CRUNCH ROLL INTO LAVAL TO FACE ROCKET
 
The Crunch cross north of the border for their final trip to Laval this season to take on the Rocket.
 
It is the fifth head-to-head meeting of the season; the Crunch have wins in three of the first four games, but they split a two-game weekend in Laval back in December.   
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Syracuse let a 2-0 lead slip away in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday night.
 
The Crunch opened up a two-goal lead in the first period. Ross Colton started the scoring with a quick shot from near the slot off a set up from beneath the goal line by Andy Andreoff at 3:27. Cameron Gaunce then wired a power-play goal from the blue line—his 10th goal of the season—at 10:36 to put the Crunch up 2-0 in the opening period.
 
The Penguins began to rally by netting the only tally of the middle period. Linus Olund received a pass from Jimmy Hayes off the end boards and zipped a shot past Martin Ouellette at 11:40. They tied the game 7:35 into the third period with Joseph Blandisi potting a rebound during a Penguins power play.
 
The Crunch regained the lead five minutes later; Ouellette made a sparkling save and then Alex Volkov led the counter attack. Volkov slid the puck in front to Colton, who smashed home his second goal of the game at 12:27 of the third. Hayes tied the game two minutes later with the Pens' second straight power-play goal, which eventually forced overtime.
 
In the extra session, Sam Miletic won the game at 1:34, swiping in a rebound to give the Penguins a 4-3 win, matching the Crunch's 4-3 overtime triumph over the Pens in December.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH  
 
The Crunch's overtime defeat at the hands of the Penguins pushed their current points streak to four games (3-0-1-0) and gives the Crunch at least a point in nine of the last 10 games (7-0-1-2). It was only the fifth time all season the Crunch have failed to win after scoring the first goal; Syracuse holds an AHL-best 0.894 points percentage (28-2-2-1) in those situations.
 
The Crunch also have points in four straight road games (3-0-1-0), which is their longest stretch this season since an eight-game run on the road between Nov. 9 and Dec. 14; that streak ended with a 4-0 loss in Laval.
 
Syracuse has dropped back into second place in the North Division with 80 points; the Crunch are one of three teams with at least 80 points this season. They trail Rochester by one point and have one game in hand on the Amerks.
 
Defenseman Cameron Gaunce returned to the Syracuse lineup Saturday and netted his 10th goal of the season. It's the first time the ninth-year-pro has reached 10 goals in a season; he has also established a new career-high with 42 points (10g, 32a), which ranks sixth among AHL defensemen.
 
Rookies Taylor Raddysh and Ross Colton both ride team-high five-game scoring streaks into tonight's match with the Rocket. The duo have either set each other up or provided both assists on a goal together in four of the last five games. Colton's five-game streak includes seven points (4g, 3a) and leaves him with 27 (13g, 14a) on the season. Raddysh has five points (1g, 4a) in the stretch and is up to 36 (15g, 21a) this season.
 
LIGHTNING-ERA RECORDS CRUMBLING  
 
This year's crop of Crunch players are re-writing the team's record book during the Lightning affiliation, which began prior to the 2012-13 season.
 
Cory Conacher recorded an assist Saturday in Wilkes-Barre, giving him 158 career Crunch points (55g, 103a) in 166 games. He moved past Yanni Gourde for the most by a Crunch skater during the Lightning era; Gourde posted 157 points (67g, 90a) in 215 games between 2013 and 2017. Conacher ranks seventh all-time in franchise history in scoring.
 
Alex Barré-Boulet picked up an assist on the same play Saturday night for his 54th point (28g, 26a) of the season. That broke his tie with Mathieu Joseph for the most points by a Crunch rookie during the Lightning affiliation; Joseph finished with 53 (15g, 38a) in 70 games last season. Barré-Boulet ranks sixth all-time among Crunch rookies in scoring and his 28 goals are fourth-most by a Crunch rookie in franchise history.
 
Carter Verhaeghe was held off the scoresheet Saturday night, but his 67 points (27g, 40a) remained tied with Jonathan Marchessault (2014-15) for the most in a single season during the Lightning affiliation.
 
SCOUTING THE ROCKET  
 
The Rocket enter tonight with points in seven of their last 10 games (5-3-2-0), but they are nine points behind Belleville for the final playoff spot in the North Division. The Rocket have been a formidable team on home ice this season, posting a 16-9-3-4 record a Place Bell, good for the third-best home record in the North Division behind the Crunch and Senators. 
 
All-star Alex Belzile leads the Rocket in scoring with 44 points (13g, 31a) in 59 games. He has not played in the last two games, but had points in seven of the previous nine games. He's also delivered a team-high four points (1g, 3a) in four games against the Crunch this season.
 
Rookie Jake Evans has five points (2g, 3a) in the last five games and ranks second on the Rocket with 35 points (12g, 23a) this season. He has three assists in four games against the Crunch.
 
With Charlie Lindgren on recall to Montreal, Michael McNiven and Connor LaCouvee are the two Laval netminders. McNiven is 9-8-2 with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. LaCouvee is 4-2-1 with a 2.24 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Crunch power play has scored a goal in four of the last five games, but was limited to a 1-for-8 outing Saturday in Wilkes-Barre. They are 7-for-29 (24.1%) in that span and they rank sixth in the AHL at 21.2%. Alex Barré-Boulet has a league-leading 15th power-play goals this season, which is one shy of the Crunch rookie record held by Geoff Platt (2005-06). It is also five behind the single-season franchise record of 20 by Reggie Savage in 2000-01.
 
The Rocket scored two power-play goals in a game for the first time since Feb. 8 in their last game Saturday against Utica. Laval ranks 23rd in the league on the man advantage at 16.8%.
 
Before allowing power-play goals in their final two shorthanded situations Saturday night, the Crunch had killed off 37 consecutive penalties dating back to the final six Toronto opportunities Feb. 23. They rank fourth in the league with an 84.9% penalty kill.
 
Laval's penalty kill is 24-for-27 in the last seven games, but the Rocket rank 27th in the AHL at 78.6% overall this season. They've allowed five power-play goals i 16 chances against the Crunch this season.