Episodes
Monday Feb 13, 2023
Jared Nightingale
Monday Feb 13, 2023
Monday Feb 13, 2023
On Episode 54 of Crunch Chronicles, presented by Wendy's, Lukas Favale is joined by Jared Nightingale.
Nightingale spent one full season and parts of one more in Syracuse at the start of the Tampa Bay Lightning affiliation. Nightingale joined the Crunch for the 2012-13 season after signing an AHL contract with the Crunch as a free agent that summer. It marked his seventh pro season, and the veteran carved out a solid role on a loaded team. He played in 56 games during the regular season, amassing seven points and 121 penalty minutes as the Crunch won the division.
When not dressed for the game, Nightingale remained engaged with the Crunch fans by stepping into the broadcast booth to serve as a color commentator. He returned to Syracuse late in the 2014-15 season, skating in eight regular season games and one game during the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Nightingale retired following the 2016-17 season and immediately jumped into coaching. Outside of one game played in 2017-18, Nightingale has been climbing the coaching ranks ever since, and he is currently an assistant coach for the AHL's Rockford IceHogs.
He also returns to the Syracuse area every summer for his Great Lakes Hockey Camp, which returns to Cicero in July.
On the show, Nightingale discusses his time with the Crunch, his path into coaching and more.
Monday Feb 06, 2023
Troy Bodie
Monday Feb 06, 2023
Monday Feb 06, 2023
On Episode 53 of Crunch Chronicles, presented by Wendy's, Lukas Favale is joined by Troy Bodie.
Bodie spent one season in Syracuse with the Crunch in 2011-12, when the team was affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks. An immediate leader on the team, Bodie was an alternate captain for the Crunch and accumulated 15 points and 119 penalty minutes in 69 games. He helped the Crunch earn a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
After playing in both the NHL and AHL for several more seasons, Bodie retired following the 2014-15 season and became a scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. He remained with the Leafs until May 2021 when he was hired by the Seattle Kraken to help launch their expansion AHL franchise. Bodie was brought in as the Director of Hockey and Business Operations for the newest AHL franchise and he has been there ever since, seeing the birth of the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
The Firebirds are near the top of the AHL in their inaugural season.
On the show, Bodie discusses his time with the Crunch, his role in the beginnings of the Coachella Valley Firebirds and more.
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Cory Conacher
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Monday Jan 30, 2023
On Episode 52 of Crunch Chronicles, presented by Wendy's, Lukas Favale is joined by Cory Conacher.
Conacher spent parts of five seasons in Syracuse over two different stints with the Crunch during their affiliation with Tampa Bay. Conacher was a member of the Crunch's first team during the Lightning affiliation in 2012-13. He produced 28 points in 36 games to begin the season before being recalled to the Lightning when the NHL Lockout was lifted.
After a trade to Ottawa during that season, Conacher spent the next three seasons with several other clubs, including a full season with Bern in Switzerland. He returned to North America starting in 2016-17 when he re-signed with the Lightning. He split time between Syracuse and Tampa Bay, but spent the majority of the season with the Crunch. He led all players in scoring with 28 points during the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs to help power the Crunch to their second Finals appearance.
He remained with the Crunch through the 2019-20 season, helping the Crunch win division titles in 2012-13, 2016-17 and 2018-19 and being named an AHL All-Star in 2018-19.
Conacher currently ranks fifth all time in Crunch scoring with 205 points (72g, 133a) in 224 career Crunch games. He has the second most playoff points all time for the Crunch with 31 in 26 playoff games.
On the show, Conacher discusses his time with the Crunch, the desire to continue his playing career and more.
Monday Jan 23, 2023
Mike Ayers
Monday Jan 23, 2023
Monday Jan 23, 2023
On Episode 51 of Crunch Chronicles, presented by Wendy's, Lukas Favale is joined by Mike Ayers.
Ayers played one season with the Crunch. He joined the team early in the 2005-06 season on a professional try-out (PTO). He earned a second PTO before eventually signing an SPC (standard player contract) with the Crunch later that season.
In 23 games that season for the Crunch, the Hingham, Massachusetts native posted a 12-8-1 record with a 2.66 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. He also logged three shutouts as he helped the Crunch win 47 games and notch 102 points.
Following his one season with the Crunch, Ayers played two more seasons before retiring and stepping away from hockey following the 2007-08 season. After a year in retail, Ayers returned to hockey and has been a coach ever since; he has been on the Boston College coaching staff since 2013-14.
On the show, Ayers discusses his season with the Crunch, how he ended up as a coach and more.
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Jamie Heffernan
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 16, 2023
On Episode 50 of Crunch Chronicles, presented by Wendy's, Lukas Favale is joined by Jamie Heffernan.
Heffernan is a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning's development staff, focusing on functional movement. He is regularly in Syracuse and constantly working with the players to optimize how their bodies move off the ice, which translates to movements on the ice.
He has been working for the organization for seven years and has had an active role in the development of many players who went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Lightning.
On the show, Heffernan discusses his role with the organization, how his position was created in the first place and more.
Monday Jan 02, 2023
Matt Thompson
Monday Jan 02, 2023
Monday Jan 02, 2023
On Episode 49 of Crunch Chronicles, presented by Wendy's, Lukas Favale is joined by Matt Thompson.
Thompson was an Account Executive for the Crunch, beginning a month before the 2017-18 season. His role with the organization continued to grow and evolve until the pandemic hit in 2020. With the Crunch unable to welcome fans for the 2020-21 season, Thompson adapted and found a different way to contribute that year.
At the end of the 2020-21 season, Thompson secured a position with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he continues to be today.
On the show, Matt discusses his role with the Lightning, what he learned working for the Crunch and more.
Monday Dec 26, 2022
Mathieu Darche
Monday Dec 26, 2022
Monday Dec 26, 2022
On Episode 48 of Crunch Chronicles, presented by Wendy's, Lukas Favale is joined by Mathieu Darche.
Darche spent three seasons as a player in Syracuse at the start of the Columbus Blue Jackets affiliations. He began his pro career with the Crunch in 2000-01, skating in 66 games and logging 40 points. He also skated in nine games for Columbus that season. He split time again in 2001-02, adding another 45 points in 63 Crunch games while notching two points in 14 NHL games with the Blue Jackets. In nearly a full season in Syracuse in 2002-03, Darche capped his time in the organization with 64 points in 76 games.
In total, Darche skated in 205 games for the Crunch and finished with 149 points (70g, 79a), which ranks tied for 12th in franchise history.
His playing career continued through 2011-12 before he retired from hockey. After transitioning into the business world, Darche returned to hockey in May 2019 when he was hired as an Assistant General Manager and the Director of Hockey Operations for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has since played a big role in the team's back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021.
On the show, Darche discusses his role with the Lightning, what makes Syracuse the perfect place to develop the Lightning's prospects and more.
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Mike Sgroi
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
On Episode 47 of Crunch Chronicles, presented by Wendy's, Lukas Favale is joined by Mike Sgroi.
Sgroi played parts of two seasons for the Crunch in the mid to late 2000s when the team was affiliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets. His first stint came at the tail end of the 2005-06 season, after he was bought out by the Devils organization and signed with the Crunch. Sgroi picked up three points in 16 games down the stretch as the Crunch were heading toward the playoffs. He also had 32 penalty minutes.
After a few seasons away, Sgroi's final stint with the Crunch came with a three-game run in Syracuse during the 2008-09 campaign. He added one goal for the Crunch in a season that saw he dress for six different teams between the AHL and ECHL.
His playing career, which began in the ECHL in 2000-01 continued until 2016-17, when he played in one game for the Orlando Solar Bears.
Following his playing days, Sgroi took up a role in coaching for both mixed martial arts and hockey. He has seen success in both sports, and is a key coach for Fusion X-cel Performance's pro fight team. He is based in the Orlando area.
On the show, Sgroi discusses his admiration for Syracuse, his successes in MMA and hockey and more.
Monday Dec 12, 2022
Josh Holden
Monday Dec 12, 2022
Monday Dec 12, 2022
On Episode 46 of Crunch Chronicles, presented by Wendy's, Lukas Favale is joined by Josh Holden.
Holden played two seasons in Syracuse with the Crunch at the beginning of his career. A first-round pick by the Vancouver Canucks, Holden's pro career began with the Crunch in the 1998-99 season. He was up and down between the Canucks and the Crunch that season, and he finished with 29 points in 38 games for the Crunch. He also added six points in 30 games for Vancouver.
He split time between the two clubs against in 1999-00, in the final season of the Crunch's affiliation with Vancouver. After missing the start of the season due to injury, Holden racked up 51 points in 45 games with the Crunch, helping the team qualify for the Calder Cup playoffs. He notched six points in six games for the Canucks too.
Over his two seasons in Syracuse, Holden totaled 80 points (33g, 47a) in 83 games from 1998 to 2000. He would play four more seasons in North America before spending the lockout season (2004-05) in Finland. He has remained in Europe ever since, playing in Switzerland from 2005 through 2018. He ranks 18th in Swiss league history in scoring with 530 points.
He transitioned into coaching after his playing career ended and he is currently an assistant coach in Zug.
On the show, Holden discusses starting his career in Syracuse, raising a family in Switzerland, and much more.
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Mike Radja
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Monday Dec 05, 2022
On Episode 45 of Crunch Chronicles, presented by Wendy's, Lukas Favale is joined by Mike Radja.
Radja played parts of two seasons in Syracuse with the Crunch. He first joined the organization at the end of the 2007-08 season, when he signed an amateur try-out contract following the conclusion of his senior season at UNH. Radja jumped into the lineup with the team in the midst of their franchise record setting 23-game point streak and he collected three assists in two games.
After spending his rookie season with Rockford in 2008-09, Radja found his way back to Syracuse in 2009-10. He began that season in Finland, but was claimed off waivers by the Crunch when he returned to the AHL. He added 14 points in 31 games for the Crunch before being traded to Bridgeport at the trade deadline.
Radja would play the rest of his career in North America, Europe and Asia before retiring following the 2016-17 season. He has since transitioned into becoming a skating and skills coach for young hockey players in Central New York. Based out of Ithaca, Radja works with youth hockey players around the region through his program, SpeedSkills Hockey.
On the show, Radja discusses his two stints with the Crunch, how he created his SpeedSkills Hockey program, and much more.