CRUNCH TARGET SWEEP OF WOLF PACK
 
The Crunch and Hartford Wolf Pack go head-to-head for the second straight night as the series shift to the XL Center in Hartford.
 
The Crunch grabbed the opening game of this weekend set last night, 5-3, at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Gabriel Dumont and Daniel Walcott scored twice to lead the Crunch to a 5-3 win over the Wolf Pack at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
Max Groshev opened the scoring for the second straight game 9:32 into the first period. He wired home a shot from the left circle for a 1-0 lead. Hartford responded with the next two goals. Jonny Brodzinski tied the game on the power play and then Anton Blidh was credited with a goal off a pinballing puck for a 2-1 Hartford advantage heading into the first intermission.
 
The Crunch netted the lone second period goal. Phil Myers held the puck in at the right point and his play to the net was tipped home by Daniel Walcott.
 
Walcott struck again early in the third on a perfectly executed give-and-go with Gabriel Dumont. The Pack once again leveled the score with a power-play goal, but Dumont potted a pair later in the third to give the Crunch the lead for good. Dumont finished with four points, while Walcott had three in the win. 
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
The Crunch are on their second three-game winning streak of the season (also Oct. 13-20) and they have earned a standings point in seven of the last eight games (5-1-0-2). Syracuse moved into first place in the North Division with 18 points, putting the Crunch one point clear of Cleveland.
 
The Walcott-Dumont-Groshev line carried the day for the Crunch yesterday, scoring all five Crunch goals. Dumont became the first Crunch player this season with four points (2g, 2a), and finished plus-5, which is tied for the highest in a game this season. His last four-point game was Feb. 26, 2022 vs. Utica.
 
Walcott finished with his fourth career multi-goal game, and his second career three-point outing (also Oct. 22, 2022 vs. Rochester). 
 
POTENT VS. STINGY
 
Tonight's matchup features the top scoring team in the AHL in the Crunch (3.92 goals per game) against the top defensive team in the league in the Wolf Pack (2.29 goals allowed per game).
 
Last night's 5-3 Crunch win was only the third time this season Hartford has allowed five goals in a game. They have allowed two or fewer goals in nine of their 14 games played this season, and they are 8-1-0-0 in those nine contests.
 
Syracuse has scored at least four goals in nine of its 13 games this year, and the Crunch are 8-0-0-1 in those games. 
 
SCOUTING THE WOLF PACK
 
The Wolf Pack have crisscrossed the Northeast as play their third game in four days. After a morning win on home ice Wednesday, they dropped last night's match in Syracuse before returning home today. The Wolf Pack (8-4-2-0) have only lost consecutive games once this season (Oct. 27-28) and they are in second place in the Atlantic Division with 18 points.
 
Jonny Brodzinski scored a pair of power-play goals - his ninth and tenth tallies of the season - last night in Syracuse. Half of the veteran's 10 goals have been scored via the man advantage, and Brodzinski is tied for second in the league in goals.
 
Hartford will likely turn to the veteran Louis Domingue in net tonight. Domingue is 4-1-0 with a 1.60 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage in five starts this season. He has allowed eight total goals, with four coming in one start (Oct. 27 vs. Springfield).
 
TAKING ON THE ATLANTIC
 
Today is the fifth of five straight Crunch games against Atlantic Division foes. Syracuse is 4-1-0-0 so far against the Atlantic Division in 2023-24. The Crunch swept their two-game series with Bridgeport (Oct. 14 and Nov. 14), split a home-and-home with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last weekend and opened this home-and-home with a win over Hartford last night.
 
In 21 total games between Atlantic and North Division clubs, the Atlantic has 11 wins to the North's 10. The Crunch's four interdivisional wins are the most among the two divisions. 
 
MAX MAKES IT HAPPEN
 
Syracuse winger Max Groshev continued his hot streak last night. The 2020 third-round pick notched the game's first goal for the second straight game, extending his goal streak to three games. He has six goals in the three games. 
 
Groshev has recorded at least one point in seven of the last eight games, and he is tied for the AHL scoring lead with 12 points (7g, 5a) in that span, dating back to Oct. 28.
 
The Crunch are 4-0-0-1 when the Russian scores a goal and 6-0-0-2 when he logs a point. 
 
Groshev ranks third in the AHL among rookies with 13 points, and is second with eight goals.
 
THIRD PERIOD SHOWDOWN
 
Last night, the Crunch posted three third period goals for the second time this season (also Nov. 1 at Rochester), and it came against a Hartford team that, entering yesterday, had allowed a league-low seven goals in the third period all season.
 
It was the Crunch's second win this season (2-0-0-0) when entering the third period tied (Oct. 14 vs. Bridgeport). The Wolf Pack lost a game when tied after two periods for the first time this season (2-1-0-0).
 
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
 
The Crunch make their lone trip of the season to the XL Center, where they won, 7-3, last January. That marked the club's fifth straight win in Hartford, and Syracuse has scored 27 goals in that span. 
 
The Crunch's last regulation loss at the XL Center came on Oct. 18, 2015.
 
KOEPKE RECALLED
 
Crunch forward Cole Koepke was recalled to Tampa Bay prior to last night's game. It's the first recall of the season for Koepke, who has six points (3g, 3a) in 11 games this season. He had one goal in 17 games with the Lightning last season. 
 
The Lightning also loaned forward Waltteri Merelä to the Crunch. Merelä has averaged 10:34 of ice time, but has yet to secure a point in 14 games for the Lightning this season. The 25-year-old signed as a free agent this summer after winning back-to-back championships in Finland.