Crunch wrap up weekend in Bridgeport
The Crunch (27-17-2-3) end their second three-in-three weekend of the season with their first game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (23-18-5-2). Bridgeport is the only team the Crunch have not played yet this season. Tonight marks the first of five consecutive road games for the Crunch. 
 
Last time out
Olivier Archambault's tie-breaking goal midway through the third period stood as the game-winner as the Crunch burned the Laval Rocket, 3-2, last night at the War Memorial Arena. 
 
The Crunch controlled play in the first period to build a 2-0 lead on Laval. Alex Volkov opened the scoring at 10:13 with the Crunch's AHL-leading 10th shorthanded goal. On a brief 2-on-1 rush, Anthony Cirelli sent a hard pass from the top of the right circle across to the left circle where Volkov redirected it in for his first shorthanded goal. Later in the first, Cirelli capped a two-point first period by blasting in a rebound from the right circle at 17:15.
 
The Rocket got back into the game with a tally in the second period. David Broll tipped a point shot for his second goal of the season, a power-play goal at 9:57 of the second, to make it 2-1. Laval tied the game in the third period on a deflection by Adam Cracknell at 9:06.
 
The Crunch would respond less than two minutes later to take the lead for good. Archambault blocked a shot near the defensive zone blueline and raced ahead 1-on-1. He deked past Eric Gelinas and scored five-hole on Zach Fucale to stake the Crunch to a 3-2 lead. That would hold as the final, with Eddie Pasquale earning his first win with the Crunch by stopping 22 of 24 shots.
 
Scouting the Crunch
The Crunch snapped a four-game winless streak—their longest such streak of the season—with last night's win over the Rocket. They are 3-5-1-1 in their last 10 games, but the win opened a 15-point cushion for the final North Division playoff spot. Syracuse is fourth in the North Division with 59 points (27-17-2-3), just two points behind Rochester and Utica in the standings.
 
The Crunch remain the highest scoring team in the first period with 56 goals and a +18 goal differential in the opening 20 minutes. Last night was the 14th time the Crunch have scored at least two goals in the first period, but they've only done it twice in the last 12 games since Jan. 13; the other instance was Jan. 26 vs. Belleville. The Crunch are 12-0-0-2 when scoring at least two goals in the first period.
 
Eddie Pasquale earned a win in his first start with the Crunch. In three appearances with the Crunch, the seventh-year-pro has faced just 30 shots in 98 total minutes, allowing two goals. He is 1-0-1 with a 1.23 goals-against average and .933 save percentage with the Crunch. Including his 16 games with Bakersfield this year, Pasquale is 7-5-5 with a 2.47 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. 
 
Rookies on a roll
The Crunch's top four active scorers are rookies, making them the only team in the league that can claim that distinction. In all, Crunch rookies have combined for 156 points, 36.8% of the Crunch's 424 total points. Only Rockford's rookies have accounted for a higher percentage (43.1%).
 
Mathieu Joseph extended his point streak to a career-high five games since Jan. 24, totaling eight points (1g, 7a). He leads the Crunch with 34 points, ninth among AHL rookies and his 25 assists are tied for third among rookies.
 
After returning from a six-game absence due to injury, Anthony Cirelli has logged a point in seven of the last night games. He has a team-high nine points (4g, 5a) in those nine games.
 
Alex Volkov has scored a goal in three consecutive games for the first time in his career. He has four goals in the last five games and is second on the Crunch with 15 goals this season.
 
First-year players have scored a goal in 12 straight games for the Crunch, dating back to Jan. 13. Over those 12 games, the Crunch have goals from Joseph (2), Cirelli (4), Jonne Tammela (3), Dennis Yan (2), Mitchell Stephens (7) and Volkov (5).   
 
Scouting the Sound Tigers
Bridgeport is in the thick of the Atlantic Division playoff race, but with back-to-back losses the Sound Tigers have dropped out of a playoff position. Bridgeport (23-18-5-2) is 5-4-1-0 in its last 10 games, dropping to fifth in the Atlantic. The Sound Tigers are four points behind Charlotte, but do have two games in hand on the Checkers. Despite a home loss last night to Providence, Bridgeport boasts a 14-8-1-2 record at Webster Bank Arena. 
 
Tonight's matchup features the two stingiest teams when it comes to allowing shots on goal. Bridgeport gave up just 16 in its loss last night and the Sound Tigers lead the AHL by allowing just 25.85 shots per game. The Crunch, who were the best in the league in that department most of the season, are now second at 25.98 shots against per game.
 
Bridgeport's leading scorer Tanner Fritz has 37 points (10g, 27a) in 33 games, but he is on recall with the New York Islanders. That leaves a balanced attack atop the leaderboard for active Sound Tigers players. Casey Bailey (11g, 12a) and Travis St. Denis (10g, 13a) lead the way with 23 points with three others directly behind at 22 points. 
 
In net, the Sound Tigers feature a 2018 AHL All-Star in Christopher Gibson, who is 17-10-2 with a 2.46 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage in 30 games. Former Crunch goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis has appeared in 21 games, posting a 6-8-5 record with a 2.70 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage. 
 
July 1 trade
Tonight is the first time the Crunch and Sound Tigers have squared off since their parent clubs Tampa Bay and New York Islanders pulled off a one-for-one swap July 1. The Lightning sent longtime Crunch goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis to the Islanders in exchange for forward Carter Verhaeghe. 
 
Verhaeghe, 22, spent parts of two seasons in Bridgeport, totaling 44 points (22g, 22a) over 75 games. He has 27 points (8g, 19a) in 32 games this season for the Crunch.
 
Gudlevskis, 25, joined the Crunch in a memorable 2013-14 season and spent the last four years in Syracuse. His 158 games over four seasons place him second among Crunch goaltenders in franchise history and his 74 wins rank second, four behind current Crunch Goaltending Coach Karl Goehring. Gudlevskis posted a 74-47-23 record with a 275 goals-against average and a 902 save percentage in his Crunch career.