Crunch visit Belleville for the first time 
The Crunch (3-5-1-0) play their first game north of the border this season as they make their inaugural visit to the Belleville Senators (4-4-0-1). It's the first home game at Yardmen Arena in Belleville Senators history; the Senators opened the year with a nine-game road trip while a $15 million renovation was completed. 

Last time out
The Crunch's rallied with a two-goal third period to defeat the Rochester Americans, 3-2, Saturday at Blue Cross Arena. 

The Amerks opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 9:40 of the first on a one-timer from Sahir Gill from the right circle. Michael Bournival answered for Syracuse late in the period. Kevin Lynch and Alex Gallant went to work beneath the goal line and the puck came to Bournival at the bottom of the right circle, where he fired it home for his fourth goal.

After Kyle Criscuolo capitalized on a Crunch turnover to give the Amerks a 2-1 lead at 15:25 in the second, Syracuse rallied in the third. Anthony Cirelli tied the game with a power-play goal from the right circle at 9:12 and then Lynch put the Crunch ahead for the first time with a one-timer from the right circle with 1:03 remaining in regulation.

Michael Leighton stopped 25 of 27 shots for his second win as the Crunch won for the first time this season when trailing after two periods.    

Head to head
Tonight is the second of eight matches between the Crunch and Senators and the first ever at Yardmen Arena. Syracuse won the inaugural meeting Oct. 13 at the War Memorial Arena, 4-2, in a game that featured 116 penalty minutes.

Dennis Yan led the Crunch to their first win of the season with a pair of goals—his first two professional goals—including the game-winning goal in the third period. Anthony Cirelli also scored his first pro goal, an empty-net goal, to seal the win. Jason Akeson (2a) joined Yan and Cirelli as the only multi-point performers for the Crunch.

Chris DiDomenico, currently on recall with the Ottawa Senators, and Max McCormick were the two Belleville goal scorers against the Crunch. Goaltender Andrew Hammond was the Senators best player, making 39 saves, but absorbing the loss.  

Scouting the Crunch
With their come-from-behind win Saturday, the Crunch are 3-5-1-0, seventh place in the North Division with a .389 points percentage. It was the first road win of the season for Syracuse, and began a stretch of seven out of eight away from the War Memorial Arena.

Michael Bournival, who missed the end of training camp and the first weekend of the regular season with an injury, has surged to the team lead with four goals following his tally Saturday. He also had an assist—his second multi-point game—giving him six points (4g, 2a), tied with Anthony Cirelli for the team lead, in seven games.

Saturday was Kevin Lynch's second multi-point game (1g, 1a) of the year, giving the fourth-year Crunch forward five points (2g, 3a) in seven games. His three assists are an AHL career-high and he is two points shy of his AHL high, set last year with seven points (5g, 2a) in 37 games. His goal with 1:03 to play in regulation was his second career game-winning goal in the AHL.

Michael Leighton made a season-high 25 saves in Saturday's win over the Amerks. The 36-year-old collected his second win of the year, giving him 234 career AHL victories. He is 2-3-0 with a 2.73 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage.

Scouting the Senators
After losing their first three games, the Senators emerged from their season-opening nine-game road trip 4-4-0-1, including consecutive past-regulation wins in Manitoba to conclude the trip. Their .500 points percentage is tied for fifth in the North Division.

Ethan Werek has points in four of the six games he's played for Belleville and he leads the team with six points (3g, 3a). In his season debut Oct. 14 at Hershey, the former second-round pick of the New York Rangers potted two goals and added an assist in the Sens inagural win. The veteran of 336 AHL games is in his first season with the Senators organization.

Danny Taylor and Andrew Hammond have shared time in the Belleville net to begin the season. Taylor has appeared in six games and is 3-3-0 with a 3.27 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. Andrew Hammond, who made 39 saves in a loss to the Crunch Oct. 13, is 1-1-1 in four appearances with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage. 

Special teams
Syracuse snapped an 0-for-26 dry spell on the power play with Anthony Cirelli's marker on Saturday. The Crunch are 30th in the AHL, converting on 5.4% of the power plays to open the season, scoring three goals in 56 chances, including one on a 5-on-3.

The Crunch penalty kill was 10-for-11 in their two games last week and are ranked 10th in the AHL. They've allowed seven power-play goals in 46 chances, an 84.8% kill rate.

Belleville's power play was 1-for-5 in a pair of games in Manitoba last weekend. The Senators rank 21st in the league at 12.2% (6-for-49).

The Senators penalty kill is 18th in the AHL at 83.0%, strengthened by a 10-for-11 effort in the first match against the Crunch. Without that game, Belleville is at 80.6% (29-for-36).

Back in Belleville
Although this is the first home game for the Belleville Senators, the Crunch have a handful of players who have played at Yardmen Arena in their careers. Yardmen Arena was previously home to the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League before the franchise moved to Hamilton to become the Bulldogs after the AHL Bulldogs left to become the St. John's IceCaps. Nine Crunch players faced the Bulls in Belleville during their OHL careers.

Those players include Reid McNeill, Anthony Cirelli, Tye McGinn, Jason Akeson, Carter Verhaeghe, Matt Spencer, Dominik Masin, Mitchell Stephens and Michael Leighton. Most notable among that group is Akeson, who won the OHL Championship with the Kitchener Rangers in Game 7 against Belleville. The Bulls rallied from 3-0 down in the series, including a Game 6 win at Yardmen Arena, before Akeson and the Rangers survived at home in Game 7.