Crunch look to avoid series sweep


The Crunch (14-10-2-0) and Charlotte Checkers (11-11-3-0) finish off a two-game set and their four-game season series tonight at Bojangles Coliseum.
 
After rallying from a 2-0 deficit last night, the Checkers go for the season series sweep tonight. In addition to a 3-2 win yesterday, Charlotte has wins of 7-3 and 5-1 against the Crunch this season.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Crunch coughed up a 2-0 lead and lost to the Charlotte Checkers, 3-2, last night at Bojangles Coliseum.
 
Despite losing captain Luke Witkowski to a lower-body injury on the opening shift of the game, the Crunch roared out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Gemel Smith ripped in his eighth of the season from the high slot and Chris Mueller cashed in on a power-play goal to give Syracuse a two-goal edge in the first period.
 
The Checkers controlled play the entire second period and much of the third. David Gust started the comeback with a rebound goal at 8:07 of the second period as Charlotte outshot the Crunch, 12-3. Chase Priskie tied the game with a 5-on-3 power-play goal in the third.
 
The Crunch finally started getting offensive looks again after surrendering the lead, but Morgan Geekie struck with 2:37 left to play to give the Checkers the lead 3-2. The result snapped the Crunch's three-game winning streak.
 
Scouting the Crunch  
 
Last night's loss was the Crunch's first defeat in regulation during a game in which they held a two-goal lead. It also dropped the Crunch to 9-2-1-0 when scoring the game's first goal.
 
Because of the loss, the Crunch slid back to sixth place in the North Division at 14-10-2-0. Their 30 points put them one back of Belleville and three behind the playoff line, with Utica and Laval at 33 points apiece after both teams also suffered regulation losses.
 
The Crunch also lost a one-goal game in regulation for the second time this season and the first time since Nov. 13 vs. Rochester. Syracuse is 5-2-2-0 in one-goal games, but just 2-2-1-0 on the road in those scenarios. 
 
Gemel Smith has goals in three of the last four games, netting five tallies in that span. After scoring a pair of empty-net goals to secure his second career hat trick Wednesday night, the 25-year-old opened the scoring 4:44 into the first period last night. That gave Smith three goals in 5:59 of game time dating back to Wednesday. Last night was the first time the Crunch dropped a game in regulation after Smith scored a goal (3-1-1-0).
 
Scouting the Checkers  
 
Charlotte's comeback win kicked off its six-game homestand and brings their home record back to 0.500 at 5-5-1-0. It was the Checkers first win all season when allowing the first goal (1-8-2-0). It also turned into their first third-period comeback of the season; the Checkers improved to 1-10-0-0 when trailing after two periods.
 
This weekend marks the 10th two-game series against the same opponent for the Checkers. In the previous nine two-game sets, the Checkers have had six series splits, while they have been swept in the other three. They have not won both ends of a back-to-back against the same opponent yet this year.
 
Charlotte's second two-game winning streak of the season bumps the Checkers up to sixth place in the Atlantic Division with 25 points (11-11-3-0).
 
Morgan Geekie's three-point outing (1g, 2a) last night against the Crunch gives him the team scoring lead with 16 points (7g, 9a) in 25 games this season. His third-period tally turned into the game-winning goal, his team-leading third winner this season. Geekie has done his best work against the Crunch. The second-year-pro has six points (2g, 4a) in three games against the Crunch, but he has just 10 points in 22 games against the rest of the league.
 
Special teams  
 
Both teams connected once on the power play last night. The Crunch (1-for-3) have power-play goals in four straight games for the first time all season, going 4-for-15 in that span. They rank 12th in the AHL at 19.3%. Charlotte (1-for-5) scored just its six power-play goal on home ice this season (6-for-47), but the 5-on-3 tally kept the Checkers at 20.4% this season, good for eighth in the league.
 
Charlotte and Syracuse rank first and second respectively on the penalty kill. The Crunch's power-play goal last night was only the ninth allowed all season by Charlotte. The Checkers clock in at 92.0% on the penalty kill. The Crunch are the closest team to the Checkers, but they check in at 86.8%.
 
So far in the three-game season series, the Checkers are 5-for-15 (33.3%) on the power play while the Crunch are 2-for-13 (15.4%).
 
Birthday week
 
Three Crunch players are celebrating birthdays this week over the course of the team's four-game road trip. Thursday, Danick Martel turned 25 years old. Cal Foote turned 21 years old yesterday. Cory Conacher turns 30 today to wrap up the week.
 
Conacher has not slowed one bit and he rides a season-high five-game scoring streak into tonight's birthday showdown with the Checkers. He has seven points (3g, 4a) in that span. He ranks third on the team with 19 points (8g, 11a) in 22 games.
 
Hitting 100
 
Two Crunch players are set to appear in their 100th career games tonight in Charlotte.
 
Alex Barré-Boulet is in his second pro season after winning the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL's most outstanding rookie last season. He compiled 68 points (34g, 34a) in 74 games in 2018-19 and he has followed that up with 22 points (10g, 12a) in 25 games this season. Through his first 99 games, the Quebec native has 90 points (44g, 46a).
 
Boris Katchouk is also poised to reach the 100-game mark tonight after skating in 75 as a rookie last season. He finished last season with 23 points (11g, 12a) and is up to seven (5g, 2a) in 24 games this year, giving him 30 points in 99 games.
 
They are the second and third players from last year's rookie class to reach 100 games, joining Cal Foote.
 
Ready to go
 
Goaltender Mike Condon is expected to make his season and Crunch debut tonight against the Checkers. The 29-year-old has been recovering from a hip injury, which limited him to just three games in 2018-19 with Ottawa and Belleville. He has not appeared in a game since Nov. 9, 2018 for Belleville.
 
The Massachusetts native has a 28-20-6 record in his AHL career with Belleville, Hamilton and Houston. He has also appeared in 129 career NHL games with Montreal, Pittsburgh and Ottawa.