SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch and Galaxy Media have announced a 10-year partnership extension through the 2027-28 season to continue broadcasting all Crunch games during the regular season and Calder Cup Playoffs on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM/1200 AM.

The Crunch and Galaxy Media originally partnered prior to the 2013-14 season when ESPN Radio became the flagship station for all Crunch broadcasts. Over the past five seasons, ESPN Radio has carried some of the team’s most historic games, including the 2014 Toyota Frozen Dome Classic and the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic. ESPN Radio also broadcasts “Crunch Weekly,” the team’s live radio talk show with voice of the Crunch Lukas Favale at Tully’s Good Times, throughout the hockey season and “The Shootout Show” live from the War Memorial Arena following all home games.

“We are extremely proud to extend our partnership with Ed Levine and Galaxy Media,” Syracuse Crunch owner Howard Dolgon said. “Ed has clearly established himself as the leading broadcaster in the region and one of the finest in the country. Our partnership goes far beyond game broadcasts and integrates the strengths of our two organizations. This is a very good day for the Crunch and all of our fans.”

“The partnership with the Syracuse Crunch is a cornerstone of what makes ESPN Radio such a successful radio station,” Galaxy Media President and CEO Ed Levine said. “Howard Dolgon, Jim Sarosy and Vance Lederman have been tremendous to work with and we look forward to continuing this relationship for many years to come.”

In addition to broadcasts, the Crunch, Galaxy Media and its stations work closely throughout the season to host theme nights at the Crunch and outside events, including Parties on the Plaza. The media group is also the presenting sponsor of the Galaxy Cup, awarded to the winner of the regular season series between the Crunch and the Utica Comets. Syracuse has claimed the Galaxy Cup the last two consecutive seasons.

Galaxy Media is a premiere privately owned independent media groups in the country. With eight stations in Syracuse and five in Utica, we’re a dominant presence in the market. Though radio will always remain at the heart of who we are, as the media landscape has changed drastically, we’ve evolved with it to meet the needs of both our listeners and our clients. Galaxy Media also encompasses robust events planning, sports marketing, and digital media divisions, making it easy for businesses of all sizes to get their messaging out to a highly targeted client base.

(Rochester, NY) – Rochester Americans Hall of Fame broadcaster Don Stevens has been named the winner of the 2018 Gary Smith & George Beahon Sports Media Excellence Award. Stevens will be honored among several other winners at the upcoming 69th annual Rochester Press-Radio Club Day of Champions Children’s Charities Dinner on Monday, June 18 at the Joseph A. Floreano Riverside Convention Center. The event will be headlined by Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome.
“It’s such a tremendous honor, especially to receive an award named after Rochester media icons like Smith and Beahon,” said Stevens, who recently closed the books on his remarkable 32nd season as the radio and TV voice of the Amerks. “To be categorized in that group, and the group of media people in Rochester is an incredible honor. I’m truly humbled by it.”
Stevens has seen many changes in the AHL since he first put on the headphones and called his first Amerks game at the old Rochester War Memorial for the start of the 1986-87 season. Known as the “Dean of AHL Broadcasters,” Stevens has witnessed the overall expansion of the League, which will see an all-time high 31 teams beginning with the 2018-19 season, as well as the explosion of media coverage of the AHL in general.
The “Voice of the Amerks” calls games on the new radio home of the Amerks, 95.7 FM/950 AM ESPN Rochester, in addition to calling select home games live on the MSG Network. He currently teams up with color analyst and former Buffalo Sabre Ric Seiling to bring AHL games to the City of Rochester and around the country. Stevens also had the distinction of covering the Amerks on multiple occasions over the NHL Network and SiriusXM Satellite Radio, introducing Amerks hockey on both a national and international level.
Following the 2012-13 season, Stevens’ 27th as the Amerks play-by-play man, he was awarded with the AHL’s prestigious James H. Ellery Memorial Award for excellence in radio coverage for the second time in his career.
In 2009-10, Stevens called Rochester’s historic 2,000th franchise win as the Amerks joined an elite club, becoming just the second team in the American Hockey League and eighth overall in North American hockey history to achieve the feat. He was also behind the microphone for five of the 11 goals scored by an AHL goaltender, most recently in 2010-11 when Binghamton’s Chris Holt became the 10th netminder in league history to a score a goal with his empty-netter against Rochester.
Stevens’ most memorable season with the organization came during the 2010-11 campaign, his 25th with the red, white and blue. Stevens’ years of dedicated service to the club was acknowledged with his enshrinement in the team’s prestigious Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2011. As the 50th member of the Hall, and just the second broadcaster inducted, Stevens joined an elite group of individuals whose tireless contributions and commitment to the franchise matches those of the original 1956 Rochester Americans.
From 1996-2009, Stevens maintained a dual role while also serving as the broadcaster for the Rochester Rhinos (United Soccer League). With the Rhinos, Stevens was part of back-to-back regular season championships (1998-99), three A-League championships in four years (1998, 1999 and 2001), the 1999 U.S. Open Cup and 14 consecutive playoff runs during his tenure. In 1998, he even covered an Amerks hockey game and the Rhinos’ championship game on the same day. Stevens was inducted into the Rhinos Hall of Fame on Sept. 24, 2016 during halftime of the club’s final regular-season home matchup, becoming the first broadcaster in Rhinos team history to earn the honors.
Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards for his work on radio and television. In 1993-94, he won his first AHL James H. Ellery Award, given to the person that has made outstanding contributions to the progress of the AHL for his work on the former Amerks Radio Network. Stevens has also won a national ACE Award for Cable Excellence as the host of the weekly television show, “Amerks Report,” and received the Rochester Press-Radio Club’s Louis MacMillan Award for sportscasting excellence. In 2003, he was inducted into the Frontier Field Walk of Fame in the media category. The Walk of Fame is located inside Frontier Field and features the names of fans, players, contributors and local media throughout Rochester’s sports history.
With the Amerks, Stevens has broadcast seven Calder Cup Finals and the Spengler Cup in Switzerland, winning a pair of Calder Cup championships in the process. Stevens has taken the AHL to its highest level during the course of his career and has shown his true professionalism by working with younger broadcasters throughout the league. Each season he has made it a point to “promote the Rochester Americans and the American Hockey League,” from his seat in the radio booth to the podium at numerous charity events.
The Amerks’ broadcaster has also served the team in numerous capacities during his tenure, including public relations director, TV host, radio talk show host, and TV and radio play-by-play broadcaster. In addition, Stevens founded the AHL Broadcasters/Writers Association and served as its president.
During his career, broadcasting has taken the Wainwright, Alberta, native all over the United States, Canada and Europe. He has worked in such markets as Seattle, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Rochester.

(Photo: Amerks.com)

BINGHAMTON, NY – The New Jersey Devils have signed defenseman Egor Yakovlev to a one-year, entry-level contract. The announcement was made by Devils’ Executive Vice President/General Manager Ray Shero.

Yakovlev, 26, has spent the past six seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League and recorded five goals and four assists for nine points and 14 penalty minutes in 35 games with SKA St. Petersburg

In 2016-17, Yakovlev set career highs in assists (15) points (21) and plus/minus (+30), while helping St. Petersburg win the Gagarin Cup. Through 301 career KHL games, Yakovlev has 68 points (26 goals, 42 assists) and a +29 rating.

The Magnitogorsk, Russia defenseman won a Gold Medal with the Olympic Athletes from Russia at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and has also represented Russia at three World Championships and captured a gold medal in 2014 and a silver medal in 2015.

The Devils will open up the 2018-19 season at home on Saturday, October 6 at 7:05 p.m.

Glens Falls, NY – The Adirondack Thunder fell 3-2 to the Florida Everblades in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday evening Cool Insuring Arena. With the defeat, Adirondack’s record-setting season comes to a close while Florida advances to the 2018 Kelly Cup Finals.

Forward Mike Szmatula and defenseman Colton White found the back of the net in the loss. Goaltender Drew Fielding made 18 saves as he moved to 5-5 in the 2018 postseason.

The Everblades opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game as defenseman Matt Mackenzie collected his first goal of the 2018 playoffs. After forward Sam Warning fed Mackenzie at the left point, the Florida blueliner weaved through the slot and, after his first shot was kicked aside by Fielding, he snagged the rebound and tapped it in for the game-opening goal. Warning and forward David Dziurzynski collected the assists on the play, Warning’s seventh of the postseason.

Florida tacked on two more goals to take a 3-0 lead into the intermission. First, 7:37 into the game, forward Michael Kirkpatrick collected his league-leading tenth tally of the 2018 playoffs as he took a feed through traffic from defenseman Gus Young and beat Fielding on the glove side for the goal. The visitors struck again with 5:52 remaining in the opening period as forward Mitchell Heard took a feed from Dziurzynski in front and went forehand-to-backhand for his sixth goal of the postseason, which came on the man advantage.

Adirondack came back to score twice in the third period to move to within a goal. First, 2:39 into the third period, forward Ryan Schmelzer sent a spin-o-rama pass to Szmatula at the back post for a tap-in goal, his fifth of the postseason. The Thunder pulled to within a goal with 7:57 remaining in regulation as White scored his third of the 2018 playoffs. With Adirondack on the man advantage, Henry fed White at the center point and he walked to his left and fired over the glove of Florida netminder Martin Ouelette for the goal.

Despite several opportunities by Adirondack in the closing minutes of the game, Florida netminder Martin Ouelette stood tall to preserve the victory. With the defeat, the Thunder season comes to a close. Adirondack is back in action in October to kick off the 2018-19 season. Visit ECHLThunder.com or call 518-480-3355 for all of the information on Round 3.

Utica, N.Y. – Vancouver Canucks General Manager Jim Benning announced today that the club has signed forward Tanner MacMaster and defenseman Jagger Dirk to one-year contracts.

MacMaster, 22, appeared in 13 games with the Comets last season, recording seven points (2-5-7). He made his AHL debut on March 17 at Belleville after signing an ATO on March 16. In addition, the forward notched four points (1-3-4) in five playoff games with Utica.

Prior to joining the Comets, the 6-0, 185-pound forward appeared in 38 games for Quinnipiac University, registering 33 points (13-20-33). In 150 games in the NCAA over the last four seasons, the Calgary, Alberta native collected 84 points (30-54-84).

Dirk, 25, signed an ATO with the Binghamton Devils on March 21, 2018, playing in seven games and registering one point (0-1-1).

Before signing with Binghamton, the 6-0, 199-pound defenseman dressed in 30 games at St. Francis Xavier University, amassing 28 points (6-22-28). Dirk also helped the X-Men advance all the way to the University Cup and was named to the Championship All-Star Team. The Penticton, BC native spent the last four seasons at St. Francis Xavier University, totaling 73 points (15-58-73) in 114 games.