Crunch go for Canadian sweep vs. Sens
The Crunch (9-9-1-2) look to extend their winning streak to six games tonight, facing off against the Belleville Senators (10-11-0-2) at the War Memorial Arena. The Crunch are 1-0-0-1 against the Sens this year, with both teams claiming victory in their home arena. The Crunch have wins over Toronto and Laval—the two other North Division teams based in Canada—to begin the week.
Last time out
The Crunch pushed their win streak to five games with a 2-1 victory over the Rocket Friday.
After a scoreless first period,
Adam Erne broke the seal 5:58 into the second. On a three-on-three rush,
Anthony Cirelli slid a pass to Erne, who drove to the net and snuck the puck under Laval goaltender Charlie Lindgren. Erne scored his second goal of the season and Cirelli picked up his ninth assist, which ties him with
Matthew Peca for the team lead.
Less than two minutes into the third period, Peca doubled the Crunch's edge with assists from
Mitchell Stephens and
Ben Thomas. Stephens wheeled around the back of the net, twisting Lindgren around, and fed Peca at the top of the left circle. Peca found the yawning net to make it 2-0.
Late in regulation, two Crunch minor penalties gave the Rocket a 5-on-3 power play. Laval pulled Lindgren to make it 6-on-3, and Chris Terry capitalized with a slap shot from the point. The goal made it 2-1 with 3:18 left. Syracuse hung on to improve its record to 9-9-1-2.
Scouting the Crunch
The Crunch enter with a five-game winning streak, their longest winning streak since the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs when they won five straight from Game 2 of the North Division Semifinals through Game 2 of the North Division Finals. The Crunch (9-9-1-2) have climbed to .500 for the first time since they were 1-1-1-0 Oct. 13; Syracuse vaulted into third in the North Division with last night's win.
Crunch forward
Matthew Peca scored the game-winning goal in last night's win over Laval. It was his third goal—his second game-winner—and seventh point in his last five games. The goal was also the 100th point of his AHL career in his 162nd AHL game, all with the Crunch. Among active Crunch players Peca is tied for the team lead with 12 points (3g, 9a).
Ben Thomas, skating in his 100th career game with the Crunch, picked up an assist on Peca's goal, snapping a five-game point drought. With
Jamie McBain recalled to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Thomas is the active leader among Crunch defensemen with nine points (2g, 7a).
Scouting the Senators
The Senators visit the War Memorial Arena for the second time. Their .478 points percentage (10-11-0-2) places them in sixth place in the North division. The Sens have been a tale of two offenses. In its 10 wins, Belleville has scored 44 goals, an average of 4.40 goals per game. In their 13 losses, the Senators have scored 20 goals, or 1.54 goals per game.
Ethan Werek leads Belleville with 13 points (6g, 7a) in 20 games. He has not registered a point in his last four games. Six other Senators players have at least 10 points.
Belleville's two goalies have split time this season, with both goaltenders appearing between the pipes 11 times. Andrew Hammond holds a 2.65 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. He has picked up six of the Sens 10 wins this season, earning a 6-2-1 record in the crease. Goaltender Danny Taylor is 3-7-1, with an .886 save percentage and 3.71 goals-against average in his first season in North America since the 2012-2013 campaign. He spent time in the SHL, KHL, and Czech league over the past four seasons.
Transactions
The Crunch have recalled
Shane Conacher and
Ty Loney from the ECHL's Adirondack Thunder while Matt Spencer has been reassigned to the Crunch from the Thunder. That comes less than 24 hours after the Lightning called up
Cory Conacher and defenseman
Jamie McBain from Syracuse to Tampa Bay.
Shane Conacher has skated in two games for the Crunch this season, the third year in a row in which the 23-year-old forward has seen AHL ice time. He has 18 points (3g, 15a) in 16 ECHL games this season.
Loney has skated in 60 AHL games in parts of four seasons with four different teams and is expected to make his Crunch debut Saturday after scoring the game-winning overtime goal for the Thunder Friday. He is 11th in ECHL scoring with 21 points and his eight goals are second in the ECHL.
The Crunch also signed defenseman Mathieu Brodeur to a PTO yesterday. He spent a majority of last season with the Crunch, appearing in 56 regular season and 22 Calder Cup Playoffs games.
Defenseman Matt Spencer was reassigned to the Crunch from the Thunder. The rookie has skated in four games for the Crunch and Thunder this season.
Cory Conacher and McBain will be available for the Lightning when they host the Sharks at Amalie Arena today. Conacher made his 2017-18 NHL debut last Saturday, when he scored a goal against Pittsburgh. The 27-year-old forward has played for four different NHL teams across five seasons. He leads the Crunch with 15 points (7g, 8a) this season. McBain has also suited up for four NHL teams, totaling 110 points (30g, 80a) in 348 total games.
Special teams
The Crunch power play has converted in nine of its last 13 games, but has been held scoreless in its last two games. Syracuse ranks 29th with the man advantage, cashing in on 12.6% of their chances (14-for-111).
The Senators power play operates at 11.3% (12-for-106), last in the AHL. In two games against Syracuse, they are 1-for-13 (7.7%) with the man advantage.
The Crunch penalty kill is 23-for-28 on their five-game win streak (82.1%). Only Springfield has been shorthanded more times (127) than the Crunch's 121 times. Syracuse has allowed 21 power-play goals, an 82.6% penalty kill percentage. They still pace the league with seven shorthanded goals.
Belleville's penalty kill is 12-for-15 (80.0%) in two games against the Crunch; the Sens received an AHL single-game high 79 penalty minutes in their first match. A total of 116 penalty minutes were assessed that game, most in an AHL game this season. The Sens have killed 84 of 106 (79.2%) opposing power plays.
