CRUNCH GO FOR WEEKEND SWEEP OF SENATORS
 
The Crunch and Belleville Senators play for the second straight night at the War Memorial Arena. Syracuse downed the Senators, 5-4, last night in the first of six head-to-head meetings this season.
 
Syracuse is aiming for back-to-back wins for the first time this season; the Crunch did not win two straight games last season until their 17th and 18th games Nov. 22-24, which began a season-high 10-game winning streak.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Syracuse's offense came to life in a 5-4 win against the Senators last night at the War Memorial Arena.
 
Syracuse struck first for only the second time this season seven minutes into the first period. Forward Dennis Yan scored on the power play for his second goal of the season. Rookies Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh picked up the assists; it was Raddysh's first career assist. The Senators tied the game just over a minute later. Joseph LaBate's shot got through Crunch goalie Connor Ingram, and Andrew Sturtz was there to poke the puck across the goal line to even the score. Syracuse regained the lead at the 15:56 mark. Alex Barré-Boulet fed a pass through the neutral zone and Carter Verhaeghe roofed a shot from the high slot for the 2-1 advantage. Belleville found the equalizer with 44 seconds left in the period as Adam Tambellini capitalized on the man advantage.
 
The Crunch scored three straight goals to begin the second period. Just 48 seconds into the frame, Alexander Volkov scored from the slot for his first tally of the season. Four minutes later, Andy Andreoff fired a shot from the right circle for his team-leading third power-play goal. At 11:13 of the second, Volkov put his second goal past Filip Gustavsson for a 5-2 lead.
 
Belleville responded with two goals in 14 seconds to pull within one late in the second. The teams combined for five shots in the third period as Syracuse prevailed, 5-4.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
The Crunch earned their first home win of the season last night and netted a season-high five goals in a 5-4 win. Nine players recorded at least one point for the Crunch-most in a game for Syracuse this season-while five skaters had a multi-point performance.
This was despite two natural wingers-Andy Andreoff and Boris Katchouk-lining up as the Crunch's top two centers.
 
"More responsibility in the D-zone, obviously more responsibility on every faceoff," said Crunch head coach Ben Groulx about the transition from wing to center.
 
Katchouk logged his first career multi-point game with two assists in his first game as a center. The rookie forward had the primary assist on goals from Dennis Yan and Alex Volkov, the latter coming directly off Katchouk's offensive zone faceoff win. Katchouk was assessed a game misconduct 5:14 into the second period, leaving the Crunch short a forward for the remainder of the game.
 
Andreoff pumped home a power-play goal during the Crunch's three-goal run in the second period. The 27-year-old  leads the Crunch with four goals and his five points are tied for third on the team. He has also already matched a career-high with three power-play goals; he scored three power-play goals with the Manchester Monarchs in 2012-13 and 2013-14.
 
HAPPY RETURNS
 
Defenseman Ben Thomas became the first Crunch player to come off the injured list as he made his season debut last night. The third-year-pro notched two assists for his first multi-point game since Nov. 3, 2017-a three-point (2g, 1a) night vs. Laval.
 
Thomas, 22, logged 22 points (4g, 18a) in 72 games last season after recording 21 points (3g, 18a) in 71 games as a rookie in 2016-17. He missed training camp and the beginning of the season while recovering from offseason hip surgery.
 
SCOUTING THE SENATORS
 
Belleville suffered its first road loss since Oct. 13 and dropped to 5-6-0-0 on the year. With 10 points, the Sens are tied for fourth in the North Division with Toronto and Utica.
 
Adam Tambellini lit the lamp twice on the man advantage last night and leads Belleville with four power-play goals this season. In his first season with the Senators organization, the 24-year-old forward has five goals and three assists through 11 games. After three seasons with the New York Rangers organization, Tambellini signed with Ottawa this summer. With the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Edmonton native scored 46 goals and tallied 53 assists (99 points) in 211 AHL games.
 
Filip Gustavsson gave up a season-high five goals last night in the 5-4 loss. In five games this season, the 20-year-old goaltender has a .904 save percentage and a 3.37 goals-against average. Gustavsson was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2016 NHL Draft, but the Swedish netminder was traded to the Senators organization in February.
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD
 
Tonight is the second of two straight games between the Crunch and Senators. The clubs square off six times in 2018-19, down from eight last season. The Crunch posted a 6-0-1-1 record, including a 4-0-0-0 mark at the War Memorial Arena, against the Senators in Belleville's first season in the AHL.
 
Alex Volkov picked up where he left off against Belleville last season. He tied for the series lead with 10 points (4g, 2a) in eight games. Last night was his third two-goal game against Belleville; Volkov recorded two goals in a four-point game Dec. 9, 2017 and also scored twice March 30, 2018. All 10 points came in the final five head-to-head games last season.
 
Carter Verhaeghe's first period goal was his first against the Senators. Last season, Verhaeghe finished with six assists in five games against Belleville, including a season-high three points (3a) Dec. 22, 2017 at Belleville.
 
Connor Ingram's win last night improved his record against Belleville to 4-0-1 since last season. In 2017-18 he was 3-0-1 with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. He logged his first career shutout Dec. 9, 2017 at Belleville. Eddie Pasquale won his only start against Belleville last year, giving up one goal on 27 shots March 30.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
Syracuse's power play was 3-for-7 on the man advantage last night as three different players lit the lamp. Dennis Yan and Alexander Volkov each notched their first power-play goal of the season, while Andy Andreoff potted his team-leading third goal on the man advantage. This was the first time the Crunch scored three power-play goals in one game since March 8, 2017 against St. John's. Syracuse has found the back of the net 23 times this season, with 11 of those tallies coming on the man advantage. The Crunch's 25.0% conversion rate (11-for-44) ranks eighth in the AHL.
 
The Senators capitalized twice on nine power-play opportunities in last night's matchup. Belleville currently ranks 11th in the AHL on the man advantage with a 23.1 % success rate (12-for-52).