Crunch back in Belleville against the Senators
The Crunch (14-11-1-2) aim to snap a two-game losing streak as they visit the Belleville Senators (11-15-0-3) for the third time. Syracuse has points in all four games (3-0-0-1) against the Senators this season, including two straight wins. 
 
Last time out
The Crunch allowed three straight goals and lost their second consecutive game, 5-2, to the Laval Rocket Wednesday at Place Bell.
 
The Rocket shot out to a 1-0 lead just 28 seconds into the game on Adam Cracknell's rebound goal. The Crunch tied the game later in the first period on Matthew Peca's left circle power-play goal, his fifth tally of the season. 
 
Laval went ahead for the second time at 5:46 of the second period as Nikita Scherbak ripped a power-play goal from near the left faceoff dot. Mathieu Joseph had the answer for the Crunch, tying the game on a one-timer in the slot on a feed from Carter Verhaeghe at 15:55. Less than a minute later Cracknell gave the Rocket their third lead, 3-2.
 
The Crunch had a chance to tie the game on a third period power play, but after that came up empty, Brett Lernout found himself on a breakaway out of the penalty box. He beat Louis Domingue under the left arm to stake the Rocket to a 4-2 lead. They would add an empty-net goal at 14:08 to set the final at 5-2.    
 
Scouting the Crunch
Despite losses in back-to-back games the Crunch (14-11-1-2) remain in third place in the North Division with a 0.554 points percentage.
 
The Crunch scored just two goals in Saturday's loss to the Phantoms which was only the second time in the last 11 games they scored two goals or fewer. Syracuse is 1-10-1-0 when scoring two goals or fewer with its only win coming against Laval, 2-1, Dec. 1. Conversely the Crunch are 13-0-0-1 when scoring more than two goals.
 
Carter Verhaeghe enters tonight with a seven-game scoring streak, the longest by a Crunch player this season. His eight points (4g, 4a) in the run leaves him with 14 points (7g, 7a) in 15 games in his first year with the Crunch.
 
Matthew Peca scored a goal for the second straight game, extending his point streak to a season-high four games. He has logged six points (2g, 4a) and he has goals in back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 13-14, 2015. He is tied with Adam Erne (8g, 11a) for second on the Crunch with 19 points (5g, 14a).
 
Peca's 14 assists are tied with rookie forward Anthony Cirelli for the team lead. Cirelli has been held off the scoresheet the last two games, but he still leads the team with 20 points (6g, 14a) in 28 games.
 
Scouting the Senators
Belleville has lost three straight games for the first time since the first three games of the season Oct. 6-13. In losses to Manitoba, Binghamton and Rochester, the Senators have been outscored 15-6. The Sens have just one win in their last seven games since Dec. 1, a shootout win over the Devils Dec. 13. Their recent slide leaves the Senators (11-15-0-3) in sixth place in the North Division with a 0.431 points percentage.
 
Belleville's offense, which is averaging 2.69 goals per game, is led by Gabriel Gagne (12g, 3a) and Jim O'Brien (7g, 8a) at 15 points. Two of their leading scorers—Chris DiDomenico (10 points in 13 games) and Filip Chlapik (15 points in 27 games)—were recalled by Ottawa since Wednesday.
 
In net, Andrew Hammond and Danny Taylor have both appeared in 13 games for the Sens. Hammond is 6-3-2 with a 3.11 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. Taylor, who lost in his lone appearance against the Crunch, is 3-9-1 with a 3.79 goals-against average and an .880 save percentage. Chris Driedger has played in six games, including a relief outing against the Crunch, and holds a 2-3-0 record, 3.54 goals-against average and .888 save percentage.
 
Head-to-head
Tonight is the fifth of eight matches between the Crunch and Senators and the second of three straight in the series at Yardmen Arena. The Crunch have points in all four games (3-0-0-1) against Belleville, including a 6-0 shutout in their previous meeting Dec. 9.
 
The Crunch have scored 18 goals in the four games, led by Matthew Peca's series-high six points, all assists. He has recorded at least one point in all four games and two of his team-high five multi-point games are against Belleville. Chris DiDomenico leads active Sens players with three points (2g, 1a) in his three games against the Crunch.
 
In net, Connor Ingram is 2-0-0 in his two starts against Belleville, allowing a total of four goals and earning his first professional shutout—making 18 saves—in the last match Dec. 9. Andrew Hammond has started three of the four games against the Crunch, holding a 1-1-1 record with a 3.17 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. 
 
Special teams
The Crunch scored once in four power-play chances Wednesday in Laval to score their sixth power-play goal in their last seven games (6-for-29, 20.7%). They have scored 20 power-play goals this season with 15 coming on the road. Their 19.5% road power play is 10th in the league and only Hartford (18) and Iowa (16) have scored more road power-play goals the Syracuse's 15. 
 
The Senators have had 26 power plays in four games against the Crunch, scoring three goals (11.5%). That is just a hair beneath their overall success rate of 11.9% (16-for-134) which ranks 29th in the AHL.
 
The Crunch penalty kill was successful on eight of a season-high nine power plays against Wednesday in Laval, improving to 33-for-35 (94.3%) over the last six games. They are eighth in the league at 84.5% on the penalty kill.
 
In their four games with the Crunch, Belleville has allowed six power-play goals. In all, the Sens have given up 29 power-play goals—second-most in the league behind Laval (36)—and their 78.0% penalty kill is 28th in the AHL.