on. Let's just do a a random day in the middle of the week, whatever works for our schedule and their schedule. We'll meet these guys at the parking lot in the morning. They're might be fresh out of bed, whatever it is. And we're gonna just walk from the parking lot, across the street, you know, down the block to the player entrance at the rink. And we're like, That'll be about two minutes or so, it's nice and quick. We're gonna try to keep it away from hockey for the most part, just get to know these guys right off the ice and have a quick little chat and that's what it turned into. And and yeah, I mean I appreciate you saying you liked it and we had a lot of positive feedback on it. So ⁓ it it really turned into that. And thankfully the guys enjoyed it too. And and, you know, midway through I was like, All right, we're gonna do a walk and talk this week with you. And they're they were all on board. They knew what was coming and and you know, like I said, it wasn't planned. I didn't go into it really having any idea what we're gonna talk about, and then we get there and Whatever came up came up and that was it. So ⁓ we just kept it like a regular conversation and and ⁓ like I said, the guys embraced it. ⁓ they enjoyed it, I think, I hope. And I think we'll tell the end this upcoming year. Yeah, yeah, right. You can tell they do, and I think what works is the fact that it it's just a conversation. Exactly. It's just two people walking down the street talking about whatever. It doesn't have to always be about hockey. It's not, hey, w You know, what's gonna happen tonight in the game? Who do you gonna have to defend against? No, it's just two guys talking like we would be talking at a sports bar and just, you know, I'll I'll use the term bullshitting. Yeah, exactly. And and that's the thing. Like you said, like the the I can only ask these guys so many hockey questions throughout the course of the year 'cause I do enough interviews, you know, pre game, post game, whatever it might be with these guys after practice, like you gotta change it up somehow. It's something that maybe isn't gonna come up. in the course of a a conversation after a game. So yeah, that was the idea. And and ⁓ yeah, that like they they at least most of the time provided the the goods for us, which is good. Okay, Lucas, I'm gonna title this part of the segment, Lucas Favoli, two minutes in the penalty box. I'm the timekeeper. You just committed a two minute high sticking penalty, a quick rapid fire from last year's team. Best skater. I'd say Brennan Furry. Hardest shot. ⁓ hardest shot, hardest shot, hardest shot. I gotta rack my brain now. ⁓ I mean Conor Geeky's probably there. I'd go with him. Highest hockey IQ. I think maybe Jacob Feltier. Most underrated. Either Mateo Petrunero or Brendan Furry. I think those two are probably neck and neck. Future fan favorite. For the Lightning? Yes. ⁓ man. Boy, that's a tough one. Maybe I'm gonna say Lucas Mercury if he makes it, which I think he's got a chance at some point. Biggest surprise. I think maybe Lucas Mercury. Now this is just you. Favorite movie on the road. ⁓ my gosh. I'm not see this is gonna shock you. I'm not a huge movie guy. ⁓ Okay, TV show? Yeah, I I'm not a like I I a podcast listener. I listen to audiobooks. Like that's how I spend at least on the bus. That's how I spend my time on the bus. ⁓ yeah, I'm not a huge like movie or T V show guy. Okay, favorite road city. Cleveland is up there. It it the AHL, there's such a wide discrepancy, right? I'm gonna go with ⁓ probably Cleveland or Toronto. Worst press box. Where do I even start? It's Providence, because it we I wouldn't even call it a press box, but it's the worst broadcast booth view by far. Okay. I I now real quick, I remember announcing a Connecticut high school hockey game on scaffolding and I took two shots in the game. I remember holding my notes. I mean, it it's what you have to do at the time. You have to do whatever. Lucas, final question. When Boltz fans look at the crunch box scores this year. They look at and they see all these names. Who's the name they should be saying? I need to remember that guy. Yeah, I I mean, ⁓ it's it's hard because I don't know who's gonna be here, right? Like I mean, will we see a Sam O'Reilly here? Will a Jacob Peltier still be here? Connor ⁓ of the guys who I think will probably be here at the start of the year, I'm gonna I might go back to Lucas Mercury again because he w had a really, really strong rookie year. ⁓ he's a right shot center, won a lot of face offs, he's tough, he's physical, he can fight. Like he brings I think he's got enough I don't know if he's writing this upcoming year. He might maybe get a cup of coffee at some point this upcoming season, but I think he's got enough of a skill set ⁓ that will make him ⁓ a pretty good chance to to make an NHL roster at some point sooner than later. I think ⁓ you know, and you never know. I mean it's ⁓ it might work, it might not work. But I think he's a guy who I'm I got my eye on for a guy who might might make an impact at the NHL at some point. I don't think he's going to be a thirty goal scorer at the NHL level, but I think he could be a good, you know, third or fourth liner who could chip in some offense, good in front of the net, hard physical, win face-offs, all the things you look for ⁓ you know, at that level. Lucas Favale, thank you very much for joining us today. It was great to touch base. Really enjoyed the conversation off the air. Wish you nothing but the best with the crunch this season. Would love to have you back on later on in the year, get an update on how everything's going in Syracuse. Appreciate your time today. Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks for having me, and hope we can chat again soon. Hey Lightning fans, want to keep up with the Syracuse Crunch this season? Follow the team at SyracuseCrunch.com, watch the games on AHL TV through Flow Hockey, or listen on ESPN Radio twelve hundred AM or ninety-seven point seven FM in Syracuse. Be sure to check out the Crunch Chronicles podcast and head over to the Syracuse Crunch Facebook page for their walk and talk segments. Where Lucas Favale chats with crunch players on their way to the arena. It's a great way to stay connected to the Lightning's top affiliate all season long. Well, we are gonna be back next week. We're gonna take a look at the NHL news. Justin Godfrey will be back. You can find him each and every day at www.rawcharge.com. I'm Jason Lincas. Thank you for joining us. Please hit that like and subscribe button and go bolts. Thank you for listening to Backchecking the Bolts. We are free and available on all platforms, including Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon, YouTube, and Deezer. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe and leave a review. You can follow Justin on Blue Sky at rawcharge.com. You can follow the show on X at Tampa underscore bolts underscore pod and on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube at BackcheckingTheBolts. If you're interested in advertising on the show or partnering with us, You can find more information in the show notes or email Jason at backcheckingthebolts at yahoo.com.