Crunch meet with Monsters in Cleveland
 
The Crunch (11-5-1-0) take to Cleveland to play the Monsters (10-7-3-0) at Quicken Loans Arena. It's the first match of back-to-back games between the clubs this weekend and the first time they've squared off since the 2012-13 season. 
 
Syracuse carries a league-long seven-game winning streak and 10-game points streak (9-0-1-0) into Cleveland. The Monsters have points in their last four games (2-0-2-0), but lost two of three games to the Toronto Marlies in a six-day stretch, which ended Wednesday at home. 
 
The Crunch and Monsters play again at 1 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.  
 
Last time out
 
Connor Ingram made 27 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Crunch blanked the Springfield Thunderbirds, 3-0, Nov. 24 at MassMutual Center.
 
Andy Andreoff opened the scoring 7:28 into the first period to give Syraucse a 1-0 lead. Mitch Hults chipped the puck into the offensive zone, where Cory Conacher made a tricky play to get onside and legally play the puck. He picked it up and created a 2-on-1 with Andreoff, who collected the pass at the left circle and snapped a shot past Chris Driedger for his ninth goal of the season.
 
After a scoreless second period in which Ingram made 11 saves for the Crunch, Syracuse finally potted an insurance goal late in the third. On their first power-play chance of the game, the Crunch converted on a 5-on-3 for a 2-0 lead. Conacher fired a shot from the high slot and Alex Barré-Boulet buried the rebound at 14:35 for his seventh tally of the season. Michael Bournival scored a shorthanded empty-net goal at 19:48 to cap the scoring in a 3-0 Crunch victory.
 
Scouting the Crunch  
 
With it's shutout win against Springfield last Saturday, Syracuse now possesses the longest active overall winning streak (7), home winning streak (6), road winning streak (3) and points streak (10); it's seven-game winning streak and 10-game points streak are both league-longs this season. Tonight is the Crunch's last game in November; Syracuse has collected 19 of a possible 20 points during the month.
 
The Crunch remain three points behind Rochester for the North Division lead and the Crunch have two games in hand on the Amerks. Syracuse is tied with Cleveland at 23 points, but the Monsters have played three more games than the Crunch.
 
During this 10-game stretch, the Crunch have scored 47 goals; they have scored at least four goals in all but two of the 10 matches. Syracuse is averaging 4.70 goals per game in the last 10 games; the Crunch averaged 2.57 goals per game in the first seven games. The Crunch are the only team in the AHL ranked in the league's top five in goals for per game (3rd; 3.82) and goals against per game (5th; 2.71). 
 
In three games last week, the Crunch outscored their opponents, 12-4. It improved their goal differential to +19, which is tied with Charlotte for the best in the Eastern Conference and third in the AHL, behind Iowa (+23) and San Jose (+21). 
 
Scouting the Monsters  
 
In their first season in the Eastern Conference, the Monsters are tied with the Crunch for second place in the North Division at 23 points. Cleveland (10-7-3-0) has collected points in their last four games (2-0-2-0). All three games of their three-game series with the Toronto Marlies, which wrapped up Wednesday, went past regulation. Despite entering tonight three games over .500, the Monsters have allowed more goals (72) than they've scored (64).
 
Veteran forward Zac Dalpe is off to one of the best starts of his AHL career. Now in his third season with Cleveland, the 29-year-old is tied for second in the league with 23 points (13g, 10a) in 19 games. After posting back-to-back four-point games to begin November, Dalpe only has four points (1g, 3a) in the last seven games since Nov. 7. His 13 goals are tied for second in the league with Rochester's Zach Redmond; the two trail Chicago's Brooks Macek by two goals for the league lead.
 
In net, three goalies have seen action for Cleveland, led by Jean-Francois Berube. The 27-year-old has played in a team-high 13 games and is 6-5-2 with a 3.30 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage. He is 3-0-1 in his last four starts since Nov. 10.
 
Conacher's career month
 
With one game left to play in November, Cory Conacher has already established a new career-high for points in a calendar month. He has 22 points (8g, 14a) in 10 games this November, leading the AHL. It's the most points in a month in Conacher's career; his previous high was 18 points in May 2017 during the Calder Cup Playoffs.
 
The 28-year-old extended his scoring streak to nine games with two assists against the Thunderbirds last Saturday. During his nine-game scoring streak, Conacher has recorded eight multi-point performances, including a career-high seven straight. He also has five straight two-assist games. Despite playing in only 13 games for the Crunch this season, Conacher holds the AHL lead in scoring at 25 points (9g, 16a).
 
Special teams
 
The Crunch scored a power-play goal for the seventh straight game Saturday in Springfield, despite receiving only two man advantages. They are 16-for-36 (44.4%) over the seven games. Last season, the Crunch twice scored power-play goals in at least seven straight games. They went 10-for-39 (25.6%) in a seven-game streak Oct. 28-Nov. 18, 2017 and 9-for-40 (22.5%) during a season-long eight-game streak Jan. 10-24, 2018. The Crunch have scored at least one power-play goal in 14 of their 17 games. Syracuse leads the league with 28 power-play goals and a 30.8% success rate (28-for-91).
 
Cleveland's power play went 1-for-14 in its three-game set with the Toronto Marlies over the last week. That dropped the Monsters to 27th in the AHL on the power play at 13.6%. Only two teams—Manitoba (11) and Grand Rapids (9)—have scored fewer than the Monsters' 11 power-play goals. Eight of their 11 goals have come at home, where Cleveland has a 21.6% conversion rate, 11th in the league on home ice.
 
Syracuse stopped 20-of-21 opponent power plays last week, good for the Crunch's best penalty kill stretch of the season. During their 10-game points streak, the Crunch are 49-for-57 (86.0%), bringing their penalty kill percentage from 74.3% before the streak to its current spot at 81.5%, which ranks 16th in the AHL. The Crunch have the league's top rated road penalty kill; Syracuse has allowed a league-low three power-play goals on the road in 37 chances, a 91.9% penalty kill percentage. All three road power-play goals allowed came in one game—Oct. 10 at Rochester.
 
After going 10-for-12 against the Marlies over three games, Cleveland's penalty kill slots just ahead of the Crunch at 82.0%, which ranks 14th in the AHL.