CRUNCH END SEASON SERIES WITH T-BIRDS
 
The Crunch wrap up their four-game season series with the Springfield Thunderbirds as they open the final weekend before the All-Star Break tonight at the War Memorial Arena.
 
Syracuse has two wins in the first three matches with Springfield, including an overtime win in Syracuse Dec. 29.   
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch defeated the Binghamton Devils, 2-1, for their second-straight victory Monday at the War Memorial Area.
 
Syracuse jumped out early on Alex Barré-Boulet's redirection off a backdoor feed from Andy Andreoff less than two minutes into the first period. It was Barré-Boulet's 20th goal and Andreoff's 30th point of the season. Then, with under a minute to play in the opening frame, Cory Conacher found Cameron Gaunce in front of the net to make it 2-0.
 
Binghamton got one back midway through the second on a power-play snipe from John Quenneville, but the Crunch held the Devils scoreless in the final period.
 
Goalie Martin Ouellette made 19 saves on 20 shots faced and earned the win in his first Crunch start. The Crunch improved to 7-1 against the Devils this season, including 4-0 at home.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH 
 
Syracuse (23-13-2-1, 49 pts) has won back-to-back games against North Division foes and sits third in the division behind Rochester (53 pts) and Utica (50 pts). The Crunch have played the fewest games (39) of any Eastern Conference team.
 
Ben Groulx's club is the top offense in the AHL, averaging 3.69 goals per game. Syracuse has five players-Carter Verhaeghe, Cory Conacher, Alex Barré-Boulet, Cameron Gaunce and Andy Andreoff-with at least 30 points, most in the AHL. Meanwhile, the Syracuse defense is third in the league (2.79 goals against per game) and only one team (San Jose) has allowed fewer goals (93) than the Crunch's 109.
 
Crunch rookie Alex Barré-Boulet is tied for the league lead in scoring among first-year players, racking up 37 points (20g, 17a). The Quebec native is also tied for the league lead with 11 power-play goals. Barré-Boulet's marker against Binghamton Monday afternoon was his 20th of the season in 39 games; he is the fastest Crunch skater to hit 20 goals since Tyler Johnson reached 20 in just 32 games in 2012-13. He is one of two rookies and eight players in the league with at least 20 goals. Barré-Boulet is the 11th rookie in franchise history to score 20 goals.
 
Defensively, Cameron Gaunce leads the charge for Syracuse with a career-best seven goals. His 32 points rank fourth on the team, while his +15 rating leads all Crunch skaters. Gaunce is just five points shy of his top AHL season with the Portland Pirates in 2015-2016 where he recorded 37 points (2g, 35a). He has nine points (1g, 8a) in nine games for the Crunch in January, which is tied for the most on the team with Carter Verhaeghe (4g, 5a) in that span.
 
Goaltender Martin Ouellette was loaned back to ECHL-Orlando earlier this week, signaling the return of Connor Ingram, who has not played since suffering an injury in a win at Lehigh Valley Dec. 21. The second-year goaltender is 9-5-0 with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. Eddie Pasquale saw the bulk of action during Ingram's injury and is 13-8-3 with a 2.86 goals-against average and an .897 save percentage in 24 games.
 
SCOUTING THE T-BIRDS 
 
Springfield rides a four-game point streak into the War Memorial Arena tonight, which marks the Thunderbirds' ninth game in the last two weeks. They head to Providence tomorrow to complete a stretch of 10 matchups in 16 days, with multiple days between games just once during the stretch.
 
Springfield blitzed Hartford with four first-period goals en route to a 7-4 win on the road Wednesday. It marked the Thunderbirds' 11th game with at least five goals this season, which includes a nine-goal eruption against the Americans Nov. 16; that marked the second-highest scoring output in a single game this season, behind only the Crunch's 10 goals against Utica Dec. 28.
 
Paul Thompson potted four goals in the win Wednesday. It represented the second four-goal game the AHL has seen this season (Chicago's Daniel Carr). The performance boosted Thompson's goal total to 22, tied for second in the AHL and one off the league lead. The 30-year-old forward has cracked the 20-goal mark for the fourth time in his nine-year career.
 
Thompson's 37 points (22g, 15a) are tied for the team lead with Harry Zolnierczyk (9g, 28a), who ranks fifth in the league in assists. Anthony Greco (17g, 15a) and Harry Dryden (16g, 15a) give Springfield four 30-point scorers this season.
 
Samuel Montembault has absorbed the majority of the Thunderbirds' minutes between the pipes; the 22-year-old has started 27 of the team's 44 games. Montembault boasts a 2.95 goals-against average and .904 save percentage, both improvements from his numbers as a rookie last year (3.25, .896). Montembault has already matched his win total from last season (13) in 11 fewer appearances. The Quebec native got the night off Wednesday, when Chris Driedger started and allowed four goals on 38 shots. Dreidger owns a .917 save percentage over 11 games with Springfield this year.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Crunch went 0-for-4 on the man advantage in Monday's win over the Devils; it was only the fourth time on home ice this season that the Crunch were held scoreless on the power play. The Crunch are third in the AHL, converting on 23.5% of their power-play chances. Their 43 power-play goals are second in the league behind Springfield (59).
 
Springfield cashed in on Wednesday night, scoring three power-play goals on five opportunities. They are 6-for-14 (42.9%) in the last three games. The Thunderbirds lead the AHL in power-play percentage (26.6%), power-play goals (59) and power-play chances (222).
 
Syracuse ranks 10th in the league on the penalty kill at 82.3%. The Crunch have allowed a power-play goal in each of the last five games (20-for-25, 80.0%). They are tied with Colorado for the most shorthanded goals in the AHL with nine.
 
Springfield has struggled killing off man-down situations, ranking 28th in the AHL at 78.0%. They have allowed three power-play goals in the last two games after going 18-for-18 in the previous four matches. 
 
LIGHTNING FLASH
 
At the NHL All-Star break, the Tampa Bay Lightning (37-10-2) have secured 76 points, the most in the league. The Bolts are 13 points ahead of the New York Islanders, the next closest team in the eastern conference. Crunch alum Nikita Kucherov, who leads the NHL in points with 78 (22g, 56a), and veteran forward Steven Stamkos will represent Tampa Bay in San Jose this week. Former Crunch head coach Jon Cooper will coach the Atlantic Division tomorrow night during the All-Star game. The weekend of festivities begins tonight with the All-Star skills challenge.
 
Tampa Bay returns to action Jan. 30 at Pittsburgh.