Crunch Game Day Preview
Syracuse Crunch  (23-26-4-4, fourth place, East Division) at
Albany Devils (27-21-6-3, third place, Northeast Division)
 
When: Sunday, March 4 at 4:00 p.m.
Where: Times Union Center
Radio: The Score 1260
Watch: AHL Live
 
Season Series: This is the seventh of ten meetings between the Syracuse Crunch and Albany Devils this season. The series is tied, 3-3-0. Albany won the last meeting, 3-1, on February 24 at the War Memorial. Mattias Tedenby scored the game-winning goal with 1:26 remaining in regulation. He finished with two points. Devils defenseman Eric Gelinas also recorded two points (1g, 1a). Peter Holland scored the only goal for the Crunch. Keith Kinkaid stopped 33 of 34 shots in the win. Iiro Tarkki made 31 saves in the loss.
 
Kyle Palmieri, Patrick Maroon and Peter Holland lead the Crunch with five points against Albany. Palmieri leads the team with three goals. Holland and Maroon are tied for the team lead with three assists. Tarkki has started three games against the Devils, going 1-2-0 with a 1.62 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage.
 
Nathan Perkovich, Vladimir Zharkov and Eric Gelinas lead Albany with four points against the Crunch. Perkovich leads the team with four goals. Gelinas and Mike Sislo share the team lead with three assists. Kinkaid has three starts against Syracuse, recording a 1-1-1 record with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
 
Syracuse is 8-7-0 all time against Albany.
 
Crunch At A Glance: Syracuse enters today's game 14th in the Eastern Conference, seven points behind the Manchester Monarchs for eighth place. The Crunch defeated the St. John's IceCaps, 6-4, last night at the War Memorial. Down 4-2 after two periods, the Crunch scored four times in the third period for a come-from-behind win. Dan Sexton recorded his first AHL hat trick. Kyle Cumiskey finished with three assists, and both Kyle Palmieri and Brandon McMillan finished with two points (1g, 1a).
 
Maroon enters tonight's game leading the Crunch with 58 points (26g, 32a). He's fifth in the league in points. Kyle Palmieri has 52 points (32g, 20a), and has points in his last six games. It's the longest point streak for a Syracuse skater this season. He also leads the league in goals and is ninth in the league in points. Cumiskey has four points in his last two games, and enters today's game with 20 points (2g, 18a) in 38 games.
 
Crunch Leaders
Goals: Kyle Palmieri - 32
Assists: Patrick Maroon - 32
Points: Patrick Maroon - 58
Plus/Minus: Ryan O'Marra and Patrick Maroon - +14
PIM: Troy Bodie - 107
Wins: Iiro Tarkki - 12
GAA: Iiro Tarkki - 2.73
Save %: Iiro Tarkki - .919
Shutouts: Iiro Tarkki - 2
 
Recent Crunch Transactions
2/29/2012 Andy Thomas (D) Syracuse ADD Signed to PTO
2/28/2012 Nate Guenin (D) Syracuse DEL Recalled from loan by Anaheim (NHL)
2/28/2012 Ryan McGinnis (D) Syracuse ADD Recalled from loan to Florida (ECHL)
2/27/2012 Andrew Gordon (C) Syracuse DEL Recalled from loan by Anaheim (NHL)
2/27/2012 Dale Mitchell (RW) Syracuse ADD Loaned from Anaheim (NHL)
 
Who's Hot
Patrick Maroon - Six points (2g, 4a) in his last five games
Kyle Palmieri - Eight points (4g, 4a) in his last six games
Kyle Cumiskey - Five points (5a) in his last three games
 
Devils At a Glance: The Devils enter today's game seventh in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the eighth-place Manchester Monarchs. The Adirondack Phantoms defeated Albany, 3-2, in overtime yesterday at the Times Union Center. Matt Ford scored the game-winning goal, netting the decisive score at the 3:24 mark of overtime. Nathan Perkovich led all Devils skaters with two points (1g, 1a). Eric Gelinas also scored in the loss. Keith Kinkaid stopped 31 of 34 shots.
 
Vladimir Zharkov and Joe Whitney lead the Devils with 33 points this season. Whitney has 13 goals and 20 assists in 54 games. Zharkov leads the team with 21 assists. Steve Zalewski is the team leader in goals, with 14 through 50 games.
 
Devils Leaders:
Goals: Steve Zalewski - 14
Assists: Vladimir Zharkov - 21
Points: Vladimir Zharkov and Joe Whitney - 33
Plus/Minus: Dan Kelly - +9
PIM: Darcy Zajac - 80
Wins: Keith Kinkaid - 15
GAA: Jeff Frazee - 2.65
Save %: Keith Kinkaid - .907
Shutouts: Keith Kinkaid - 3
 
Recent Devils Transactions
2/27/2012 Matt Taormina (D) Albany DEL Recalled from loan by New Jersey (NHL)
2/27/2012 Matt Taormina (D) Albany ADD Returned on loan from New Jersey (NHL)
2/25/2012 Peter Harrold (D) Albany ADD Returned on loan from New Jersey (NHL)
2/24/2012 Eric Baier (D) Albany ADD Signed to PTO
2/24/2012 Stephen Veilleux (LW) Albany DEL Recalled from loan by New Jersey (NHL)
 
Who's Hot
Peter Harrold - Three points (1g, 2a) in his last three games
Vladimir Zharkov - Eight points (4g, 4a) in his last eight games
Eric Gelinas - Five points (3g, 2a) in his last five games