I couldn’t remember seeing a Syracuse Crunch ice girl in the one game I went to at War Memorial Stadium last season. That was my first thought when I saw the franchise was holding open tryouts for the new Crunch Crew. It was also the third question asked in my interview for the newly founded spirit squad set to replace the Ice Girls, a group of cheerleaders used by many hockey teams.

The Crunch held the tryouts on the heels of its American Hockey League championship run last spring, which ended with a loss in the finals against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Syracuse reached an attendance of 5,996 fans in Game 3 of the series, when it became the first Syracuse team to win a Calder Cup game at home since 1938. By that time, the season-opening total of 20 ice girls had whittled to the five left to celebrate with fans.

Diminishing ice girl numbers have juxtaposed with increased attendance and improved team performance. Last season’s ice-girl exodus contrasted with the highest stadium attendance in 11 seasons. On Saturday, when the Crunch opens its home slate of the 2017-18 season against the Rochester Americans, fans will file into War Memorial by the thousands.

But on this day, a warm Sunday in mid-September, I stood outside the stadium and it was empty. A tall man named Joe in a white Crunch jersey welcomed our videographer, Amanda Caffey, and I into the vacant lobby. When I asked if he worked here, he laughed and shook his head.

“Not too sure what the deal is. We were just kind of told to show up.” he said.

Joe represents the fan the Crunch are trying to attract this season. The franchise hopes to engage with new fans and provide a fan experience building off the excitement of the game. Joe wasn’t a hockey fan until he came to War Memorial last season. There, he grew infatuated with the atmosphere, and he said the energy in the stadium attracted him back continuously during the Crunch’s postseason run. This year, he bought season tickets.

By trying out, in a way, I’m attempting to join the Crunch culture change. When Stefany Gale, the creative services and promotions manager, assumed her new role about a month ago, she introduced a substitution for traditional ice girls, known for revealing clothing and simple cheers. She developed the Crunch Crew, a more community-friendly public relations staff.

When I arrive for the open tryout posted on the Crunch’s website, I am one of three candidates. By the time tryouts begin, we are eight strong, four in Crunch jerseys, including a little girl accompanied by her mother, Bethany. Joe told me he heard there were nine people at the first tryout on the previous Thursday, putting the estimated grand total of prospective new crew members at 16 to work the season’s 39 home games and various community events.

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We walk through a door and pass the surface the Crunch will skate on this season but we don’t get a good look. The lights aren’t on yet. A skinny hallway leads up onto an old, wooden stage beside the rink that looks like the stage from your high school. A stack of stadium seats lay vacant to our left.

The team spent the first hour interviewing candidates to get more familiar with us. Most people here, it turns out, are Crunch fans. Molly is a freshman at SU, and she’s from Syracuse, and she loves hockey, and she just wants to make some money watching it. James is in his first year of junior hockey in Baldwinsville and he needs some extra cash.

For Bethany, it’s a dream job. Four player signatures dot her Crunch jersey and, while she talks, she points to where she and her daughter usually sit behind the Crunch bench. Her daughter is the liveliest person at the tryout. She’s still eight years from the 18-year-old eligibility, but that doesn’t dull her enthusiasm. She danced to the music and slid across the dust-covered floor. Bethany’s eyes lit up when discussing the positives of being a Crunch Crew member.

“It’s the best gig ever,” she said.

Then, the interviewers called me to the circle table off to the side of the stage. Stefany and her assistant during the tryouts, Ashleigh, asked one personality question: my spirit animal. I told them I am a monkey, energetic and outgoing. They asked if I remembered the ice girls from last season. I answered truthfully. They smiled and agreed the ice girls probably weren’t memorable at the game I attended last season.

Two days later, an email popped up on my phone.

“Thank you for taking the time to come audition for our Crunch Crew! After both nights of auditions, we decided that we would like to have you join us for this upcoming season!”

Looking at the message, I thought back to the second part of the tryout, when I felt like a pimply teenager at a middle-school dance standing off to the side while my date is on the dance floor.

Virginia, a former ice girl hoping to continue as a member of the crew, led our group. The Crunch told us to create a skit that would entertain the crowd during a stoppage in play. She grabbed two long, rubber noodles and threw down a blush container as a puck.

We struggled in practice runs, unable to decide when to chant “Crunch!”, who should shoot the blush between the two chairs/goal posts or even who would take the lead on energizing fans.

No one did. I stumbled with the blush at my feet, and I didn’t score like we had planned. Then, I looked up and waited for someone to yell “Crunch!” No one did.

So, I ad-libbed. Triumphantly, I held the noodle high above my head and then smashed it down on my knee, like snapping a hockey stick. “Crunch!” I boomed and six people smiled back awkwardly.

As the second and final group of the day began their skit, Stefany and Ashleigh golf-clapped my group.

“Good job guys,” they said.

Published on October 5, 2017 at 12:15 am

Contact Josh: jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44