CRUNCH FINISH SERIES WITH THE MARLIES
 
Syracuse and Toronto square off for the final time this regular season at the War Memorial Arena. This is the third meeting between the North Division rivals in the last six days; on Monday, the Crunch fell 5-3 at Scotiabank Arena, but they bounced back last night with a 1-0 victory in overtime for their first win on home ice against Toronto since Dec. 27, 2017.
 
Toronto leads the series with three wins in five meetings this season. The Crunch are also wrapping up a stretch of seven games in 11 days tonight (Feb. 13-23), where they have posted a 3-2-0-1 record.   
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Eddie Pasquale denied 26 shots and the Crunch eked out a 1-0 overtime win against the Toronto Marlies last night at the War Memorial Arena.
 
Pasquale and Toronto goaltender Michael Hutchinson-who finished with 29 saves on 30 shots-went save-for-save in regulation while the two teams combined for 12 total power-play opportunities.
 
Pasquale made a key save with 25 seconds left in regulation on Michael Carcone to send the game to overtime, where the Crunch won for the fourth time this season. Alex Barré-Boulet netted his first career overtime game-winning goal 2:22 into the extra frame. He collected a pass at the top of the right circle, dangled down the right side, cut in front and outwaited Hutchinson to end the game.
 
Syracuse leads the league with eight shutouts. It was the first 0-0 game in regulation for the Crunch since Jan. 10, 2014. It was the third instance this season for Toronto.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH 
 
The Crunch look to make it a six-point week at the War Memorial Arena after they shut out the Marlies 1-0 last night and beat Laval, 4-2, Wednesday. The win marked Syracuse's fourth shutout victory this month and extended its home points streak to ten games (8-0-0-2); the last time the Crunch lost in regulation at home was Jan. 5 against the Marlies.
 
Last night was only the second time the Crunch have scored fewer than two goals on home ice this season; the other occurrence was their home opener Oct. 13 vs. Charlotte. Syracuse leads the Eastern Conference with 109 goals scored on home ice (4.19 goals per game) and holds the best home goal differential in the AHL (+42).
 
Syracuse (32-16-2-2) sits three points behind Rochester for the top spot in the North Division with 68 points, but the Crunch have two games in hand on the Amerks. Syracuse has played the fewest games in the Eastern Conference (52). They are one of just two AHL teams with two 50-point scorers on their roster-Carter Verhaeghe and Cory Conacher; the Marlies also have two skaters who have eclipsed 50 points.
 
Eddie Pasquale turned aside all 26 Toronto shots for his second shutout of the season; it was the second in his last five starts.  The 28-year-old netminder has won back-to-back games and is 5-1-1 in his last seven appearances, posting a 1.41 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage in that span. With the shutout, Pasquale has picked up 17 wins for the first time since 2013-14 with the St. John's IceCaps; his career-high is 23 wins in 2011-12. The Toronto native boasts a 17-9-4 record, a 2.51 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in his second season with the Crunch. 
 
CLIMBING THE RANKS
 
Alex Barré-Boulet was the overtime hero last night, scoring his team-leading 24^th goal of the season for the 1-0 win. The 21-year-old forward not only leads all active AHL rookies with 46 points (24g, 22a), but he also leads the entire league with 13 power-play markers.
 
Barré-Boulet's 24 goals are the most by a Crunch rookie since the team affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2012; his goal last night broke a tie with Alex Volkov, who scored 23 as a rookie last season. Barré-Boulet is tied with Boris Protsenko (1998-99) for the fifth-most goals by a rookie in franchise history; the Crunch rookie record is 30 goals. 
 
SCOUTING THE MARLIES 
 
After last night's loss to the Crunch, the Marlies (28-18-6-3) enter tonight's game six points out of first place in the North Division and three points behind the second-place Crunch. The 1-0 overtime loss snapped Toronto's three-game winning streak. With two games in hand, the Marlies have a three-point edge on Belleville for the final playoff spot in the North Division.
 
Toronto was shut out last night for the first time since Jan. 6, a 5-0 loss to Charlotte. Center Adam Brooks led the way offensively with five shots. Brooks, 22, has logged 25 points this season (13g, 12a). After scoring two goals against the Crunch on Monday, Brooks has failed to register a point in two consecutive games. The left-handed forward also scored two goals in the first meeting between the teams in Syracuse on Jan. 5, a 5-2 win for the Marlies. 
 
Forward Pierre Engvall also provided a spark for the Marlies, firing three shots towards Eddie Pasquale. Engvall scored the game-winning goal-his first game-winner of the season-in Toronto's matinee win over Syracuse on Monday. He followed that up with two assists against Manitoba on Wednesday.
 
Michael Hutchinson has made 83 saves on 88 shots (a .943 save percentage) since relieving Kasimir Kaskisuo at the 6:25 mark in the first period on Monday. This season, he's started five games with the Maple Leafs, sporting a 2-3-0 record with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. In the AHL this season, Hutchinson boasts a 2.98 goals-against average with a .903 save percentage; he's seen time with both Springfield and Toronto. Kaskisuo has appeared in 20 games for the Marlies, most recently on Monday against the Crunch. He holds a 3.47 goals-against average and a .879 save percentage in the AHL this year.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
After being held scoreless on the power play last night (0-for-5), Syracuse's man-up unit dropped a spot to sixth in the AHL. The Crunch power play is operating at 21.3%, but that rises to 24.0% on home ice. The Crunch have two power-play goals in the last three games, but they are only 4-of-34 this month (11.8%).
 
The Toronto power play entered the War Memorial last night operating at a 38.1% clip over its previous three games (5-for-13), but the Marlies couldn't capitalize on seven opportunities against the Crunch. However, Toronto still holds the third-best unit in the AHL (22.7%).
 
The Crunch penalty kill got the job done last night, going a perfect 7-for-7. It was the second time in five games they've held Toronto scoreless on the power play (Oct. 26). The Crunch rank fifth in the league with an 83.7% success rate.
 
The Marlies killed off each of the Crunch's five power-play chances last night, but their penalty kill still sits near the basement of the league; their unit ranks 27th in the AHL, operating at 79.0% (166-for-210).