Good afternoon, everyone!
First up, we have some former Crunchie news:
- St. Louis has signed Andrew Murray to a one-year, two-way contract.
We also have some breaking Syracuse Crunch/Tampa news:
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman Matt Taormina to a one-year, two-way contract today.
Taormina’s stats are kind of odd, but Tampa Bay’s release had this to say about him: Taormina, 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, has played in 47 career NHL games with the New Jersey Devils during the previous two seasons, recording four goals and 12 points with a plus-4 rating. Taormina has played in 199 career AHL games with the Binghamton Senators, Lowell Devils and Albany River Rats. He has registered 18 goals and 71 points, including a career-high 16 goals and 66 points in 2009-10. That season he led all Lowell defensemen, and was third on the team, with 10 goals and 50 points. Those totals were the most by a rookie in franchise history. Taormina also set a franchise record with 32 power-play points with eight goals and 24 assists.
Bolt Prospects (and if you aren’t following them–what the hell?! Get on that!) had this to say about him: It looks as though Taormina is the puck-moving replacement for Mike Kostka, who signed with the Leafs. He had 50 pts for Lowell 2 yrs ago.
A friend of ours from Albany, Tracey Lake (who blogs for Thoughts Inside the Box), had this to say about him: He was up and down between here and NJ a lot, didn’t play much up there. More a depth guy for the Devils than anything. Depending on what Tampa Bay’s needs are at D, you’ll probably see him in a Crunch uniform.
Should be interesting. Not sure yet if injury kept him out of the game or what last season, still trying to find out more information.
Under the cut we have some merch reviews, one old, one new, both T-shirts. The first is the Tarkki version of the player T’s the Crunch brought back last year. The second is the brand new, hot-off-the-presses Crunchman T!
These T’s are both made by the same company. They’re 100% cotton and fit the same way. They’re only offered in men’s styles. I guess they’re unisex, sort of, but they run big for women and kind of small for men.
First up is the Tarkki T. Yeah, I should have done it last season, but I got lazy. Sorry. It’s black, with a small Ducks-era Crunch logo on the front and Tarkki’s name and number on the back.
Front view:
Back view:
I like the quality of these T’s. The cotton is strong and slightly heavy. It hasn’t started to pull apart yet. I did notice it has faded slightly in comparison to the new Crunchman T, but it’s nothing that’s noticeable unless you have a comparison point. Neither the back nor the front design have started to peel or flake off. It still looks almost just as good as when I bought it.
I’ve always liked the player T’s. My first piece of Crunch merch was one from 04-05, a Goehring T that was two sizes too big because I bought it on clearance at the end of the season. I wore it to bed until it practically fell apart. I hope the Crunch continues offering these kinds of shirts, they’re a fabulous way to show support for your team and a favorite player at the same time, without shelling out money for a game worn jersey. They’re also a lot easier to wear around town or to a casual day at work than a jersey is.
Next up, the brand new Crunchman T, bought this past Monday at the redesign release:
Seeing as this T was made by the same people as the Tarkki shirt, all of the information is pretty much the same. This T has our new logo on the front and nothing on the back. It was offered in two styles: heather gray and black. I thought the black looked better. The logo is nicely sized for the proportions of the T. The colors are great, the silver is slightly sparkly and eye-catching. Looks good on men and women.
Final verdict: Good quality! I’d rate both a solid 9/10. Women, buy a size down from what you normally get. Men, you might have to buy a size up, it depends on how tight you like your T’s.
