CRUNCH ROLL INTO LAVAL TO FACE ROCKET
 
The Crunch (14-6-2-0) continue their season-long five-game road trip with the first of back-to-back matches against the Laval Rocket (10-14-2-1) at Place Bell.
 
It is the second of six head-to-head meetings this season; Syracuse won the first, 6-4, Nov. 17 at the War Memorial Arena.   
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch scored eight goals on 30 shots and blitzed the Toronto Marlies, 8-1, Wednesday at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
 
Andy Andreoff started the barrage of scoring at 4:46 of the first period with a snipe from the left circle. Alex Barré-Boulet found the back of the net midway through the period for a 2-0 lead. After the Marlies pulled within one on a late power-play goal, Dennis Yan responded just 20 seconds later to re-establish a two-goal lead on his sixth marker of the year with only 6.6 seconds left in the first period.
 
That goal began a run of six-straight tallies for the Crunch, including three more in the second period. Syracuse got goals from Otto Somppi—his first career AHL goal—Ross Colton and Cameron Gaunce in the second period. Andreoff and Barré-Boulet both potted their second goals of the game in the third period to set the final at 8-1.
 
Eddie Pasquale, playing in his first game for the Crunch since making his NHL debut last week, stopped 28 of 29 shots in the Crunch win.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH  
 
The Crunch improved to 4-3-0-0 this season in games immediately following a loss; they have won four-straight games after a loss and have not lost back-to-back games since Oct. 20-27.
 
Wednesday's 8-1 win for the Crunch was their most lopsided victory since Game 5 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals when they eliminated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with a 7-0 win. It's their largest regular season win since Oct. 26, 2011, a 7-0 win over the Lake Erie Monsters.
 
Syracuse set a new season high with 14 players tallying a point Wednesday night. That includes goaltender Eddie Pasquale, who collected his eighth career assist and his first since Feb. 28, 2018 when he had the primary assist on Mathieu Joseph's overtime game-winning goal in Toronto.
 
Alex Barré-Boulet extended his scoring streak to 12 games with his first career two-goal game and second three-point game. The rookie's run began with an assist Nov. 11 vs. Hershey and he has produced 18 points (9g, 9a), which is tied for third in the league, only behind teammates Cory Conacher (21 points) and Carter Verhaeghe (20 points). The 21-year-old is ranked first in rookie scoring this season with 24 points (11g, 13a) and he leads first-year players in power-play goals (7) and power-play points (15). He is one of only four players with seven power-play goals in the AHL.
 
Carter Verhaeghe produced his ninth multi-point game of the season and his sixth in the last nine games to move up to a tie for fourth in AHL scoring with 28 points (9g, 19a) in 22 games. He has recorded points in 14 of the last 16 games since Oct. 27, netting 26 points (8g, 18a), second only to teammate Cory Conacher's 27 points in the entire AHL. 
 
Andy Andreoff logged his second multi-goal game of the season in Wednesday's win over the Marlies. In only 22 games, the 27-year-old has tied his career-high with 13 goals, which he set as a rookie over 69 games with the Manchester Monarchs in 2012-13. Andreoff, who ranks fourth on the team with 22 points (13g, 9a), has goals in back-to-back games for the fifth time this season; he has not scored a goal in three-straight games yet this year.
 
The Crunch rank first in the league offensively (4.05 goals per game) and second defensively (2.64 goals against per game). 
 
SCOUTING THE ROCKET  
 
Laval enters with back-to-back wins for only the second-time this season; the Rocket won a season-high three-straight games Nov. 3-9. Their 3-1 win over Belleville Wednesday night improves the Rocket to 10-14-2-1, but at 23 points they remain in last place in the North Division.
 
Laval's revamped blueline has helped the Rocket climb to eighth in the league allowing 2.93 goals against per game. Last season they finished dead last in the AHL at 3.70 goals against per game. Over the last few weeks, the Rocket have added veteran defensemen Karl Alzner, Simon Despres, Xavier Ouellet and second-year blueliner Victor Mete.
 
The Rocket have struggled offenseively and they currently rank 28th in the league and last in the Eastern Conference at 2.63 goals per game. Alex Belzile paces the Rocket with 20 points (4g, 16a) in 27 games this season. Former Crunch forward Byron Froese leads the team with nine goals.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Crunch power play has connect in 11 of the last 12 games, going 21-for-50 (42.0%) in that span. The Crunch have only generated 16 opportunities in the last six games after receiving 34 in the first six games of this stretch. Syracuse leads the league on the power play at 31.4% (33-for-105) and the Crunch's 33 power-play goals are most in the AHL. The Crunch are also first in both home (31.8%) and road (30.8%) power-play percentage. They went 4-for-7 in the first match against the Rocket.
 
Laval has only three power-play goals in the last nine games (3-for-36; 8.3%), but they have all come in the last four games (3-for-15; 20.0%). The Rocket are last in the AHL with a 12.4% man advantage. They did score twice in seven chances against the Crunch in the first meeting Nov. 17.
 
The Crunch penalty kill has allowed goals in back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 11-14, but is still 36-for-39 (92.3%) in the last eight games. Prior to this eight-game run, the Crunch penalty kill was at 77.5%, but it has improved to 82.7%, which is 10th in the AHL. On the road, Syracuse had killed off 40 consecutive penalties before allowing a goal Wednesday in Toronto; the Crunch are second in the league with a 91.8% penalty kill away from home.
 
The Rocket went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill Wednesday against Belleville, snapping a 10-game stretch of allowing at least one power-play goal. Entering their first match Nov. 17, the Rocket were the second-ranked penalty kill (88.7%), but they have sunk to 26th in the league at 78.1%. Including that game against the Crunch, they are 26-for-43 (60.5%) on the penalty kill since Nov. 17.
 
SOMPPI JOINS THE LIST  
 
Rookie forward Otto Somppi made his regular season AHL debut Wednesday in Toronto and scored his first AHL goal. The 20-year-old Finnish forward is the sixth Crunch skater to score his first career AHL goal this season. He joins Alex Barré-Boulet, Taylor Raddysh, Ross Colton, Boris Katchouk and Oleg Sosunov who all scored their first AHL goals earlier this season.
 
Somppi was injured in the Crunch's first preseason game. He made his season debut last weekend for the ECHL's Orlando Solar Bears, netting two points (1g, 1a) in two games.