When: Saturday, April 7 at 7 p.m.
Where: Giant Center
Listen: The Score 1260
Watch: AHL Live
 
Season Series: This is the sixth and final meeting of the season for the Syracuse Crunch and the Hershey Bears. Hershey leads the season series, 4-0-0-1, and have won three straight games over Syracuse. The Bears took the last meeting, 2-1, February 10 at the War Memorial. Cody Eakin and Garrett Mitchell scored goals for Hershey. Rick Schofield scored the lone goal for Syracuse. Braden Holtby stopped 25 of 26 shots in the win, and Antero Niittymaki stopped 30 of 32 shots in the loss.
 
Patrick Maroon leads the Crunch with three points, all goals, against the Bears. He leads all skaters on both teams in goals. Kyle Cumiskey leads the team with two assists. Fourteen different players have recorded at least one point against Hershey. In four games against Hershey, Iiro Tarkki is 1-2-0 with a 3.94 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage.
 
Julien Brouillette is the Bears active leader in points against Syracuse, entering tonight's contest with five (2g, 3a). He trails Keith Aucoin, who is currently on recall with the Washington Capitals. In four games against Syracuse, Aucoin collected seven points (1g, 6a). Brouillette is tied with three other skaters for the team lead in goals. Nine players have recorded three or more points against Syracuse.
 
Hershey leads the all-time season series, 49-43-15.
 
Crunch at a Glance: Syracuse enters tonight's game seventh in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Manchester Monarchs. They trail the sixth-place Connecticut Whale by four points. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers defeated Syracuse, 3-1, last night in Bridgeport. David Ullstrom scored two goals in the win, and seven other players recorded at least one point. Patrick Maroon scored the lone goal for Syracuse, which saw its 11-game point streak come to an end.
 
Maroon leads the Crunch with 73 points (32g, 41a). He's tied with Norfolk's Cory Conacher for second in the league. He's also tied with teammate Kyle Palmieri for the team lead in goals. Both players are third in the league in goals, two behind Conacher. Peter Holland, who recorded an assist in the loss, is tied for third among rookies with 60 points (23g, 37a).
 
Crunch Leaders
Goals: Kyle Palmieri and Patrick Maroon - 32
Assists: Patrick Maroon - 41
Points: Patrick Maroon - 73
Plus/Minus: Patrick Maroon - +18
PIM: Patrick Maroon - 118
Wins: Iiro Tarkki - 22
G.A.A: Igor Bobkov - 1.97
Save %: Igor Bobkov - .931
Shutouts: Iiro Tarkki - 2
 
Recent Crunch Transactions
4/04/2012 Mat Clark (D) Syracuse ADD Returned on loan from Anaheim (NHL)
4/02/2012 Dale Mitchell (RW) Syracuse DEL Reassigned by Anaheim (NHL) to Reading (ECHL)
3/31/2012 Mat Clark (D) Syracuse DEL Recalled from loan by Anaheim (NHL)
3/30/2012 Ryan Hegarty (D) Syracuse ADD Signed to ATO
3/26/2012 Kyle Palmieri (RW) Syracuse ADD Returned on loan from Anaheim (NHL)
 
Who's Hot
Patrick Maroon - Five points (4g, 1a) in his last five games
Peter Holland - Four points (1g, 3a) in his last four games
Riley Holzapfel - 12 points (4g, 8a) in his last 12 games
 
Bears at a Glance: Hershey enters tonight's contest fifth in the Eastern Conference. The Bears, who have already clinched a playoff spot, trail the fourth-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins by four points. The Penguins beat the Bears, 4-2, last night in Wilkes-Barre. Kyle Greentree scored both goals for Hershey, who dropped their third straight game. Dany Sabourin made 25 saves in the loss.
 
Chris Bourque leads Hershey with 91 points (26g, 65a). He leads the league in both points and assists. Ryan Potulny leads the Bears with 31 goals. He's fifth in the league in goals, one behind both Kyle Palmieri and Patrick Maroon. Joel Rechlicz is tied for the league lead with 237 penalty minutes. The Bears are without both Braden Holtby and Dany Sabourin, who combined to win 38 games. Both are on recall with the Washington Capitals.
 
Bears Leaders:
Goals: Ryan Potulny - 31
Assists: Chris Bourque - 65
Points: Chris Bourque - 91
Plus/Minus: Boyd Kane - +17
PIM: Joel Rechlicz - 237
Wins: Braden Holtby - 20
G.A.A: Braden Holtby - 2.81
Save %: Dany Sabourin - .907
Shutouts: Braden Holtby - 3
 
Recent Bears Transactions
4/07/2012 Darren Machesney (G) Hershey ADD Recalled from loan to South Carolina (ECHL)
4/06/2012 Dany Sabourin (G) Hershey DEL Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)
4/04/2012 Francis Verreault-Paul (RW) Hershey ADD Signed to ATO
3/30/2012 Braden Holtby (G) Hershey DEL Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)
3/29/2012 Billy Ryan (C) Hershey ADD Signed to ATO
 
Who's Hot
Boyd Kane: Nine points (1g, 8a) in his last four games
Ryan Potulny: 14 points (8g, 6a) in his last nine games
Kyle Greentree: Six points (2g, 4a) in his last four games