CRUNCH AND ROCKET RENEW HOSTILITIES
 
The Crunch play the second of back-to-back home games tonight as they host the Laval Rocket at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
It wraps up the first of nine home back-to-backs for the Crunch this season.
 
Tonight marks the first of eight head-to-head meetings; last season the Rocket won six of the eight matches.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch fell to the Utica Comets, 4-2, last night at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
Utica jumped out to a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the first period. Shane Bowers tipped a shot past Hugo Alnefelt just 46 seconds into the game for a 1-0 lead. Max Willman cashed in on a 2-on-1 rush to make it 2-0 at 4:54.
 
The Crunch seized control for the next 30 minutes to pull even. Jack Thompson – who had one goal disallowed in the first period – made it 2-1 with a power-play goal at 14:01 of the first period. Max Crozier tied the score 4:06 into the second period.
 
The Comets re-claimed the lead on a Robbie Russo left circle one-timer in the second frame. Graeme Clarke iced it with a power-play goal during a late major penalty in the third period. 
 
ROBERT ROLLS ON
 
Crunch forward Felix Robert was held without a goal for the first time this season, but he extended his points streak to five games with a helper on the team's second goal. 
 
Robert's five-game streak is a new career high. He had a four-game streak Dec. 10-21, 2022.
 
Robert leads the Crunch in scoring with six points (4g, 2a) in five games.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
The Crunch are 3-2-0-0 after they dropped their second game in as many contests last night. Syracuse fell to Utica, 4-2, for its first home loss of the season. It stands tied for third place in the North Division behind Rochester and Toronto.
 
Two players notched their first goals of the season yesterday. Jack Thompson (1g, 3a) got on the board during a power-play score late in the first period. The defenseman has produced points in four of five contests this year. Max Crozier (1g, 1a) recorded his first AHL goal with a game-tying score early in the second period. 
 
Mitchell Chaffee continues to be an effective offensive weapon for the Crunch. The Michigan native picked up his fifth assist in five games on the Thompson score. 
 
BOUCHARD'S OLD BUNCH
 
Tonight will be the first time that current Crunch head coach Joel Bouchard faces off against his old club. Bouchard served as head coach for the Rocket from 2018 to 2021. In those three season, Bouchard guided Laval to an 83-67-14-10 record, good for a 0.546 points percentage. 
 
The Rocket improved each season under Bouchard, culminating in a Canadian Division title during the 2020-21 season in which the Rocket went 23-9-3-1 and had the second highest points percentage in the AHL. Jan Mysak is the only player remaining on Laval's current roster who played under Bouchard in 2020-21.
 
SCOUTING THE ROCKET
 
Laval (1-4-1-1) enters Saturday's contest in last place in the North Division, and playing its third straight road game. The Rocket lost their second in a row last night to the Rochester Americans, 7-4. Logan Mailloux  scored his second goal in as many contests. Mattias Norlinder (1g, 1a) notched his first score since a Feb. 18 overtime loss to Belleville.
 
Lias Andersson has been on a roll in his first season in a Rocket uniform. The Sweden native has nine points in six games. After going pointless in an opening night loss to Abbotsford, Andersson has four multi-point contests in the last five games. He has three two-goal games, including last night. The seventh overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, Andersson has 166 career AHL games played with Hartford, Ontario and Laval. He has another 110 NHL games with New York ® and Los Angeles.
 
Andersson and AHL leading scorer Joshua Roy (5-7-12) pace the league's top offense, which averages 4.60 goals per game. Laval, however, has also allowed a league-high 5.00 goals per game.
 
CAPABLE CROZIER
 
Defenseman Max Crozier (1g, 1a) notched his first professional goal in last night's 4-2 loss. The score was a game-tying goal early in the second period.
 
The Calgary native spent the last four years at Providence College, where he served as a co-captain last year. During his NCAA tenure, Crozier recorded 71 points in 119 games. He was a two-time Hockey East Defender of the Week selection and back-to-back Hockey East Third Team All-Star honoree.
 
Crozier won the USHL's Clark Cup Championship in 2019. He scored 43 points in 60 regular season games and 11 points in 12 playoff contests for Sioux Falls. 
 
Crozier is a fourth round pick by the Lightning in the 2019 NHL Draft. He signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 21, 2023. Crozier notched three assists in nine games with the Crunch to wrap up the 2022-23 season.
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD
 
The Rocket have had the Crunch's number in recent seasons. After starting the all-time series with a 9-3-1-1 record against Laval from 2017 to 2019, Syracuse is just 6-12-3-0 in the last 21 regular season meetings. The Rocket won six of the eight games against the Crunch in 2022-23, with the Crunch going 2-5-1-0.
 
Mitchell Stephens is the top returning scorer for the Rocket from last year's series against the Crunch. A former member of the Crunch, Stephens posted six points (2g, 4a) in eight games against Syracuse. 
 
Daniel Walcott is the top returning scorer for the Crunch. He also notched six points (3g, 3a) in the season series.