CRUNCH HOST HARTFORD FOR ONLY TIME
 
The Crunch carry a five-game points streak (4-0-1-0) into tonight's season series finale against the Hartford Wolf Pack.
 
This is the only time the Wolf Pack travel to Syracuse this season; the Crunch blanked Hartford, 6-0, on the road Feb. 8.  
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Syracuse pulled out a come-from-behind victory, 4-2, Wednesday night in Laval. It was the fifth of six regular season matches between the two North Division clubs; the Crunch have won four of those meetings.
 
Syracuse fell behind early when Laval's Xavier Ouellet beat Eddie Pasquale from the blue line to open the scoring with a power-play goal 2:39 into the first period. The Crunch goaltender would go on to make 30 saves for his 22^nd win of the season. With just over five minutes remaining in the first period, Cal Foote scored his eighth goal of the year with a one-timer from the slot off a feed from Andy Andreoff.
 
After no scoring for most of the middle period, Syracuse earned a power-play chance in the final few minutes. Taylor Raddysh converted from the right circle at the 18:37 mark. Ross Colton made the pass across after Mitchell Stephens swiped the puck out from the corner boards.
 
The Crunch would tack on their third-straight goal just 1:17 into the final frame. Gabriel Dumont followed the puck after his pass was tipped and batted it out of the air for the two-goal advantage. Laval cut the deficit to one with six attackers on the ice in the final two minutes as Lukas Vejdemo converted on a rebound opportunity. Alex Barré-Boulet notched his 29^th goal with the Laval net empty to lock up the 4-2 decision.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH 
 
With a 4-2 win against Laval on Wednesday, Syracuse brings a five-game points streak into its matchup with Hartford tonight. The Crunch (38-17-4-2) are back in second place in the division with 82 points. Syracuse trails Rochester by just one point with one game in hand and is only three points out of the top spot in the AHL (Charlotte). While the Crunch are one of just three AHL teams to reach 80 points this season, Syracuse is the only squad with three players-Carter Verhaeghe (67), Alex Barré-Boulet (55) and Cory Conacher (55)-who have eclipsed 50 points on their roster.
 
Alex Barré-Boulet is not only tied for the league lead in points among first-year skaters with 55 points (29g, 26a), but he is also now the leading Crunch rookie scorer during the Lightning affiliation; the previous record was set by Mathieu Joseph with 53 points last season. He is one goal away from matching the Crunch's rookie record of 30 set by Lonny Bohonos (1994-95) and Geoff Platt (2005-06).
 
Cory Conacher also has 55 points (19g, 36a); last weekend, the 29-year-old forward notched his 158th career point with the Crunch, surpassing former teammate Yanni Gourde to become the Crunch's all-time leading scorer during the Lightning affiliation.
 
Ross Colton is currently riding a career-high six-game scoring streak. The rookie has picked up a team-leading eight points (4g, 4a) during this stretch. Colton has 28 points in 56 games (13g, 15a).
 
ANOTHER BROTHER BATTLE 
 
Like we've seen multiple times this year between Syracuse and Utica (Cameron and Brendan Gaunce), tonight features two brothers squaring off. Syracuse rookie Taylor Raddysh welcomes his older brother Darren to town. After 120 games over the last two seasons in Rockford, Darren was traded from the Blackhawks organization to the Rangers in exchange for Peter Holland Feb. 19. The defenseman was moved just two weeks after the Crunch and Wolf Pack's first match, meaning tonight marks the first ever meeting between the brothers.
 
Taylor enters tonight's game with points in six straight games (2g, 4a), which is his longest stretch since a nine-game streak Oct. 26-Nov. 17. With 37 points in his first AHL season, the 21-year-old forward ranks second in scoring among Syracuse rookies and is in a four-way tie for 14^th among all first-year AHL skaters (16g, 21a).
 
Between Rockford and Hartford, Darren has logged 28 points (8g, 20a) in 64 games.
 
The Raddysh brothers spent three seasons together with the OHL's Erie Otters, winning the league championship and earning a berth in the Memorial Cup in 2017.
 
SCOUTING THE WOLF PACK 
 
Hartford enters the War Memorial Arena tonight for the first and only time this season coming off of a 4-3 overtime win against the Binghamton Devils on Wednesday. With 63 points through 64 games, Hartford (27-28-6-3) sits in last place in the Atlantic Division. However, the Wolf Pack are off to a good start in March, posting a 4-2-0-0 record.
 
A major factor in Hartford's recent success has been the play of defenseman John Gilmour. Gilmour, who leads all AHL defenseman with 51 points (20g, 31a), has piled up eight points in the past three games (3g, 5a). Against the Devils, the 25-year-old defenseman found the back of the net twice, including the overtime-winning goal as well as his 20th of the season; Gilmour is now one of just two AHL blueliners to reach the 20 goal mark (Zach Redmond, Rochester). It was his second overtime game-winner in the last three games (March 9 at Springfield). In his first two seasons combined, the Montreal native picked up 51 points over 120 games (12g, 39a); this season, he has 51 points in just 64 games.
 
With a goal and an assist, Vinni Lettieri recorded his third straight multi-point performance and has logged seven points (5g, 2a) in that stretch. With 44 points (22g, 22a) through 42 games, the Minnesota native is the only player on the Wolf Pack roster who is averaging more than a point per game (1.05); Lettieri also paces Hartford with 22 goals this season.
 
After Marek Mazanec was sent to the Vancouver organization in a trade Feb. 12., netminder Brandon Halverson has seen the majority of time between the pipes. In 14 games, the 22-year-old goaltender posts a 7-4-3 record and a 3.06 goals-against average as well as a .900 save percentage.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Crunch own the fifth-best power play in the AHL at 21.3%. With a 1-for-3 outing Wednesday in Laval, Syracuse has recorded a power-play goal in five of its last six games, going 8-for-32 (25.0%).
 
The Wolf Pack's power play has scored two power-play goals in back-to-back games, giving them six man-up goals in the last four games (6-for-15). They rank 17th in the AHL at 18.4%, including an 0-for-5 outing Feb. 8 against the Crunch.
 
Syracuse allowed a power-play goal to open the game Wednesday against Laval, but killed off the remaining four penalties, improving to 35-for-38 (92.1%) in the last eight games. The Crunch rank fourth in the AHL at 84.8%.
 
The Wolf Pack have allowed a power-play goal in six of the last seven games (21-for-28). They are 15th in the AHL with an 81.1% penalty kill.