When: Saturday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: War Memorial Arena
Radio: The Score 1260
Watch: AHL Live
 
Season Series: This is the eighth of ten meetings between the Adirondack Phantoms and the Syracuse Crunch this season. Adirondack leads the season series, 4-3-0. The Crunch won the most recent meeting, 2-1, Wednesday in Glens Falls. Down by one goal after two periods, Syracuse scored twice in the third period for the come-from-behind win. Riley Holzapfel and John Mitchell scored the third-period goals for Syracuse. Denis Hamel was the Phantoms' lone goal scorer. Iiro Tarkki stopped 22 of 23 shots for the win.
 
J.F. Jacques and Kyle Palmieri lead the team with eight points (6g, 2a) against the Phantoms this season. They also both hold a share of the team lead in goals. Patrick Maroon is the team's active assist leader with four, one behind Nick Bonino for the team lead. Troy Bodie leads the team with 21 penalty minutes. In three starts against the Phantoms, Iiro Tarkki is 2-2-0 with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.
 
Denis Hamel leads the Phantoms with eight points (4g, 4a) against Syracuse. His four assists are tied with Luke Pither for the team lead. Hamel is also tied with Ben Holmstrom for the team lead in goals.
 
Syracuse is 26-28-9 all time against Adirondack.
 
Crunch At A Glance: Syracuse enters today's game tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Manchester Monarchs for eighth place. The Crunch defeated the Rochester Americans, 4-3, last night at the War Memorial. The win was the third straight for Syracuse. Brandon McMillan, J.F. Jacques and Peter Holland recorded two points in the win. Mathieu Carle and Nick Schaus also found the back of the net for the Crunch. Iiro Tarkki stopped 23 shots for his 17th win of the season.
 
Patrick Maroon enters tonight's game leading the Crunch with 66 points (28g, 38a). He's fourth in the league in points and leads the team in assists. Holland has 51 points this season (21g, 30a) and is fifth among all rookies in points. He's just the fifth rookie in the league to reach the 50-point mark. Carle leads all Syracuse defensemen with 34 points, and is tied for ninth in the league.
 
Crunch Leaders
Goals: Kyle Palmieri - 32
Assists: Patrick Maroon - 38
Points: Patrick Maroon - 66
Plus/Minus: Patrick Maroon - +16
PIM: Troy Bodie - 107
Wins: Iiro Tarkki - 17
GAA: Iiro Tarkki - 2.54
Save %: Iiro Tarkki - .923
Shutouts: Iiro Tarkki - 2
 
Recent Crunch Transactions
3/17/2012 Gabe Guentzel (D) Syracuse ADD Signed to ATO
3/14/2012 Ryan O'Marra (C) Syracuse ADD Returned on loan from Anaheim (NHL)
3/11/2012 John Kurtz (RW) Syracuse ADD Recalled from loan to Elmira (ECHL)
3/11/2012 Kyle Palmieri (RW) Syracuse DEL Recalled from loan by Anaheim (NHL)
3/11/2012 Marco Cousineau (G) Syracuse ADD Reassigned by Anaheim (NHL) from Allen (CHL)
 
Who's Hot
Patrick Maroon - 11 points (3g, 8a) in his last eight games
Peter Holland - 12 points (3g, 9a) in his last nine games
Brandon McMillan - Three points (2g, 1a) in his last three games
 
Phantoms At a Glance: Adirondack enters tonight's game 12th in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Manchester Monarchs for eighth place. The Hershey Bears defeated the Phantoms, 6-3, last night in Hershey. Tomas Kundratek led all scorers, recording four points (1g, 3a) for the Bears. Matt Ford, Garrett Roe and Brandon Manning scored goals for the Phantoms, who dropped their second straight game.
 
Jason Akeson leads the Phantoms with 46 points (10g, 36a). His 36 assists are also tops among all skaters. He's also eighth among all rookies in points. Matt Ford leads Adirondack with 21 goals. Adirondack has five players with at least 30 points. Michael Leighton leads the team with 21 wins, but also has a league-worst 22 losses.
 
Phantoms Leaders:
Goals: Matt Ford - 21
Assists: Jason Akeson - 36
Points: Jason Akeson - 46
Plus/Minus: Andrew Roe and Tyler Brown - +4
PIM: Ben Holmstrom - 122
Wins: Michael Leighton - 21
GAA: Michael Leighton - 2.65
Save %: Michael Leighton - .915
Shutouts: Michael Leighton - 1
 
Recent Phantoms Transactions
3/14/2012 Brandon Manning (D) Adirondack ADD Returned on loan from Philadelphia (NHL)
3/12/2012 Harry Zolnierczyk (LW) Adirondack ADD Returned on loan from Philadelphia (NHL)
3/09/2012 Tyler Hostetter (D) Adirondack DEL Loaned to Trenton (ECHL)
 
Who's Hot
Matt Ford - Nine points (5g, 4a) in his last seven games
Denis Hamel - Six points (3g, 3a) in his last five games
Ben Holmstrom - Four points (4a) in his last four games