Crunch visit Charlotte for back-to-back games
The Crunch (29-17-2-3) jet south for the weekend to begin a two-game series against the Charlotte Checkers (29-20-0-3). It's the second of four games between the teams this season and the first time the Crunch have traveled to Charlotte since the 2010-11 season. 

Last time out
The Crunch won their third straight game with a 3-2 shootout win over the Utica Comets Wednesday at the Adirondack Bank Center. 

Syracuse jumped on the Comets with two goals on the first two shots just 6:15 into the game. Carter Verhaeghe opened things up 1:57 into the game with a shot from the slot after Mat Bodie was able to keep the puck in the offensive zone near the blueline. Just over four minutes later, Dominik Masin scored on the second Crunch shot, cashing in on a 3-on-2 rush. He trailed the play and took a pass from Mitchell Stephens before snapping home the shot for a 2-0 Crunch lead. 

Utica began to rally in a physical second period that saw four fights and 90 combined penalty minutes. The Comets got the only goal through all the fireworks on a put back by David Dzurzynski at 12:44. They tied the game early in the third as Patrick Wiercioch picked a corner from the top of the left circle at 1:39. 

The game remained even through the rest of regulation and overtime, despite a 7-0 shots advantage for the Crunch in overtime. In the shootout, neither team scored through the first six rounds. In the top of the seventh, defenseman Jamie McBain beat Thatcher Demko before Wiercioch missed against Eddie Pasquale as the Crunch won the shootout 1-0 in seven rounds. It was the fourth win for the Crunch in the Galaxy Cup.

Scouting the Crunch
The Crunch are on their third winning streak of at least three games this season; the team has streaks of 10 and nine wins in a row. With points in their last four games, the Crunch (29-17-2-3) are fourth in the North Division with 63 points and a 0.618 points percentage; they are just one point behind Utica and Rochester. The Crunch's 29 wins are second-most in the North Division behind Toronto (37); a win tonight would make the Crunch just the fifth AHL team to hit 30 wins this season.

Defenseman Dominik Masin followed up his Gordie Howe Hat Trick Sunday in Bridgeport by collecting two of the three pieces for another one Wednesday at Utica. Masin scored a goal in the first period and dropped the gloves in the second period, but he finished an assist short of his second straight and second career Gordie Howe Hat Trick. Masin has goals in back-to-back games for the second time this season and has 20 points (8g, 12a) in 49 games.

Eddie Pasquale has started three straight games for the Crunch, winning all three, to improve to 3-0-1 with a 1.62 goals-against average and .936 save percentage with the Crunch. He is 9-5-5 in 21 games, including his time with Bakersfield, with a 2.41 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.  

Going the distance
The Crunch improved to 3-3 in games decided in a shootout this season with their seven-round triumph over Utica Wednesday night. It was their first shootout win on the road this season.

In their three shootout wins, the Crunch have required at least seven rounds; the shootout begins as a best-of-three. Their 5-4 win over Belleville Dec. 2 took seven rounds, which the Crunch won, 2-1. The Sens had three chances to win the shootout before Ty Loney won it for the Crunch in the seventh.

It took 11 rounds to beat the Comets Dec. 30, with the Crunch winning the shootout 4-3. Utica had six chances to win the game, but Ben Thomas scored the game-winner in the 11th round. 

Wednesday's shootout was a seven-rounder against the Comets. Jamie McBain scored the only goal in the seventh round after the Comets had four shots to win the game. Two of the three shootout game-winning goals for the Crunch this season have been scored by defensemen.  

Scouting the Checkers
Charlotte has won four straight games for the third time this season, matching its season high. The Checkers have outscored opponents 21-4 over the four games. With at least five goals in five of the last seven games, the Checkers boast the AHL's second-best offense, averaging 3.52 goals per game; Manitoba leads the league at 3.53 goals per game. They have scored 101 goals in 26 road games (2.88 goals per game). Charlotte (29-20-0-3) is fourth in the Atlantic Division with 61 points and a 0.587 points percentage.

Andrew Miller not only leads the Checkers in scoring, but he also leads the entire AHL with 51 points (15g, 36a) in 52 games. The fifth-year-pro has already established a new career high in assists and is approaching his career high of 60 points set with Oklahoma City in 2014-15. He has 11 points (5g, 6a) in the last six games, including four multi-point games and two three-point games. He has at least one point in 35 of his 52 games played. 

Valentin Zykov is next on the Checkers with 41 points and his 25 goals lead the AHL. An AHL-high 14 of Zykov's goals have been scored on the power play. Rookie Warren Foegele is second in the AHL with 23 goals and he is tied for the AHL lead with four shorthanded goals.

Alex Nedeljkovic has seen action in 36 Checkers games this season, logging a 22-9-2 record with a 2.52 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. His 22 wins are most in the AHL and his four shutouts are tied for the second most in the league; he had back-to-back shutouts Feb. 10-13. 

Last time in Charlotte
This weekend marks the first two games in Charlotte between the Crunch and Checkers since 2010-11, before the Checkers switched conferences.

The teams played a two-game series Dec. 5-6 that season and split the two games. Syracuse won the first game, 3-2, with a two-goal comeback in the third period. The Checkers responded the next night with an eight-goal second period en route to a 10-3 win over the Crunch. With the split in Charlotte, the Crunch won the season series, 3-1; those were the only four games between the teams until this season. 

Special teams
The Crunch power play is 1-for-31 (3.2%) in the last eight games since Jan. 26. They started the season in a 2-for-51 (3.9%) funk over the first eight games of the season. Excluding those 16 games, the Crunch power play is 32-for-154 (20.8%), but including the combined 3-for-82, Syracuse ranks 25th in the league at 14.8%.

Charlotte's is one of five AHL teams with a power play clicking at over 20%. The Checkers are fourth in the league at 20.9% and they have they Eastern Conference's top home power play (26.0%). Their 32 home power-play goals are most in the AHL.

The Crunch penalty kill stopped both power plays against Wednesday in Utica, just the second time in the last 11 games they have not allowed a man-up goal. They still rank seventh in the AHL at 84.2% and pace the league with 10 shorthanded goals.

Charlotte's shorthanded unit is tied for 19th in the league at 81.7%. The Checkers only trail the Crunch among leaders with nine shorthanded goals.