PLAYOFF REMATCH PITS CRUNCH AND MARLIES
 
Tonight, the Syracuse Crunch (21-9-2-0) host the Toronto Marlies (16-13-3-2) at the War Memorial for the first time this season. It's the first meeting in Central New York between the two clubs since Toronto's 2-1 road victory to sweep the North Division Finals on May 8 last spring.   
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch took down the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 3-1, last night at the War Memorial Arena.
 
Syracuse extended its home win streak to four games with the victory behind 19 saves from goalie Eddie Pasquale.
 
The Crunch scored 12:26 into the first period on the man advantage, as Alex Barré-Boulet slipped one through goalie Christopher Gibson from beneath the right circle. The goal marked the 21-year-old's league-leading 11th power play-goal.
 
Alex Volkov scored a breakaway goal at 4:40 of the second period to put the Crunch up 2-0. Volkov pulled the puck to his forehand and rolled it in for his eighth goal of the season. Then in the third, Carter Verhaeghe danced through the slot and scored on a nifty backhander for a 3-0 lead.
 
Bridgeport finally found the back of the net about midway through the final period on a goal from Otto Koivula, but Syracuse held on to pick up a 3-1 victory.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH 
 
 Syracuse (21-9-2-0, 44 points) ranks second in the North Division just behind the Rochester Americans (46 points), but the Crunch own the best points percentage (0.688) with three games in hand. The Crunch also hold the league's best goal differential (+42) and boast the best offense (3.94 goals per game) and defense (2.63 goals against per game) in the AHL.
 
Rookie Alex Barré-Boulet scored his league-leading 11th power-play goal of the season against Bridgeport; he is the only player in the AHL with a double-digit power-play goal total.
 
"He's crafty and he's very intelligent," said head coach Ben Groulx. "I think with a one-man advantage and more room out there, he knows how to play that sequence of the game. That's probably why he's one of the best."


The 21-year-old forward is also tied for the top spot among all AHL rookies with 33 points (16g, 17a). In his first professional season, Barré-Boulet leads the Crunch with 16 goals and ranks third in scoring. The former CHL Player of the Year racked up 116 points in 65 games with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada where he led the QMJHL in both assists (63) and goals (53).
 
With a goal and an assist last night, Carter Verhaeghe now has 12 multi-point performances, which is a regular season career high. Last season, the Toronto native recorded 11 multi-point games in 58 appearances; this season it has taken him just 32 games to surpass that total. Mathieu Joseph led the Crunch with 12 multi-point efforts in 70 appearances last season. In his second season with the Crunch, Verhaeghe leads the team in scoring with 38 points (14g, 24a) and ranks fourth among all AHL skaters. A former draft pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Verhaeghe now has 86 points (31g, 55a) in 90 games as a member of the Crunch.
 
SCOUTING THE MARLIES 
 
Toronto (16-13-3-2) enters the War Memorial Arena tonight for the first time this season; while the Crunch and Marlies traded wins in the first two meetings at the Coca-Cola Coliseum, Syracuse came away with a decisive 8-1 win in their last matchup. The Marlies sit in fifth place in the North Division and 16th in the league with 37 points. Toronto is coming off of two straight wins, including a 5-4 overtime victory against the league-leading Charlotte Checkers on New Year's Eve.
 
Chris Mueller paces the Marlies with 36 points (18g, 18a) and is the only player on the Toronto roster averaging at least one point per game (1.13). He enters tonight's game with five goals in the past three games, including back-to-back two-goal performances; he has five multi-goal games this season. The 32-year-old veteran has played for 13 professional teams over the past 12 seasons. In the AHL, he has picked up 498 points over 683 games (207g, 291a) and has recorded 10 points (3g, 7a) in 53 NHL games.
 
In his second professional season, Jeremy Bracco has tallied 32 points (7g, 25a), matching his points total from last season. In his rookie year, the Freeport, New York native recorded 32 points in 50 games; this season he already has 32 points in just 33 games. The 21-year-old forward leads the Marlies with 25 assists, which is also tied for the league-lead. Bracco has picked up five helpers in the past two games and has nine multi-point performances this season.
 
The Marlies have two AHL All-Star representatives. Trevor Moore has 24 points (17g, 7a) in 27 games for the Marlies this season. He is currently on recall with the Maple Leafs. Defenseman Calle Rosen has 22 points (2g, 20a) in his second season in the organization.
 
Toronto has had five different players make an appearance between the pipes this season. Kasimir Kaskisuo and Michael Hutchinson are both on an emergency recall with the Maple Leafs. Eamon McAdam has seen the most action in the Marlies net with 15 appearances this season. He is 7-4-3 with a 2.99 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Crunch power play was dethroned from the top spot in the AHL after going 1-for-6 last night. Syracuse had held the top position in the league since the conclusion of games on Nov. 17. The Crunch power play checks in at 26.2% which ranks second behind Texas (26.3%). The Crunch's top power-play unit features three of the top four power-play producers in the league. Cory Conacher and Alex Barré-Boulet have 19 power-play points apiece while Carter Verhaeghe is at 18.
 
Toronto's power play is operating at 22.3%, 4th in the AHL. They have the second-best road power play in the league at 27.6%. The Marlies went 2-for-3 on the power play last night and Chris Mueller scored his eighth power-play goal of the season. He has 18 power-play points, tied with Verhaeghe for third in the league.
 
Meanwhile, Toronto has struggled on the penalty kill, sitting 30th in the AHL (76.8%). Last year, the defending Calder Cup champs owned the best penalty kill throughout the regular season at 88.9%. 
 
This season, Syracuse has maintained its top-10 penalty kill from last year working at 83.6% rate. The Crunch was perfect against the Sound Tigers last night, killing off all seven Bridgeport power plays. Syracuse also leads the entire American Hockey League with nine shorthanded goals.
 
LIGHTNING FLASH
 
The Tampa Bay Lightning continued their torrid pace with a 6-2 win over the Kings. Tonight, the Lightning head to San Jose trying to extend the club's 16-game point streak (15-0-1). Former Crunch head coach Jon Cooper will represent the Lightning at the NHL All-Star game along with Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos.