TWO OF LEAGUE'S BEST MEET IN SYRACUSE
 
The Crunch host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the only time this season tonight at the War Memorial Arena. The Crunch (0.677) and Sound Tigers (0.667) rank third and fourth in the league respectively in points percentage.    
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch's five-game winning streak came to a close Wednesday with a 4-2 loss to the Utica Comets at the Adirondack Bank Center. With eight games remaining between the teams, the 2018-19 Galaxy Cup Series is tied 2-2.
 
Utica's Reid Boucher broke the ice with seven seconds to go in the first period to give the Comets a 1-0 lead. Boucher beat Crunch goalie Eddie Pasquale five-hole on a breakaway to secure the game's first goal.
 
After Crunch forward Alex Barré-Boulet scored his league-leading 10th power-play goal to tie the game in the second period, the Comets scored two third-period goals less than two minutes apart to open up their largest lead of the game. Syracuse pulled within one with 1:23 remaining when Cory Conacher sniped a one-timer from the top of the right circle. Twenty-seven seconds later, Comets' forward Brendan Gaunce buried an empty-net goal to secure a 4-2 win for the Comets.
 
Pasquale stopped 27-of-30 shots faced in net, while Comets' goalie Thatcher Demko made 31 saves for Utica.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH 
 
The Crunch (42) sit two points behind the Rochester Americans (44) for the top spot in the North Division despite playing three fewer games than their Upstate New York rivals. Syracuse (20-9-2-0) owns the best points percentage in the division at 0.677, has seven wins over its last 10 games, and is the only team in the division with double-figure victories at home and on the road.
 
Ben Groulx's group leads the Eastern Conference in both goals for (123) and against (83); if the Crunch maintain those spots, they will become the first AHL team to pace their conference in scoring offense and defense since the Norfolk Admirals accomplished the feat in 2011-12.
 
Syracuse defenseman Cameron Gaunce assisted on both of his team's goals Wednesday at Utica. It stretched Gaunce's assist streak to five games, tied for the longest active streak in the league with Belleville's Paul Carey. Gaunce has already matched his career high with six goals and has piled up 25 points (6g, 19a) through 28 games, good for 0.89 points per game; the nine-year AHL veteran had never averaged more than half a point per game before this season.
 
Gaunce's teammate on the blue line, Cal Foote, is the reigning AHL Player of the Week. Tampa Bay's 2017 first-round pick—who turned 20 last month—buried a pair of goals in back-to-back games en route to the honor. Foote matched his total from his first 27 games of the season with the twin markers last Wednesday at Binghamton, then made it two straight multi-goal games last Friday against Utica.
 
"Confidence is a huge thing," Foote said. "We talk about it in the room. It's having audacity, and that's one of the words we talk about. Just be willing to make a bold, risky play that's high risk but good reward. To be able to have confidence out there and to gain more confidence is a thing that I need to keep on doing."
 
SCOUTING THE SOUND TIGERS 
 
The Bridgeport Sound Tigers (21-9-4-2) have secured 48 points so far this season, three behind the Charlotte Checkers for the most in the Eastern Conference. The Sound Tigers arrive in Syracuse with a four-game point streak (3-0-0-1), with each game decided by a single goal. On Wednesday, Bridgeport suffered a 5-4 shootout loss to the Rochester Americans at Blue Cross Arena. Tonight is the fourth of a season-high six-game road trip for the Sound Tigers.
 
Forward Michael Dal Colle, who is currently on recall with the New York Islanders, leads the Sound Tigers in points (18). Dal Colle hasn't played since Dec. 28. Among active Bridgeport skaters, defenseman Sebastian Aho paces the group with 24 points (3g, 21a). Aho, who is tied for eighth in the AHL in assists, registered his first helper in five games against Rochester on Wednesday. The Swede is in his second season with the Sound Tigers after being drafted by the Islanders in the fifth round of the 2017 NHL Draft. Dal Colle and Aho will represent Bridgeport at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic.
 
In net, Sound Tigers' goaltender Jeremy Smith was named the AHL's goalie of the month for December. Smith posted a 6-1-0 record in the final month of the year with a 2.12 goals-against average and .931 save percentage. On the season, Smith holds an 11-5-2  record with a 2.68 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. Smith has split time this season with fellow goalie Christopher Gibson, who is 10-4-4 this season. Gibson has posted a 3.06 goals-against average with a .896 save percentage.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Crunch went 2-for-7 on the power play against the Comets Wednesday after scoring just two goals on 22 chances in the previous six games (9.1%). It was the first time since Nov. 30 that they scored more than one power-play goal in a game. Despite a 6-for-40 skid in the last 10 games, the Crunch's power play remains at the top of the AHL standings (26.6%), a place where it has been since Nov. 1.
 
Bridgeport had been held scoreless on the power play in three of its last five games, but the Sound Tigers connected on the man advantage in their 5-4 shootout loss against the Americans (1-for-4). Bridgeport's man-up unit is operating at 19.9%, good for 15th in the AHL (34-for-171).
 
After going 4-for-5 on the penalty kill against Utica, Syracuse is ninth in the AHL and first in the North Division while shorthanded (82.9%). However, Syracuse has struggled on home ice; while the Crunch rank second in the AHL on the road (90.5%), they sit in the basement of the league with a 75.6% success rate (31st) at the War Memorial Arena.
 
The Sound Tigers killed off all four Amerks power plays on Wednesday and are a perfect 8-for-8 on the penalty kill in their last two games. Bridgeport sits at 25th in the AHL with a 78.7% kill rate (35-for-164).
 
CONACHER, INGRAM NAMED ALL-STARS
 
Forward Cory Conacher and Goaltender Connor Ingram will represent the Crunch at the 2019 All-Star Classic.
 
Conacher, 29, has racked up 36 points (13g, 23a) in 27 games this season. The Burlington, Ontario native is tied for fourth in the league in total points. Conacher has previously been an AHL All-Star in 2012 and 2017.
 
This is the first time Ingram has been named an AHL All-Star. In 14 games this season, he's posted a 2.44 goals-against average with a .920 save percentage. Ingram is tied for the league lead with four shutouts this season.
Conacher and Ingram will join head coach Ben Groulx in Springfield to represent the North Division. It's the second time in three season that Groulx will coach the North.