Streaking Crunch arrive in Charlotte


The Crunch (14-9-2-0) continue their four-game road trip with the first of back-to-back games at Bojangles Coliseum against the Charlotte Checkers (10-11-3-0).
 
After dropping a home game to Charlotte last week, the Crunch enter tonight's rematch having won their last three games, tied for their longest winning streak of the season. The Crunch and Checkers wrap up their four-game season series tomorrow night; Charlotte has won the first two of the series.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Crunch took down the Providence Bruins, 4-1, at the Dunkin' Donuts Center Wednesday night. It was Syracuse's first victory over Providence since Jan. 7, 2018.
 
Providence opened the scoring 2:33 into the second period, but Gemel Smith and Peter Abbondonato responded with goals 58 seconds apart to give Syracuse a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
 
Smith added two empty-netters in the final 1:15 of regulation to complete his second career hat trick and secure the Crunch's third straight victory.
 
Spencer Martin won his second consecutive start for the first time this season, stopping 26 of 27 Bruin shots on goal.
 
Scouting the Crunch  
 
The Crunch arrive in Charlotte riding their third three-game win streak of the season. Syracuse sits in fifth place in the North Division, three points behind fourth-place Laval with three games in hand.
 
Gemel Smith notched his second career hat trick in the Crunch's 4-1 victory against Providence Wednesday night. The 25-year-old center's 14 points (7g, 7a) tie for fifth on the Crunch in scoring, and his 0.82 points per game rank third among Crunch skaters appearing in at least 15 games this season. Seventeen games into the 2019-20 campaign, Smith is maintaining an AHL career-best 24.1% shooting percentage; his previous career high came last season with the Providence Bruins, when he shot 14.7% through 47 games.
 
Cory Conacher sports a four-game point streak (3g, 3a) entering Friday's faceoff against the Checkers. Despite multiple recalls to Tampa Bay in the first three months of the season, Conacher has appeared in 21 of 25 Crunch outings and ranks third on the team with 18 points (8g, 10a). The Canadian winger missed the Dec. 4 matchup against Charlotte and assisted on one goal in Syracuse's Oct. 19 loss to the Checkers.
 
Spencer Martin has won his last two starts in net for the Crunch. He's posted a 2.58 goals-against average to go along with a 5-4-0 record in 11 appearances. Scott Wedgewood leads the Crunch with 14 appearances but will miss the next three to five weeks as he continues recovering from a lower body injury. Veteran goaltender Mike Condon has dressed as the Crunch backup in the last two games since Wedgewood's injury but has yet to log any ice time this season. He's earned a .918 save percentage through 57 career AHL appearances and .905 save percentage in 129 career NHL outings.
 
Scouting the Checkers  
 
Charlotte starts a six-game homestand on Friday in seventh place in the Atlantic Division with the third-lowest points percentage in the Eastern Conference. Two of their 10 victories this season have come against the Crunch, and Charlotte has outscored Syracuse 12-4 in aggregate. Both wins (7-3 and 5-1) are their largest margins of victory this season.
 
Defenseman Jake Bean leads the Checkers with 14 points (4g, 10a). The Alberta native also leads the Checkers with eight power-play points (2g, 6a). Bean's three-assist performance in last Wednesday's 5-1 win over Syracuse marked his second three-point outing against the Crunch in his career.
 
Center Morgan Geekie leads Checkers forwards with 13 points (6g, 7a) in 24 games. The second-year pro is tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals, including the deciding goal in Charlotte's 3-1 win against Rochester on Saturday night. Geekie tallied three points (1g, 2a) in Charlotte's Oct. 19 visit to Syracuse, but was held pointless in the teams' Dec. 4 meeting.
 
Anton Forsberg and Alex Nedeljkovic have split Checkers goaltending duties this season. While Nedeljkovic has earned more shutouts (2), a lower goals-against average (2.67), and higher save percentage (.904) in 12 appearances, Forberg's 6-4-2 record through 13 appearances tops Nedeljkovic's 4-7-1 record. Forsberg has started and won both appearances against the Crunch this season, posting a 2.00 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in those wins.
 
Special teams  
 
The Crunch enter tonight with power-play goals in three straight games for the third time this season and the first time since Oct. 19-27. They are 3-for-12 (25.0%) over the three games, raising their season conversion up to 19.0% (22-for-116), which ranks 14th in the AHL.
 
Special teams have been a strength for the Checkers this season. Their power play, which is 4-for-10 this season against the Crunch, is tied for eighth in the league at 20.4% (20-for-98). The unit has struggled at home (11.9%) versus on the road (26.8%).
 
The Charlotte penalty kill is even better. The Checkers have allowed a league-low eight power-play goals and their 92.7% penalty kill percentage is over five percentage points better than the second place team (Syracuse). Unlike their power play, the Charlotte penalty kill is strong both at home (93.8%) and on the road (91.8%), ranking first in both categories.
 
The Crunch penalty kill is second overall in the league at 87.2% after posting its second straight game without allowing a power-play goal. Only two teams—Charlotte and San Diego—have allowed fewer power-play goals than the Crunch. Syracuse is stronger on the road; the Crunch have 90.0% peenaly kill on the road and their five power-play goals allowed away from the War Memorial Arena are tied for the fewest in the AHL.
 
Birthday Week
 
Three Crunch players are celebrating birthdays this week over the course of the team's four-game road trip. Yesterday, Danick Martel turned 25 years old. Cal Foote turns 21 years old today as the Crunch face the Checkers. Cory Conacher will turn 30 tomorrow.
 
Foote is in his second pro season as he reaches 21. Entering play today, the now 21-year-old is tied with Mark Barberio and Marc Methot for 31st on the Crunch's all-time scoring list among defensemen with 42 points in 107 games. That ranks second in team history for points by a defenseman prior to turning 21 years old. Tony DeAngelo holds that record with 43 points as a 20-year-old rookie in 2015-16.
 
Not out of it
 
The Crunch secured their fifth win of the season when surrendering the first goal of the game. Syracuse improved to 5-8-1-0 in 14 games when falling behind 1-0. That's good for a 0.393 points percentage. Last year, the Crunch were 12-19-2-1 in those same instances, logging a 0.397 points percentage.
 
The Crunch's 0.894 points percentage when scoring first (9-1-1-0) is the third-best mark in the AHL this season. On top of that, the Checkers are one of two teams (Colorado) without a win when giving up the first goal; they are 0-8-2-0 in those situations.