SYRACUSE — The Syracuse Crunch is still dropping the puck on what has been, so far, an undefeated hockey post season. The Crunch on May 17 earned a berth in the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Eastern Conference final, completing a four-game sweep of the Springfield Falcons. The team had earlier swept its first-round opponent, the […]
SYRACUSE — The Syracuse Crunch is still dropping the puck on what has been, so far, an undefeated hockey post season.
The Crunch on May 17 earned a berth in the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Eastern Conference final, completing a four-game sweep of the Springfield Falcons.
The team had earlier swept its first-round opponent, the Portland Pirates, in three games.
The Crunch on May 21 announced that Syracuse will either face the Providence Bruins or the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins beginning Saturday May 25.
The Game 7 matchup between Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was scheduled for the evening of May 22 after the weekly press time for The Central New York Business Journal.
A Bruins series victory would mean Syracuse would start the Eastern Conference final on the road, while a Penguins come-from-behind series win would give the Crunch home-ice advantage.
The entire organization is “ecstatic,” says Howard Dolgon, owner of the Syracuse Crunch, an affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning.
“To get to the playoffs, it’s an entirely new season, and certainly to date, our players have stepped up their game,” Dolgon says.
The team’s success is good for the local economy and good for the visibility of the market, Dolgon adds.
The team has even adopted the phrase “All In,” which is meant to encourage the community to support the squad during its playoff run.
“Didn’t matter if you’re a five-year-old girl, or a 90-year-old grandfather, we wanted you to be ‘All In’ in support of our playoff run,” Dolgon says.
Between the buttons, posters, and merchandise the team is selling, Dolgon says the phrase has been “well received.”
Despite the team’s success, Dolgon wasn’t happy with the fan support at the Onondaga County War Memorial following Game 3 against Springfield on May 15 and expressed his displeasure publicly. The game attracted a paid crowd of only 3,267 fans.
“I was disappointed, and I was just very honest about it,” he says.
The fans displayed their ability to “bounce back” in the clinching game against Springfield on May 17, he says. That game attracted 5,090 fans, and the crowd was loud.
Dolgon believes a vocal fan base at the War Memorial gives the Crunch a home-ice advantage. Despite his ownership, Dolgon has always perceived his squad as being the community’s team.
Dolgon admits that qualifying for the playoffs doesn’t mean an automatic commitment from the team’s season-ticket holders for purchasing playoff tickets.
“So you’re starting out with a much smaller base of [pre-sold] tickets,” Dolgon says.
When asked if he thought television coverage might affect attendance at the War Memorial, Dolgon believes fans can use it as an excuse, but it’s not necessarily a reason for not attending the games.
When Crunch games are televised, Dolgon says the team is exposing its brand for three hours and he hopes fans realize what they’re missing by not attending the games.
Dolgon would tell Crunch fans that 30 AHL teams started the season with hopes of winning the Calder Cup.
“Now, your team is one of four remaining, and that’s pretty special,” he says.
He also addressed ticket prices for Crunch playoff games that include a $1 surcharge the AHL mandates.
“Beginning in the second round and through the finals, the league receives the majority of the ticket revenue,” Dolgon says. The AHL allocates the money generated to the player pool for playoff payments, players’ travel, officiating, and other expenses, Dolgon says.
“We’re not, as a team, receiving even half of that ticket price in our revenue,” he adds, noting that’s same situation for all AHL teams.
Citing its status as a private company, the Syracuse Crunch doesn’t release its revenue information.
“We have been a profitable organization for all but probably two of our years,” Dolgon says, noting those years were the in the late 1990s
The Syracuse Crunch, in partnership with Onondaga County and SMG, announced in July 2012 that the team reached a long-term agreement on a lease extension for home games at the War Memorial through 2024.
SMG, a West Conshohocken, Pa.–based firm that provides entertainment and convention-venue management, is in charge of managing the War Memorial.
Dolgon and Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney negotiated the agreement, which extends the current lease for an additional five years through the 2023-2024 season.
The team didn’t disclose terms of the extension, its monthly rent to play its games in the arena.
“It was a fair deal for both parties,” Dolgon says.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com