7 p.m., War Memorial Arena, Syracuse, N.Y.
The Crunch have played seven games since their holiday hiatus, including the last six on the road. They're 3-3-1-0 in that span, oscillating between fifth and sixth in the North Division and between ninth and 11th in the Eastern Conference.
At .500 (14-14-5-1), Syracuse trails today's opponent Hershey (.583) by eight standings points. The Crunch have points in the first three meetings with Hershey (2-0-1), including two meetings in late December at Giant Center: a 5-4 Hershey overtime win and a 3-1 Syracuse win.
Three Crunch players selected AHL ALL-StarsCenter
Mike Angelidis, goaltender
Kristers Gudlevskis and defenseman
Matt Taormina have been selected to represent the Eastern Conference in the AHL All-Star Classic.
Angelidis, chosen by league president David Andrews to be captain of the Eastern Conference, is a first-time All-Star. The 10th-year-pro has 253 points in 606 career AHL games (237 with Syracuse, 235 with Albany and 134 with Norfolk), plus 21 points in 61 playoff contests.
Gudlevskis, also a first-time selection, has 49 wins in 95 career AHL games along with eight shutouts and a 2.73 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.
Taormina, in his seventh pro season, was selected twice before, in 2012 (Albany) and 2015 (Worcester). In 2012 he did not participate because he had been recalled by the New Jersey Devils. He has 178 points (49g, 129a) in 338 career AHL games, including 61 points in 126 games Syracuse.
The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic takes place Jan. 31-Feb. 1 in Syracuse. The VIP Party and Skills Competition will be Sunday and the Hall of Fame induction and reformatted All-Star Challenge will be Monday.
Last Time Out The Crunch overcame deficits of 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 Friday in Albany, but surrendered a 4-3 third-period lead and lost to the Devils, 6-4, at Times Union Center. Albany has victories in the first four of six meetings with Syracuse.
Jonathan Drouin and
Jeff Tambellini each scored twice for Syracuse.
Kristers Gudlevskis started the game for the Crunch, allowing two goals on 10 shots, but was relieved by
Adam Wilcox because of illness to start the second frame. Wilcox saved 17 of 20 shots in his first action since a Dec. 20 overtime loss. After his first relief appearance of the year (38:51), his record is 2-4-4 and 0-2-3 in his last five games. The 10 combined goals are a Crunch season high.
Tye McGinn and
Matt Taormina had two assists each, giving the Crunch four multi-point performers.
Daniel Walcott,
Mike Blunden and
Yanni Gourde notched single assists.
Tambellini owns the Crunch lead in points, 23, and goals, 14. McGinn moved into second on the team in scoring at 21 points (12g, 9a), surpassing
Anthony DeAngelo who was scratched Friday.
The Crunch allowed three (or more) goals in a period for the third time this season. All three have been in the third period: Oct. 18 at Hartford with three allowed in the third, a 5-2 loss, Dec. 5 vs. Utica with four allowed in the third, a 4-2 loss, and Friday's 6-4 setback in Albany.
Scouting the BearsThe Bears (18-12-1-5, .583) are third in the Atlantic Division, sixth in the conference and 12th in the AHL. They won their first two games of the new year by a combined margin of 11-5, but lost in Rochester Friday, 5-4.
Chris Bourque's 32 points (13g, 19a) lead the Bears and rank third in the AHL. Paul Carey (12g, 11a) and Carter Camper (5g, 16a) are second and third, while 10th is Chandler Stephenson who has three points vs. Syracuse. Carey and defenseman Aaron Ness have been recalled by Washington.
Dan Ellis (10-6-3) and Justin Peters (8-5-3) have split time in the net, but all three decisions versus the Crunch belong to Ellis (1-2-0) with a 3.01 goals-against average; Peters allowed three goals in 17 minutes against Syracuse. Ellis suffered the team's loss Friday against the Amerks.
Special TeamsThe Crunch were 0-for-2 on the power play Friday in Albany, while the Devils converted twice in six chances. Never before this season had a Crunch opponent had so many more power-play chances than Syracuse. Syracuse's power play (2-for-18 in the last five games) slipped to 18.1% but holds 10th place in the league. The Crunch penalty kill (19-for-25 in the last five games) tumbled from 13th to 17th at 83.3%.
Hershey's special teams are bottom half in both categories with a 23rd-ranked power play (14.0%) and 20th-ranked penalty kill (82.3%). With a man advantage Friday, the Bears were 1-for-5; when a man down, they were 2-for-4.
Lightning FlashThe Lightning erased a 2-0 deficit Friday in Edmonton and defeated the Oilers, 3-2. Third-period scores from Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos helped Ben Bishop to his 16th win. Hedman had three points in the game (1g, 2a), while Tyler Johnson and
Vladislav Namestnikov collected assists in the comeback.
Tampa Bay heads to Vancouver today for a 10 p.m. contest, the second and final meeting between the clubs this season. The Bolts lost to the Canucks, 2-1, at Amalie Arena Dec. 22. The Lightning currently sit in fifth place in the Atlantic Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference at 44 points (20-17-4). The Devils are eighth (45 points) and the Bruins are seventh (46 points).
