Crunch settle in for six-game homestand
The Crunch (38-19-3-4) end their week by beginning a season-long six-game homestand tonight against the Laval Rocket (24-32-6-2). Syracuse doesn't play a road game again until April 6 and nine of their final 12 games are at the War Memorial Arena.
 
Last time out
Olivier Archambault scored 2:06 into overtime as the Crunch fended off the Springfield Thunderbirds, 3-2, in overtime last night at MassMutual Center.
 
The Crunch built a 2-0 lead with a goal in the first and second period. Gabriel Dumont started things with his third shorthanded goal of the season, and his 100th career AHL goal, 13:47 into the first. Michael Bournival spun a pass to Mat Bodie, who passed backdoor to Dumont for the tip and a 1-0 Crunch lead. In the second, Syracuse added a power-play goal on Matthew Peca's rebound strike at 18:26. Bournival fed Erik Condra for a one-timer, which created the rebound for Peca to finish for his 11th goal of the season.
 
Springfield battled back with two goals in the third. Curtis Valk got the first at 4:48, poking in a diagonal pass near the left post to cut the Crunch lead to 2-1. Later in the period, Francois Beauchemin hammered a power-play goal from the slot to tie the score. 
 
Archambault delivered the overtime game-winner at 2:06 of the extra frame. He took a drop pass from Carter Verhaeghe near the left circle, cut across the slot on his backhand, then cut back to his forehand to tuck the puck past Harri Sateri and give the Crunch a 3-2 win. 
 
Ticket punched
The Crunch became the second team to secure a position in the Calder Cup Playoffs Wednesday night, joining the Toronto Marlies. Last season, the Crunch didn't clinch a playoff berth in the North Division until the final week of the regular season. They clinched the North Division championship on the final day of the regular season.
 
In 24 seasons, the Crunch have qualified for the playoffs 14 times. The last time they were playoff bound in back-to-back seasons was 2011-12 and 2012-13, the latter resulting in the club's first Calder Cup Finals berth.
 
Scouting the Crunch
The Crunch earned their 38th win of the season last night, matching last season's total when the team finished 38-24-7-7 to win the North Division. They earned their 38th win on the final day of the regular season, clinching the division championship in the process.
 
Mathieu Joseph paces all Syracuse skaters with 43 points and 29 assists this season. The rookie had a seven-game point streak snapped Friday in Springfield. The 21-year-old had nine points (5g, 4a) during his seven-game point streak.
 
Olivier Archambault netted the overtime game-winning goal—his third game-winning goal in 18 games with the Crunch—last night in Springfield. Archambault has points in four straight games and goals in back-to-back games, bringing his total to 11 points (6g, 5a) in 18 games since joining the Crunch Jan. 24. It's his second four-game scoring streak of the season; he had a four-game run with the San Jose Barracuda Oct. 27-Nov. 5.
 
Milestone men
Last night marked the 300th career regular season AHL game for Crunch Head Coach Ben Groulx. Now in his second season with the Crunch, Groulx is 76-43-10-11 in 140 regular season games with the Crunch. With 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Crunch have already matched their 38 wins from last season. In 300 AHL games, including his 160 games over two seasons with the Rochester Americans, Groulx is 149-119-12-20. 
 
Crunch forward Gabriel Dumont scored his third goal of the season, and the 100th of his AHL career, last night in Springfield. In his second season—and third stint—with the Lightning organization, Dumont reached 100 goals in 420 career AHL games. In just 11 games for the Crunch this season, Dumont has 13 points (3g, 10a), eclipsing his 20-game total with the Crunch last season. 
    
Scouting the Rocket
The Rocket snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 win in Utica yesterday. Four unanswered goals for Laval after Utica took a 1-0 lead propelled the Rocket to victory. Last night marked the first time in the last ten games that Laval held an opponent under three goals in a game. The Rocket have allowed 225 goals this season, second-most in the AHL.
 
Chris Terry leads Laval with 59 points (27g, 32a), also good for the second-most points in the entire AHL. Terry had three points (1g, 2a) Friday, his 14th multi-point game of the season. The 28-year-old also has six games this year with at least three points. Defenseman Matt Taormina missed 13 games due to injury before returning March 9. He has four assists in his five games since returning and his 40 assists in 51 games are most among AHL defensemen.
 
Michael McNiven and Zachary Fucale have assumed duties between the pipes for the Rocket since Charlie Lindgren's call-up to Montreal last month. Fucale has a 10-5-0 record to go along with a 3.02 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage. The Laval native started the last meeting between the Rocket and Crunch, allowing four goals on 37 shots in a 5-4 Laval overtime win.
 
Head-to-head
Syracuse and Laval meet tonight for the eighth and final time this season. Laval has four wins and the Crunch have three after the Rocket picked up a 5-4 overtime win in Syracuse March 3. 
 
Crunch forward Mathieu Joseph leads the series with eight points (3g, 5a) in six games. He missed the last match with an injury. Chris Terry paces Laval with seven points (3g, 4a) in just three games.
 
Road warriors
The Crunch are 20-11-1-3 on the road this season. That win total marks the third time in franchise history that Syracuse has cracked 20 wins away from home and ranks third in the AHL this season.
 
The Crunch have picked up a point in each of their last six road games, tying a season-high, with the only loss coming in a shootout at Rochester.
 
Syracuse's franchise record for road wins in a season is 24, set during the 2012-13 season. The Crunch only play three more times away from the War Memorial this year. They also had 20 road wins in 2005-06.