It was some time around 3 a.m. on Valentine's Day morning, and though he was sitting on a bus with no heat in negative-20 degree weather, Syracuse Crunch COO Jim Sarosy was arguably the most content he had been in the past 20 hours.
What happened in the hours prior — on a celebratory trip to Ottawa to reward Crunch staff members for a job well done hosting the AHL All-Star Game — was a nightmare from h-e double hockey sticks: two buses and a stretch limousine broke down, four hours were spent stranded at a Denny’s, and the Crunch lost 2-0 to the Binghamton Senators in a special matchup at the Candian Tire Centre, home of the NHL's Senators.