The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. History Vancouver and Pittsburgh affiliations (1994–2000) The franchise originated in 1992 as the Hamilton Canucks, which was an affiliate of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks played in Hamilton, Ontario, for two seasons, before relocating to upstate New York in 1994. They were then renamed the "Crunch" from a public vote that included five names. The Crunch played their first game in Syracuse on September 30, 1994, against the Albany River Rats to a 7–7 tie with Lonny Bohonos scoring the first Crunch goal. The Crunch finished their first season 29–42–9–0, fifth place in the division, and outside the playoffs. The Crunch made the playoffs in the following season after finishing 31–37–5–7 and made it to the 1996 conference finals before losing to the eventual Calder Cup champion Rochester Americans. The team led the league in sellouts in 1996–97 and 1997–98 seasons. In 1997, the Crunch added a second NHL affiliate with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 1998–99 AHL season was the Crunch's worst season in franchise history. The Crunch would finish the season with a league-worst record of 18–50–9–3. On November 25, 1998, the Crunch suffered their worst loss in team history to the Providence Bruins, with a 14–2 final score. They allowed an AHL record of 10 goals in the first period. Goalie Craig Hillier allowed seven goals before being pulled for Mike Valley, who also allowed seven. The Penguins' affiliation ended after this season when they launched the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. On October 30, 1999, while playing against Rochester, goaltender Christian Bronsard scored the first and only Crunch goalie goal. Bronsard became the fourth goaltender in American Hockey League history to score a goal. The Crunch qualified for the playoffs following the 1999–2000 season, their last season as Vancouver's AHL affiliate, but lost in the first round to the Hamilton Bulldogs. Columbus affiliation (2000–2010) The Crunch became the affiliate of the newly formed Columbus Blue Jackets following the 1999–2000 season. They made the playoffs in their first season under the Jackets, but lost in five games to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the first round. In the following 2001–02 season, the Crunch won their first division title in franchise