CRUNCH OPEN 2020 AGAINST MARLIES
 
The Syracuse Crunch (16-14-2-1) play their first game of 2020 against the Toronto Marlies (19-10-2-1) at the Upstate Medical University Arena Friday night.
 
This is only the second meeting between the teams this year. Back on Oct. 27, the Crunch beat the Marlies, 4-3, in overtime. Gemel Smith buried the game-winning goal 39 seconds into the extra frame. The Crunch make three trips to Toronto later this season, while the Marlies return to Syracuse once more on April 10.
 
ALL-STAR NOD 
 
Crunch forward Alex Barré-Boulet will represent the North Division in the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic, the league announced today. Barré-Boulet is the only Crunch player to be selected to the event that will be held in Ontario, California.
 
The second-year pro leads the Crunch with 27 points (12g, 15a) in 31 games. He finished with 68 points (34g, 34a) on his way to being named AHL most outstanding rookie. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch fell to the Devils, 5-3, in a New Year's Eve clash Tuesday night.
 
Syracuse got on the board first just 3:24 into the game with a power-play goal from Cory Conacher—a one-timer from the right circle directly off a faceoff win to start the power play. 
 
The Devils then rattled off four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead with 17:48 left in regulation. Michael McLeod tied things up at 13:03 of the first when he jammed home the puck in a net-front scramble, and then Dakota Mermis' slapshot gave Binghamton the lead with 2:12 remaining in the opening frame. The Devils added a goal in the second period and another early in the third to make it a three-goal advantage.
 
With two straight goals in the middle of the third, the Crunch pulled within one. At 8:42, Gemel Smith tipped the puck past former Crunch goaltender Louis Domingue off a backhand feed from Daniel Walcott. A few minutes later, Mathieu Joseph batted in the rebound off Cal Foote's shot from the point. However, Nathan Bastian spoiled the Crunch comeback with an empty-net goal in the final second of play to secure the victory for the Devils. 
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH 
 
Syracuse enters tonight's game with one point in its last three games. Since Dec. 20, the Crunch are winless in four of their last five games. Syracuse is currently sixth in the North Division with 35 points. Tonight starts a four-game stretch for the Crunch against teams ahead of them in the standings. 
 
Outside of All-Star Alex Barré-Boulet, the Crunch's most prolific scorers have been forwards Gemel Smith and Cory Conacher. Smith has tallied 24 points (11g, 13a) in 25 games, while Conacher has totaled 24 points (11g, 13a) in 29 games. Smith was on a tear three weeks ago when he earned CCM/AHL Player of the Week Honors. The Ontario native piled up five goals over three games Dec. 11-13, including his second career hat trick. Smith has a point in eight of the Crunch's last nine games.
 
In goal, Spencer Martin has played in the last three games for the Crunch. Overall, Martin is 5-8-1 with a 3.02 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage.
 
SCOUTING THE MARLIES 
 
Toronto kicks off the third three-in-three of its 2019-20 campaign in Syracuse sitting in third place in the North Division. The Marlies have earned a 9-8-0-0 record since former Calder Cup-winning head coach Sheldon Keefe was named head coach of the NHL affiliate Toronto Maple Leafs Nov. 20. More recently, the Marlies are 4-7-0-0 since new head coach Greg Moore stepped behind the bench in early December and have been outscored 10-2 during their latest two-game losing skid.
 
Winger Pontus Aberg stands tied for the team lead in scoring with 27 points (12g, 15a). After appearing in 112 NHL games and six AHL games over the previous two seasons, Aberg has spent more time in the AHL this season, skating in 27 games for the Marlies and three for the Maple Leafs. The 26-year-old Swede notched a goal and an assist in the Marlies' 4-3 overtime loss to the Crunch Oct. 27.
 
Jeremy Bracco is the only player to appear in all 32 Marlies games this season. The 22-year-old winger ranks third on the team with 26 points (3g, 23a) after leading the Marlies with 79 points in 75 games last season. Bracco was held pointless in Toronto's 4-1 loss to Cleveland on New Year's Eve, but he had assisted on five goals in his previous four games before that.
 
Kasimir Kaskisuo leads Marlies netminders with 10 wins, four shy of the career-high 14 wins he tallied in the 2017-18 season. The fifth-year pro has registered a 2.45 goals-against average and .916 save percentage in 16 appearances this year. Rookie Joseph Woll earned third star honors with 31 saves on 35 Crunch shots Oct. 27. The 21-year-old American left Boston College last March to sign with the Maple Leafs organization, and he owns a 6-6-2 record through 14 appearances between the Marlies' pipes this season.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS 
 
Maintaining a conversion rate of 20.4% (30-for-147), the Crunch slot in as the ninth-best power-play in the AHL. Syracuse is aided by Alex Barré-Boulet (5g) and Cory Conacher (4g), who have combined for nine of the team's man-advantage goals this season. The Crunch closed 2019 with a two-for-six performance on the power play against the Binghamton Devils on Tuesday. Conacher now has two man-up goals in his past four games. 
 
On the other side, the Marlies are sixth in the league with a power-play success rate of 21.5% (26-for-121). Toronto has three players-Egor Korshkov, Pontus Aberg and Kenny Agostino-tied for the team-lead with four man-advantage goals each. The Marlies did not register a power-play goal in six attempts during Tuesday's loss to Cleveland.
 
The Crunch's penalty-killing unit ranks second in the North Division and seventh in the league at 84.5%. The Devils notched one power-play goal-a 5-on-3 strike-on four tries against the Crunch earlier this week. Syracuse's penalty kill has allowed five goals in its last 11 man-down chances in the past two games.
 
Although the Marlies' swept aside six penalties on Tuesday, Toronto's penalty kill has been slumping this season at 80.2%, second-worst in the North Division and 24th in the AHL. They allowed one goal in seven chances to the Crunch in the teams' first meeting Oct. 27.
 
LIGHTNING FLASH 
 
The Tampa Bay Lightning are off tonight before resuming their current four-game road trip Saturday. The Lightning have won five-straight games, their longest winning streak of the season. The Bolts most recently beat the Canadiens, 2-1, at Bell Centre last night. Former Crunch goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 38 saves for the Lightning, who have won 13 straight against Atlantic Division opponents. This weekend, Tampa Bay wraps up its road trip in Ottawa and Carolina.