CRUNCH RETURN HOME
 
The Crunch (15-11-2-0) kick off a three-game homestand tonight against the Belleville Senators (16-10-1-0) following a four-game, eight-day road trip. Syracuse started the stretch with a win in Providence, split the series in Charlotte and then fell to Bridgeport to finish the trip 2-2.
 
After five meetings with Atlantic Division teams, the Crunch will now play 10 straight games against North Division foes; these five tilts include two meetings with Belleville and three games against Binghamton in the next two weeks before the new year.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch fell to the Sound Tigers, 3-2, Wednesday night at Webster Bank Arena. Syracuse led 2-1 in the third period, but Bridgeport scored twice in the final frame to grab the victory.
 
The Crunch got on the scoreboard first thanks to a rebound marker from Gemel Smith, part of a two-point night for the 25-year-old. After the Sound Tigers tied it, Syracuse jumped on top in the third behind a Dennis Yan goal from the slot. Bridgeport then put home goals at 5:43 and 12:24 for a comeback win. Spencer Martin made 38 saves in the defeat for the Crunch.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH 
 
Syracuse enters tonight's game against the Belleville Senators fresh off a four-game road trip in Providence, Charlotte and Bridgeport.
 
No Crunch player found the scoresheet more than forward Gemel Smith during the time away. The 25-year-old registered at least one point in each of the Crunch's four games. Smith started the trip with a hat trick against his former team, the Providence Bruins, and ended with 7 points (6g, 1a) as well as a four-game point streak. The first three games helped him earn CCM/AHL Player of the Week honors. Before that stretch, Smith had 11 points (4g, 7a) in 16 games. Smith's longest point streak last year with the P-Bruins was six games (1g, 6a) from Feb. 2 to Feb. 16. His four-game goal streak is a career-high.
 
Outside of Smith, Crunch center Chris Mueller buried goals in back-to-back games against the Checkers last weekend. Mueller hadn't done that since Oct. 16-19 when he scored a goal in consecutive games against the Comets and Checkers, respectively. The veteran has consistently produced for the Crunch this year; Mueller's longest scoreless drought is a three-game stretch from Nov. 27 to Dec. 4.
 
Spencer Martin got the start in three of the four games during the Crunch road trip, posting a 1-2-0 record. Martin allowed a combined seven goals and made 90 saves, which adds up to a .928 save percentage. Mike Condon made his first start of the season in the Crunch's second game in Charlotte. The 29-year-old's 22 saves on 26 shots faced propelled the Crunch to a 5-4 win over the reigning Calder Cup Champions.
 
SCOUTING THE SENATORS 
 
Belleville arrives in Syracuse in fifth place in the North Division, one point ahead of the Crunch with one game in hand. Though Belleville dropped a 4-3 decision against the Utica Comets Wednesday night, the Senators have won eight of their last ten outings. Belleville holds an 8-5-1-0 record against North Division opponents this season, with their lone overtime loss coming in Syracuse Nov. 8. The Sens also boast the top road record in the Eastern Conference at 9-2-1-0, good for a 0.792 points percentage.
 
Rudolfs Balcers sustained a leg injury during the Ottawa Senators' training camp, but since returning to the Belleville lineup last month, he's tallied at least one point in each of the 13 games he's played (6g, 13a). That streak represents a new franchise record, the longest streak in the AHL this season and the longest streak of the third-year pro's career. The Latvian winger's 1.46 points per game paces all Senators with at least 10 games played.
 
Drake Batherson saw a seven-game point streak end Wednesday, but he remains tied for the league scoring lead with Utica's Reid Boucher at 34 points (11g, 23a). The American winger lit the lamp twice and assisted on another goal during Belleville's Nov. 8 visit to Syracuse. That's his only multi-goal performance this season after scoring two or more goals four times last year.
 
Rookie netminder Joey Daccord has started the Senators' last two outings, earning one win and one loss. Through three appearances on the season, the Massachusetts native paces Belleville goaltenders with a .933 save percentage and 2.03 goals-against average. Filip Gustavsson has won seven of his 11 Belleville appearances this season and started the Nov. 8 matchup against Syracuse.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS 
 
The Crunch enter play tonight converting at 19.0% on the power play, which ranks 11th in the AHL. Syracuse failed to convert on its lone man-advantage chance-which lasted 22 seconds-Wednesday in Bridgeport, ending a five-game run with at least one power-play goal. Alex Barré-Boulet paces the Crunch with five power-play goals, although he has not scored on the man advantage since Nov. 15, a stretch of 12 consecutive games.
 
On the other side, Belleville sits behind the Crunch, converting at 18.4%, which is tied for 14th in the AHL. The Senators have had 114 chances on the man advantage—12 fewer than Syracuse—but have scored three fewer times (21 goals). They went 1-for-5 against Utica Wednesday; the lone goal came from Vitaly Abramov, who is tied for second on the team in power-play goals with Rudolfs Balcers (each has three). Those two sit one score behind Josh Norris, who has four.
 
Syracuse's penalty kill percentage (85.7%) is the second-best in the North and tied for fifth in the league. Conversely, Belleville's kill unit ranks 24th at 79.7%. The Crunch kept Bridgeport off the scoresheet on the man advantage Wednesday. The Senators have given up power-play goals in each of their last two games, including two in Utica last time out. Both teams have five shorthanded goals, which is tied for the seventh-most in the AHL.
 
The power play played a huge part in the two squads' meeting Nov. 8. Syracuse scored twice on the man advantage—including the game-tying goal in the third period on the way to a 4-3 overtime win—while Belleville went 0-for-7. 
 
JOSEPH JOINS CRUNCH
 
Mathieu Joseph is back in Syracuse for the first time since the 2018 North Division Finals. The Tampa Bay Lightning loaned Joseph to the Crunch yesterday after the 22-year-old forward tallied seven points (4g, 3a) through 31 games with the Bolts this season. He has dressed in 101 for Tampa Bay since the start of last season, totaling 33 points (17g, 16a).
 
The Chambly native has appeared in 70 career AHL games, all with the Crunch during the 2017-18 season, picking up 53 points (15g, 38a). Joseph led Syracuse in both points and assists that year; his 38 assists ranked second in the AHL among rookies, while his 53  points put him in fifth place among first-year skaters. That season, he became the second rookie in franchise history to lead the team in scoring.