Game 24: Syracuse Crunch (11-9-1-2) at St. John's IceCaps (13-10-1-2)
6 p.m. ET, Mile One Centre, St. John's, Newfoundland

The Crunch are back at work Wednesday in St. John's, looking to answer the IceCaps' 6-2 drubbing of Syracuse Tuesday. Wednesday's game will be the third of four matchups this season (each side has one victory so far), with the final matchup coming at the War Memorial in March. 

The IceCaps (13-10-1-2) are third in the Atlantic Division and tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference at 29 points, four better than Syracuse (11-9-1-2), fourth in the East Division and ninth in the conference. St. John's has split 14 road games (7-7) while experiencing an up-and-down slate of 12 home games (6-3-1-2). The Crunch have now played one more game on the road than at home, going 7-4-1-0 in 12 away games and 4-5-0-2 at the War Memorial.

Broadcast Coverage
Countdown to Crunch Time at 5:45 p.m.
ESPN Radio 97.7 FM & 1200 AM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM & 1440 AM, Oswego | Listen Live |
Free audio on your mobile device with the TuneIn App
Pay-to-watch video on AHL LIve.com and on your mobile device with the AHL Live App 

Press Clips
1. Post-Standard: St. John's rocks reeling Crunch
2. The Telegram: IceCaps dominate Crunch 
3. Post-Standard: Former Syracuse Crunch defensemen Barberio and Sustr proving their value with Lightning
4. Post-Standard: AHL lowers boom on Syracuse Crunch defenseman Cote with 2-game suspension
5. Post-Standard: Chuck and Betsy Copps bring the crowd to its feet at Syracuse Crunch games


Last time out
Syracuse fell to St. John's, 6-2, Tuesday at Mile One Centre in St. John's, the team's third consecutive loss. The Crunch were outshot 47-15, the most lopsided margin of shots this year by a wide margin. The 47 shots for the IceCaps were most against Syracuse this year and one shy of a St. John's record. The Crunch managed only four shots in the first, five in the second and six in the third for a season-worst 15. Syracuse also racked up a season-high 63 penalty minutes, thanks to three fights and three misconducts.

A Crunch netminder was chased for the first itme this season as Kristers Gudlevskis allowed four goals on 20 shots, including the last two in the span of 12 seconds seven minutes into the second period, before Cedrick Desjardins came on, finishing with 25 stops on 27 shots in relief. Mike Angelidis and Cedric Paquette did the scoring for Syracuse. Paquette, Max Parent and Dmitry Korobov garnered assists. IceCaps goalie Jussi Olkinuora made 13 saves for his third win in six appearances.

St. John's had 14 players mark the score sheet, including a game-high three points for defenseman Zach Redmond who assisted on goals one, four and five. Ryan Schnell was the game's first star, scoring his first goal with the IceCaps, the nail that drove Gudlevskis from the game in the second; he also fought Eric Neilson in the first period. Jason Jaffray opened the scoring with his eighth of the year, potting a power-play goal on St. John's first chance of the night, only the fourth Syracuse allowed on the road this year. Kris Fredheim had St. John's second power-play maker in the second, the eventual game-winning goal.
Gordie Howe hat trick for Paquette
Cedric Paquette assisted on Mike Angelidis's first-period score and scored a third-period goal of his own Tuesday for his third multi-point game of the season. Getting into a fight with Adam Lowry (who had crosschecked Brett Connolly) with five minutes left in the game, the rookie recorded his first Gordie Howe hat trick. Paquette now has seven points in the last five games and is the leading scorer among available Crunch players with 13 points (7g, 6a). He also has 50 penalty minutes, third most on the Crunch, including three fights.

Scouting the IceCaps
Special Teams