CRUNCH BACK IN BELLEVILLE TO FACE SENS
 
The Crunch return to Belleville for the second Wednesday in a row to close out their season series with the Senators at CAA Arena.
 
It's the sixth and final head-to-head meeting this season with the home team claiming all five wins. The Crunch won the first three at the War Memorial Arena, but Belleville has responded with two straight wins at CAA Arena, including a 2-1 shootout win last Wednesday.   
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch shot past the Utica Comets, 6-2, for their 900th win in franchise history Saturday night at the War Memorial Arena.
 
With the Crunch celebrating their 1994-95 inaugural team, it was the Comets who struck first with a power-play goal just 43 seconds into the game. From that moment, the Crunch seized control, rattling off five unanswered goals between the first and second periods. Carter Verhaeghe tied the game at one with his 30th goal of the season at 6:03. Only 21 seconds later, Gabriel Dumont put the Crunch ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal, which came three seconds into a power play. Alex Volkov struck on another Crunch man advantage later in the period to open a 3-1 lead at 16:21. 
 
Volkov delivered his second power-play goal with a right circle bid at 17:04 of the second period and then Ross Colton followed up with a fifth Crunch goal just 45 seconds later.
 
Both teams added a goal in the third period while goaltender Atte Tolvanen earned his first career win. It was the fifth straight home win against the Comets, with the Crunch winning by a combined score of 30-5.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH  
 
The Crunch's win over the Comets Saturday night snapped a three-game winless streak and bust the Crunch out of a relative scoring drought. They had scored only four goals in the previous three games and had been held to two or fewer in five of the previous six before Saturday. That five-game stretch came on the heels of 10-game run of scoring at least three goals a game; the Crunch lead the Eastern Conference by averaging 3.47 goals per game.
 
Part of the offensive firepower came from second-year forward Alex Volkov, who recorded his third two-goal performance in the last eight games. He has eight goals and three assists over the last 12 games to reach the 20-goal mark for the second straight year; he led the Crunch with 23 tallies as a rookie last year. The Crunch's five 20-goal scorers are tied with Rochester for the most in the AHL. Volkov is the first player with 20 goals in consecutive seasons for the Crunch since Brett Connolly scored 31 in 2012-13 and 21 in 2013-14.
 
Goaltender Atte Tolvanen earned his first career AHL victory in Saturday's win over the Comets. The 24-year-old Fin turned aside 23-of-25 shots in his second professional start to claim the win. Tolvanen made his professional debut for the Crunch March 24 at Bridgeport.
 
DYNAMIC DUO  
 
Forward Carter Verhaeghe posted his second four-point game of the season Saturday night, recording a goal and three assists against the Comets. The goal was his 30th of the season, giving the Crunch two 30-goal scorers (Alex Barré-Boulet, 32). The Crunch are the first team in the AHL with a pair of 30-goal scorers in a single season since 2013-14, when both Texas and Binghamton had two 30-goal producers.
 
Verhaeghe's 75 points (30g, 45a) are tied for the AHL lead with Toronto's Jeremy Bracco. No Crunch player has ever led the AHL in scoring during the regular season.
 
CONGRATS COACH  
 
Syracuse's win over the Comets was also a milestone for Crunch head coach Ben Groulx, who earned his 200th AHL victory in his fifth year as a head coach in the league. It was his 127th win with the Crunch (127-66-14-15) since he took over as Crunch head coach prior to the 2016-17 season. Groulx coached the Rochester Americans from 2008 to 2010.
 
PASQUALE GETS THE CALL  
 
The Crunch's number one netminder, Eddie Pasquale, was recalled by Tampa Bay Monday morning. The veteran goaltender made his second career NHL start Tuesday in Montreal, suffering his first defeat despite stopping 41 Canadiens shots.
 
Pasquale has appeared in a career-high tying 43 games for the Crunch this season and he has a personal-best 25 wins (25-12-6) with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
 
SCOUTING THE SENATORS  
 
Belleville enters the week with a slim one-point lead over the Cleveland Monsters for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division. The Senators (35-27-3-5) have won back-to-back games and sit at 78 points through 70 games. Cleveland has collected points in seven straight and is at 77 points with only 69 games played.
 
Although the Sens have one fewer game remaining than Cleveland, Belleville has the benefit of playing five of its final six games at CAA Arena. The Senators are have the fifth-best home record in the AHL, posting a 21-8-1-3 record on home ice. They ride a 14-game home points streak (10-0-1-3) and they have not lost in regulation at home since Jan. 5 vs. Charlotte.
 
Rookie Drake Batherson paces the Senators with 58 points (22g, 36a) in 53 games. He only trails junior teammate Alex Barré-Boulet and Bakersfield's Tyler Benson for the rookie scoring lead in the AHL. He was credited with the only regulation goal against the Crunch last week and he has point in back-to-back games after logging just one point in the previous five games.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Crunch ripped home three power-play goals in six chances against the Comets on Saturday for their third game of the season with at least three power-play goals. They had most recently done it March 3 at Rochester (3-for-8). Saturday's outing snapped an 0-for-8 stretch over three games and put the Crunch in fifth in the AHL at 21.2%. They went 0-for-3 last Wednesday in Belleville and are 0-for-7 in two road games against the Senators this season.
 
After going 0-for-7 against the Crunch last week, Belleville ended the week with a 1-for-5 performance in its 3-2 overtime win at Hartford Saturday night. The Senators rank tied for 16th in the league with an 18.2% power play.
 
The Crunch were 7-for-7 against the Senators last Wednesday then allowed two goals in 14 total chances while shorthanded Friday and Saturday. They have faced the most power plays (340) in the league—the next closest team is Bridgeport (318)—but their penalty kill ranks fourth at 84.7%.
 
Although they blanked the Crunch last week, the Senators last-ranked penalty kill allowed two goals in three chances against Hartford and is operating at 76.2% on the season.