Crunch back in the barn vs. Phantoms
The Syracuse Crunch (31-18-2-3) return home from a season-long tying five-game road swing to host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (34-14-3-4) inside the War Memorial Arena. Tonight marks the second and final regular season meeting between the teams. The Crunch fell on the road to the Phantoms, 4-2, on Dec. 16, snapping their season-high 10-game winning streak. Including tonight, the Crunch have 15 home games remaining on their schedule, most in the AHL.
 
Last time out
The Crunch began the week Wednesday with a 2-1 win over the Rochester Americans at the KeyBank Center, home of the Buffalo Sabres. Syracuse improved to 4-1-1-0 against their divisional foe.
 
The Amerks took a 1-0 lead at 5:01 of the first period on Sean Malone's shorthanded goal from the left circle. It was the fifth shorthanded goal allowed by the Crunch this season and the first since Dec. 15. 
 
In the second period, the Crunch seized control with two goals in a 10-second span. Mitchell Stephens tied the game at 1:26, pumping in a shot from the left circle on a pass from Carter Verhaeghe. 
 
Just 10 seconds later, the Crunch struck again to take the lead for the first time. Fresh off his month-long stint with the Lightning, forward Matthew Peca scored from a sharp angle for his ninth of the season.
Connor Ingram made 19 saves on 20 shots for his 14th victory of the campaign. 
 
Scouting the Crunch
With five wins in their last six games, the Crunch (31-18-2-3) are third in the North Division with 67 points. They are one point ahead of the Amerks and one behind the Comets. Coming into tonight's game against the Atlantic Division-leading Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Crunch hold a 9-4-0-1 record against the Atlantic. Their nine wins against the Atlantic Division are second-most among North Division teams, trailing only Toronto (10). 
 
The Crunch scoring is paced by rookie forwards Anthony Cirelli (11g, 23a) and Mathieu Joseph (9g, 25a) with 34 points apiece. Joseph ranks fifth among AHL rookies in assists. Syracuse has four rookies in the AHL's top 20 rookie scoring leaders, with Alexander Volkov (15g 15a), and the AHL's Rookie of the Month in January, Mitchell Stephens (18g, 15a), joining Cirelli and Joseph.
 
In six appearances in the crease since his acquisition at the end of January, Eddie Pasquale has a 1.49 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage for the Crunch. Rookie goaltender Connor Ingram has played 27 games and is 14-9-2 with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.    
 
Peca and Dumont return to Syracuse
Two staples from the Crunch's run to the Calder Cup Finals are back in Syracuse after extended stays away from the team. Matthew Peca and Gabriel Dumont, who both appeared in all 22 playoff games last year, donned Crunch uniforms for the first time in more than a month in Syracuse's 2-1 win over Rochester Wednesday.
 
Following a 10-game stint with the Lightning that included a four-game point streak (2g, 3a), Peca picked up where he left off with the Crunch Wednesday. The 24-year-old scored early in the second period against the Amerks, a goal that proved to be the game-winner. It was Peca's 32nd point with Syracuse this season (9g, 23a), good for fourth on the team.
 
Dumont's appearance Wednesday in Rochester was his first in the AHL this season. Tampa Bay claimed the Canadian center off waivers from Ottawa, where Dumont saw action in 23 games after playing in seven for the Lightning to begin this season. The Bolts loaned him to Syracuse Wednesday, and he suited up for the Crunch that night. The 27-year-old recorded 11 points (5g, 6a) in the playoffs last year, including the series-clinching goal in overtime of Game 4 against the St. John's IceCaps in the North Division Semifinals.
  
Scouting the Phantoms
Lehigh Valley owns the top spot in the Atlantic Division with a 0.682 points percentage. The Phantoms have lost just once in regulation in their previous 10 games (8-1-0-1), outscoring opponents 48-20 in the process. Lehigh Valley averages 3.55 goals per game, the best mark in the AHL. 
 
Phil Varone leads the league with 55 points (17g, 38a) this season. The former Rochester American and Binghamton Senator enters tonight's game on a four-game point streak, with eight points (6g, 2a) during that stretch. Varone has goals in each of the four games during his point streak, including his first career AHL hat trick Wednesday against Utica. In 50 career games against the Crunch, the seven-year-pro Varone has 53 points (16g, 37a).
 
T.J. Brennan is tied for third among AHL defensemen with 36 points (12g, 24a) this season. The New Jersey native has finished in the top three in AHL defenseman scoring each of the past four seasons, including leading the league in points during the 2013-14 (72 points) and 2015-16 (68) seasons. Last season, Brennan tied with then-Crunch defenseman Matt Taormina for the AHL lead among defensemen with 60 points (15g, 45a).
 
Dustin Tokarski (27 games) and Alex Lyon (26 games) have split time nearly equally in the Lehigh Valley net this season. Tokarski, a nine-year-pro and former Crunch netminder, has posted a 2.94 goals against average and a .907 save percentage on the campaign. Lyon, a second-year-pro out of Yale, is currently with the Philadelphia Flyers. 
 
Special teams
The Crunch went 0-for-4 on the power play against Rochester on Wednesday, dropping the unit to 14.4% on the season (26th in the AHL). Syracuse is 0-for-19 on the power play in its past six games, last scoring Feb. 9 against Hartford. 
 
Meanwhile, Lehigh Valley has scored a power-play goal in two consecutive games and in six of the last seven. The Phantoms are 37-for-219 on the season (16.9%), which is the league's 15th best unit. On the road this year, the Phantoms are 21-for-110 (19.1%) with the man advantage. 
 
Syracuse killed off all five of its penalties Wednesday in Rochester. The Crunch are now 11-for-11 on the penalty kill in their last four games, pushing the unit to 84.7% overall, the seventh-best mark in the league. Syracuse paces the AHL with 10 shorthanded goals. 
 
Lehigh Valley comes into the game with an 82.0% success rate on the penalty kill, which puts them at 18th in the league. The Phantoms are 81-for-105 (77.1%) on the kill away from home this season, 27th in the AHL.