CRUNCH GO FOR SWEEP OF ROCKET
 
The Crunch (15-6-2-0) aim for a three-win week and a sweep of a two-game weekend set against the Laval Rocket (10-14-2-2) at Place Bell this afternoon.
 
Syracuse collected its second-straight win to begin a five-game road trip with a 3-2 shootout win over Laval last night.
 
Today marks the third of six head-to-head meetings this season; Syracuse won the first, 6-4, Nov. 17 at the War Memorial Arena and improved to 2-0 win its win last night.  
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Otto Somppi scored in the sixth round of the shootout to give the Crunch a 3-2 shootout win over the Laval Rocket at Place Bell last night.
 
The Crunch got off to a quick start to grab a 1-0 lead 2:26 into the first period. Somppi moved the puck to Nolan Valleau, who took a point shot which was deflected in by Dennis Yan for his seventh goal of the season.
 
The rest of the scoring happened in the second period. Alexandre Alain tied the game at 1:04, getting loose in front of Crunch goaltender Eddie Pasquale for his fourth goal of the season. Just over three minutes later, Michael McCarron banged home a power-play goal to give Laval a 2-1 lead. The Crunch responded two minutes after that to pull even at two. Cory Conacher and Andy Andreoff led a transition play for Syracuse and Conacher found Alex Volkov at the right circle where he fired in his seventh goal of the year at 6:41.
 
We remained tied for the remainder of regulation and overtime, sending the Crunch into their first shootout of the season. Volkov scored for the Crunch in the first round and that was matched by Daniel Audette's goal in the second round. Somppi netted the winner in the bottom of the sixth to give the Crunch their second win in a row.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH 
 
Syracuse's win last night extended its road points streak to eight games (6-0-2-0) dating back to Nov. 9; it is the second-longest in the AHL this season behind Iowa's nine-game road points streak Nov. 2-Dec. 1. The Crunch have won three straight on the road for the second time this season.
 
The Crunch are 8-2-2-0 on the road this season and their 0.750 points percentage away from home is tied for the best in the American Hockey League with Charlotte (13-4-1-0) and Lehigh Valley (8-2-1-1).
 
Second-year Crunch forward Dennis Yan netted his second goal of the week and has goals in back-to-back games heading into the weekend finale against Laval. The 21-year-old has five goals in the last five games after finding the back of the net just twice in his first 16 games of the season. Yan now has eight points (7g, 1a) and he is one of seven Crunch players with at least seven goals.
 
Alex Volkov snapped the longest goal drought of his career with a goal last night against the Rocket. Volkov had been held without a goal since Nov. 17, going eight games without a tally. Prior to last night, his last three goals were empty-net goals and they came in three straight games Nov. 14-17. After leading the Crunch with 23 goals as a rookie last season, Volkov has seven goals and 15 points in 23 games this season.
 
SCOUTING THE ROCKET 
 
Laval is on a three-game points streak (2-0-0-1) for only the second time this season; the Rocket won a season-high three-straight games Nov. 3-9. Last night's shootout loss leaves the Rocket at 10-14-2-2, and at 24 points they remain in last place in the North Division.
 
Last night was the 17th time this season that the Rocket, who ranked 28th in the AHL with 2.61 goals per game, have scored two or fewer goals in a game. In those 17 games, the Rocket are 2-11-2-2; they are 8-3-0-0 when scoring at least three goals.Rookie forward Alexandre Alain snapped a 12-game goal drought with a marker last night. Alain—a teammate of Crunch forward Alex Barré-Boulet last season with Blainville-Boisbriand—last scored a goal Nov. 10; that was the third straight game he found the back of the net. He has 13 points (4g, 9a) in 27 games for Laval.
 
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.
 
During Laval's three-game points streak, goaltender Michael McNiven is 2-0-1 with a 1.92 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Crunch power play has connect in 11 of the last 13 games, going 21-for-53 (39.6%) in that span. The Crunch have only generated 19 opportunities in the last seven games after receiving 34 in the first six games of this stretch. Syracuse leads the league on the power play at 30.6% (33-for-108) and the Crunch's 33 power-play goals are most in the AHL.
 
Laval has only four power-play goals in the last 10 games (4-for-43; 9.3%), but they have all come in the last five games (4-for-22; 18.2%). The Rocket are last in the AHL with a 12.5% man advantage. They are 3-for-14 in two games against the Crunch.
 
The Crunch penalty kill has allowed goals in three straight games games for the first time this season, but is still 42-for-46 (91.3%) in the last nine games. Prior to this eight-game run, the Crunch penalty kill was at 77.5%, but it has improved to 82.9%, which is 10th in the AHL.
 
After allowing a power-play goal in 10 straight games, the Rocket are 6-for-6 on the penalty kill in the last two games. Entering their first match Nov. 17, the Rocket were the second-ranked penalty kill (88.7%), but they have sunk to 25th in the league at 78.6%. Including that game against the Crunch, they are 29-for-46 (63.0%) on the penalty kill since Nov. 17.
 
UNLUCKY 13 
 
Rookie Alex Barré-Boulet's 12-game point streak was snapped last night as he was held off the scoresheet for the first time since Nov. 9. He finished with 18 points (9g, 9a) during the streak, which is the longest by a Crunch rookie since at least the 2005-06 season.
 
Barré-Boulet's streak is the third for the Crunch to be cut down just shy of 13 games. Earlier this year, Cory Conacher had a 12-game run and produced 25 points Nov. 3-Dec. 7. Those two are tied with Texas Stars forward Erik Condra, who has an active 12-game streak, for the longest streaks in the league this season.
 
Last season, Carter Verhaeghe also had a 12-game scoring streak Dec. 2-31. It was ended with a pointless performance Jan. 6 at Hartford.