The Crunch earned a point, but failed to score in a nine-round shootout and lost 2-1 to the Hamilton Bulldogs. Brett Connolly had the lone goal for the Crunch, his 15th of the season, 6:42 into the third period. Vlad Namestnikov earned the only assist on the goal.

Hamilton's Louis Lablanc tied it 1-1 four minutes later, and the game went to overtime. In the ninth round of the skills competition, Mike Blunden scored the shootout's only goal for the Bulldogs to send the Crunch to 24-26-4-6. Syracuse goalie Kristers Gudlevskis stopped 28 of 29 shots, and then eight of nine Hamilton shootout attempts.

Fearsome Twosome
Paired on a line together, Brett Connolly and Vlad Namestnikov, the Crunch's top-two points leaders, have played well together the past few games. Namestnikov assisted Brett Connolly's goal for the Crunch in the 2-1 shootout loss to the Bulldogs and had the game-winning goal, assisted by Connolly, in the Crunch's 4-3 win against Binghamton last weekend.

Namestnikov has points in four of his last five games since returning from the NHL, and has points in six of his last seven (4 g, 5 a) AHL games.  Namestnikov and Connolly are tied for the Crunch's team lead in points with 39.

Connolly, meanwhile, has points in four-straight games (2 g, 4 a) for Syracuse, including the game-winning assist on Jon DiSalvatore's overtime game-winning goal two nights ago against Hershey.

Head-to-Head
Syracuse has taken three of four points from the Devils this season defeating them 4-1 Oct. 30 before losing 2-1 in a shootout Nov. 16. Including today's game, the Crunch play the Devils four times over the season's final 16 games to finish up the six-game season series.

In the previous matchups, Vlad Namestnikov has performed well, leading all active Crunch players with three points. Namestnikov had three assists in the 4-1 win in the two clubs' first matchup. Nikita Kucherov (3 g, 2 a), now called up to Tampa Bay, leads the Crunch with five points against the Devils this season.

Goalie Cedrick Desjardins has started both games against Albany, stopping 58 of 60 Devils shots he's faced.

Scouting Albany
With 72 points the Devils currently hold seventh place and in the Eastern Conference. Like the Crunch, Albany also plays its final game of a three-in-three weekend Sunday. Springfield bested the Devils in the first game, Friday, before Albany responded with a 2-0 win against Hartford at the Times Union Center Saturday.

Joe Whitney leads the Devils with 47 points (21g, 26a). Mike Sislo (19g-15a-34pts) and Kelly Zajac (8g-25a-33pts) are second and third on the team in scoring. Reid Boucher, who has one goal against the Crunch this season, is third on the team with 16 goals.

Keith Kinkaid and rookie Scott Wedgewood have each logged significant minutes for the Devils. Both goaltenders have played against the Crunch (Kinkaid the Nov. 16 shootout win; Wedgewood the Oct. 30 loss). Kinkaid is 21-10-4 in 36 games with a .910 save percentage and 2.37 goals-against average. Wedgewood is 10-12-3 and has appeared in 27 games with an .892 save percentage and 2.64 goals-against average.

Special Teams
Albany's man-advantage unit has not had more than four power-play opportunities in a game the past six contests, but has scored power-play goals in three of those games (3-17; 17.6%). The Devils power play went 0-2 last night against Hartford and is now tied with the Crunch for 22nd in the league (15.7%). Albany has scored one power-play goal in its two meetings with the Crunch (1-11; 9.1%).

The Devils penalty kill has surrendered four power-play goals in the past five games (10-14; 71.4%). Three of those man-up goals came against Springfield two games ago. The Devils sit at 11th in the AHL on the kill (83.3%).

The Crunch are now scoreless on the power play in two straight games after notching three man-advantage goals in the team's previous two games. The Crunch went 0-3 on the power play last night against the Bulldogs. Syracuse has two power-play goals in nine opportunities against the Devils penalty kill in its two games against Albany. Both power-play tallies came in the team's first matchup.

After allowing a man-advantage goal in four straight games, the Crunch penalty kill held the Bulldogs scoreless on six power-play opportunities last night. Over the last five games, the Crunch has killed off 18 of 24 chances (75.0%). Syracuse is 16th in the AHL on the penalty kill (82.5%).