CRUNCH MEET MARLIES FOR FIRST TIME
 
The Crunch (2-2-2-0) host the Marlies (6-0-1-0) for the first time this season in the Halloween Spooktacular presented by New York's 529 College Saves Program Direct Plan. Tonight marks the first time the two North Division foes have squared off. This is the only time Syracuse and Toronto will play in 2019 with the next matchup set for January 3, 2020 at the War Memorial Arena.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch lost in overtime to the Americans, 7-6, last night in the highest scoring Crunch game since an 8-5 win over the Marlies in Game 2 of the North Division Finals in 2017.
 
Syracuse forward Gemel Smith weaved his way through the slot to bury a power-play goal at 6:33 in the first for the game's first tally. Rochester followed that up later in the first with a 5-on-3 power-play goal from Curtis Lazar to tie the game.
 
From there, the offensive action picked up. The teams traded goals in the second period before the Crunch scored two goals 1:05 apart to reclaim the lead. First, defenseman Ben Thomas scored through traffic from the right point. Then, Cory Conacher went bar down to claim the lead. Smith put the Crunch up 6-4 in the third period with his second goal of the game. Later, Rochester forward Jean-Sebestian Dea cleaned up a rebound and tied the game at six with 12.8 seconds left to force overtime. Dea stayed busy in the extra frame, finding defenseman Lawrence Pilut for the game-winning goal with 41 seconds left in overtime.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH 
 
The Crunch dropped their third straight game with an overtime loss to the Amerks last night. Syracuse now sits in seventh place in the North Division with six points (2-2-2-0) and is 0-0-2-0 in the 12-game season series against Rochester.
 
Despite the loss, the Crunch are coming off their best offensive performance with 13 different players finding the scoresheet, including goalie Scott Wedgewood who picked up an assist on Gemel Smith's power-play marker to open up the scoring. Five different skaters found the back of the net, with Smith, Boris Katchouk and Ben Thomas netting their first goals of the season.
 
Smith led the way last night with three points (1g, 2a), his second multi-point performance of the season. The Toronto native ranks fourth on the Crunch with five points (2g, 3a) through five games this year. Smith's two-goal outing was his first since Jan. 4 as a member of the Providence Bruins. The 25-year-old forward is coming off his best AHL season yet, as he logged his highest points total (40) in his fewest amount of games (47) in Providence. It was also his sixth career three-point game and his first since Jan. 26, 2019 vs. Springfield.
 
Like Smith, Alex Barré-Boulet also cashed in on the man-advantage against the Amerks. The second-year pro brings a five-game scoring streak into tonight's matchup with the Marlies, recording four goals and an assist in that span. As a rookie, Barré-Boulet registered three scoring streaks of at least five games. The 22-year-old forward went on two runs in March, with a six-game streak from March 1 through March 13 and another five-game span from March 16 to March 24. His longest was a 12-game scoring streak from Nov. 11 through Dec. 12 when he piled up 18 points (9g, 9a).
 
SCOUTING THE MARLIES 
 
The Marlies (6-0-1-0) make their first trip of the season to the War Memorial Arena after a 3-2 overtime loss in Binghamton last night. Toronto has 13 points, good for second place in the North Division and one point behind division-leading Utica. It is also 3-0-1-0 against opponents from the North. Last year, the Marlies won four of the six games against the Crunch, one of which came in overtime.
 
Saturday's loss snapped a six-game win streak for Toronto and marked the team's first loss of the season. During the six-game stretch, the Marlies outscored opponents 23-11 and reached the three-goal mark in all but one game. Those performances have propelled the squad towards the top of the Eastern Conference in many statistical categories, including the second-best mark in goals allowed (14) and the top power-play percentage in the conference (26.1%).
 
Egor Korshkov leads the team in goals with five, and last night was the first time in seven games in which the Russian failed to record a point. Korshkov joined Toronto for nine games during the 2018 Calder Cup playoffs and recorded a goal. Two other players have reached seven points: Pontus Aberg and Pierre Engvall. Aberg is in his sixth AHL season – his first in the Eastern Conference – while Engvall logs his third year in Toronto.
 
Kasimir Kaskisuo has appeared in five of the Marlies seven games this season. The Finnish netminder has seen action in the AHL in five different seasons. Kaskisuo's 1.80 goals-against average ranks ninth in the entire AHL and he has a save percentage of .936, tied for 11th in the league. Backup Joseph Woll – a rookie out of Boston College – has won his first two pro starts, including a 23-save shutout in his pro debut.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS 
 
The Crunch and the Marlies possess the most dangerous power plays in the North Division. Syracuse is second in the division and fourth in the league with a conversion rate of 25.9% after cashing in on two of its three chances against Rochester last night. Crunch centers Alex Barré-Boulet and Peter Abbandonato pace the team with two man-advantage goals each. Even though Toronto did not score on two power-play opportunities yesterday against Binghamton, the Marlies have the best power-play unit in the division at 26.1%, third in the AHL. Winger Egor Korshkov leads Toronto with three power-play tallies.
 
Both teams are in the middle of the pack in the North Division in penalty killing. Syracuse is fourth in the division with a success rate of 85.7%. The Crunch allowed two power-play goals on five attempts last night to the Amerks. Toronto kills off penalties 82.6% of the time, the fifth-best mark in the division. The Marlies allowed the Devils to score on their lone power-play chance last night.
 
In the six meetings between the two sides last season, both penalty-killing units were strong. Syracuse found the back of the net three times on 16 power-play opportunities (18.8%). Toronto registered six man-up goals on 31 attempts (19.4%).
 
LIGHTNING FLASH
 
The Lightning (5-3-2) lost 3-2 in overtime to the Predators last night. Following a two-game win streak, Tampa Bay has lost two of its last three, with the lone win on Wednesday against the Penguins. Steven Stamkos is off to a hot start, pacing the team with 11 points (5g, 6a), a mark that ranks top 30 in the NHL. Nikita Kucherov sits just behind Stamkos with 10 points (3g, 7a). Tuesday marks the start of a four-game New York area road swing for the Lightning, in which it will visit the Rangers, Devils, Islanders and Sabres in the span of 13 days.