Former #WBSPens Captain Mormina Now With #SyrCrunch

Former Penguin Joey Mormina is now an alternate captain with the Syracuse Crunch. Photo courtesy of Amy's WBS Picture Page. 

When the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last played in Syracuse against the Crunch, it was in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals this past June.

Last year's Penguins team captain, defenseman Joey Mormina, now finds himself on the opposite bench when the Penguins and Crunch play. Mormina signed a two year AHL deal with the Crunch in the offseason and played his first game against his former team Sunday night.

"I still have a lot of good friends with that team," Mormina said after the Pens 6-3 win in Syracuse last night. "I'm still close with a lot of guys in that organization."

Mormina appeared in 284 games over the course of four seasons with the AHL Penguins, including 51 playoff games. He became the Pens' 18th captain in franchise history last February during the 2012-13 season. There are plenty of memories of Mormina in the #3 Penguins jersey.

Now that Mormina is on a rival team, one that ended the Penguins season last year, it should come as no surprise that the rivalry against Mormina is already mounting.

"A little bit of chirping in warmup and over the course of the game, all good stuff," Mormina said, though he declined to comment any further as to who he was chirping with on the Penguins, who initiated it, etc.

It was a physical game last night and Mormina was on the ice during the peak of the physicality early in the third period. That should also come as no surprise, not that Mormina was the cause of the rough stuff but its in the way he plays the game as a physical defensive defenseman.

All in all, Mormina feels like he's in a good spot playing with the Crunch, which is why he signed there in the offseason. Here's what he had to say about his first impressions of his new teammates.

"Alot of young players, great organization top to bottom," Mormina said of his new teammates in Syracuse. "I think the expectations here are to compete for a championship every year."

While Mormina was a Penguin defenseman over the course of four seasons, he will certainly be looking to beat the Pens the next time the two teams play on November 6th. It will be his return to Wilkes-Barre and his first game at the Mohegan Sun Arena since leaving the organization last summer.

"My last game with Wilkes-Barre was in June so I've had a lot of time to transition away from the organization," Mormina said, adding, "I have fond memories of being there but from here on out, it's all about winning here and beating them every time we play."