CRUNCH IN SEARCH OF CONSECUTIVE WINS 
 
The Crunch look for back-to-back wins as they make their lone trip of the season to the PPL Center in Allentown to face the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
 
Syracuse routed the Laval Rocket on home ice last night ahead of this second foray into Pennsylvania in less than a week.
 
This is the first game of a two-game season series and it marks the Crunch's only visit to the PPL Center this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Seven different players scored for the Crunch as they blew past the Rocket, 7-3, last night.
 
Despite trailing twice in the first period, the Crunch rallied back with goals from Cole Koepke and Shawn Element in the opening frame. The Crunch then pulled away in the second period, scoring three goals in the opening half of the period to chase starter Joe Vrbetic. Their goals came from Gabriel Dumont, Gage Goncalves and Trevor Carrick in the decisive stretch.
 
Alex Barré-Boulet and Simon Ryfors both scored power-play goals in the third period to cap the six-goal run for the Crunch to give the team a 7-2 lead. Laval nabbed one back, but Max Lagace shut the door to earn his first win since Dec. 3.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
The Crunch snapped out of their funk to earn their first victory since Dec. 21, snapping their five-game winless streak (0-4-0-1). The win moved the Crunch to 14-13-2-3 and they now have 33 standings points. 
 
They try to tackle their struggles on the road tonight. The Crunch have lost three straight road games and enter play with a 5-8-0-2 record on the road this season. A trip to the PPL Center could be the remedy; the Crunch are 12-3-0-1 historically against Lehigh Valley, including a 5-3-0-0 record on the road.
 
The Crunch were spurred on by the return of defenseman Trevor Carrick, who had not played since Dec. 7 due to a lower-body injury. The veteran returned from his 10-game absence and scored his fifth goal of the season to extend his personal scoring streak to five games (1g, 5a) dating to Nov. 26.
 
ELEMENT ROLLS ON
 
Forward Shawn Element's first period goal last night extended his goal-scoring streak to four games. After scoring once in each game of the Crunch's three-in-three weekend, Element tied the game last night for the first of six straight Crunch goals. The streak is now the longest by a Crunch player this season; the longest in the AHL this season is six games (Jakob Pelletier, Calgary).
 
The Crunch had three players—Gabriel Dumont, Cole Koepke and Charles Hudon—record goal streaks of at least four games last season. The longest streak during the Lightning affiliation belongs to Alex Killorn at six games in 2012-13.
 
The second-year-pro is sixth on the Crunch with eight goals this season. He has six goals in the last 10 games since Dec. 10, leading the Crunch in goal scoring in that span. Element has 14 points (8g, 6a) in 26 games this season.
 
MYERS BACK WHERE IT BEGAN
 
Last night, defenseman Phil Myers logged his first three-assist and three-point game since April 7, 2019, when he was a member of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Myers played the first four years of his pro career in the Philadelphia Flyers organization as an undrafted free agent. He saw action with the Phantoms for three seasons, appearing in 109 regular season games and adding 58 points (14g, 44a) between 2017 and 2020. 
 
Tonight is his first game against the Phantoms and his first time as a visitor at the PPL Center.
 
SCOUTING THE PHANTOMS
 
The Phantoms have earned points in four straight games (2-0-1-1) to improve to 16-13-3-2 this season following an overtime loss to Bridgeport last night. With 37 points, the Phantoms are in fifth place in the Atlantic Division. 
 
They have earned points in seven of their first nine matches (5-2-1-1) against North Division teams this season. Their only regulation losses are at Belleville (Nov. 4) and at Utica (Dec. 30).
 
Tyson Foerster scored twice last night in their overtime loss. He ranks second on the team in scoring with 23 points (11g, 12a) in 34 games and only trails Olle Lycksell, who has 24 points (6g, 18a) in just 23 games.
 
Felix Sandstrom is down on a conditioning loan with the Phantoms. He has started each of the last four games and has played to a 2.67 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.
 
BB'S HELPING HAND
 
Alex Barré-Boulet scored a goal and added an assist in last night's Crunch win to give him a helper in four straight games. 
 
Barré-Boulet has now tied Brad Moran on the Crunch's all-time assist list with 143. He is now four points away from tying Moran for the franchise's all-time scoring record (241).
 
The fifth-year-pro is second on the Crunch this season with 38 points (9g, 29a) in 30 games.
 
RYFORS BREAKS OUT
 
After picking up just two points in the previous seven games, Simon Ryfors got back on track with a career-high four-point game (1g, 3a) last night. His three assists also matched a career high (March 16, 2022 vs. Hartford).
 
The Swede took sole possession of the team's goal scoring lead with 13 tallies and he ranks fourth on the Crunch with 30 points in 32 games.
 
ROAD WARRIOR
 
Quietly, defenseman Declan Carlile has been a very productive player on the road for the Crunch. The rookie has picked up at least one point in eight straight road games dating to Nov. 5. He has 10 points (4g, 6a) in that streak, which is tied for the second longest active road streak in the league. Teammate Darren Raddysh had a 10-game run, which is the longest by a Crunch player this season.
 
Ten of Carlile's 13 points this season have come on the road.