CRUNCH START FIRST THREE-GAME WEEK
 
The Crunch make their first trek to Canada this season to take on the Belleville Senators at CAA Arena.
 
It's the first of eight head-to-head meetings, but it is the only one until February. The teams will meet seven times over the final 12 weeks of the season, beginning on Feb. 2. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch twice tied the game in the third period, but lost in a shootout to the Rochester Americans, 5-4, Saturday at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Crunch began to claw back into the game, starting with a Cole Koepke shorthanded goal only 18 seconds into the second period. The Amerks countered that goal with a tally to make it 3-1, but Gabe Fortier potted one just over midway through to make it 3-2.
 
Daniel Walcott leveled the game 2:47 into the third period. Jiri Kulich's power-play goal put the Amerks back in front at 12:43, but the Crunch tied the score again with only 2:27 left in regulation. Fortier pounced on a rebound for his second goal of the night to send the game into overtime.
 
After a scoreless overtime, the Amerks cashed in on their two shootout chances to win the game 5-4. The Crunch outshot the Americans, 46-23, in the loss.
 
ROBERT'S STREAK CONTINUES
 
Felix Robert continued his season-opening point streak with three points (1g, 2a) over two games in Week 4. The center recorded his third multi-point outing of the season with one goal and one assist Wednesday at Rochester. He then added an assist on the game-tying goal in Saturday's shootout loss to the Amerks. 
 
Robert's career-high scoring streak is good for the second-longest in the league so far in 2023-24. He leads the Crunch in scoring with 11 points (6g, 5a) in eight games this season.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
The Crunch have collected points in their last three games (2-0-0-1) and enter their three-game week at 5-2-0-1. With 11 points, the Crunch are in fourth place in the North Division, although their 0.688 points percentage ranks second.
 
Syracuse has fared well on the road. Through four road games, the Crunch are 3-1-0-0 and have outscored their opponents 18-9. Their lone road loss was a 4-2 setback Oct. 21 at Cleveland. Hugo Alnefelt has made only one road start and he stopped all 35 shots he faced in a 5-0 win Oct. 20 at Cleveland. 
 
Cole Koepke, Gabe Fortier and Daniel Walcott all tallied for the Crunch in their last game. It was Koepke's second career shorthanded goal. Fortier finished with two goals for his third career multi-goal performance (first since Jan. 16 vs. Utica). Walcott has scored a goal in three straight games and in five of eight games played this season.
 
FIRST GOAL MATTERS
 
Eight games into the Crunch season, and the team that has scored first has won all eight. The Crunch have netted the first goal in five games, while their opponents have opened scoring three times. 
 
In fact, there have been zero lead changes all season in Crunch games. There have been several ties, but the lead has never changed hands.
 
The Senators have scored first in four of their eight games this season; they are 2-2-0-0 in those games.
 
SCOUTING THE SENATORS
 
Following a come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton over the weekend, the Senators are 4-3-0-1 this season. Nine standings points puts the Sens in fifth place in the division. Belleville has only played three divisional games so far, the second-fewest in the North (Cleveland, 2); the Senators are 2-0-0-1 versus North Division teams. 
 
Matthew Highmore, a free agent addition this summer, leads Belleville with seven points (2g, 5a) in eight games. Four of his seven points have come on the power play. Garrett Pilon leads the team with three goals in six games played.
 
Mads Sogaard is off to a 3-2-0 start in net. He has a 2.15 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage, which includes a 30-save shutout in the season opener at Hershey.
 
THE BOUCHARD EFFECT
 
In three of his four previous seasons as an AHL head coach, Joel Bouchard has had his teams finish either first or second in shots allowed per game. That trend seems to be taking shape with the Crunch this season, with the team tops in the AHL allowing 25.25 shots per game.
 
In 2018-19, Bouchard's Laval squad finished second in shots allowed at 26.46 per game. They then finished first in both 2019-20 (26.82) and 2020-21 (23.61). The lone outlier was his one season in San Diego, when the Gulls finished 18th (30.53). 
 
FINLEY BACK IN ACTION
 
Forward Jack Finley made his season debut in Saturday's loss to the Rochester Americans. The second-year-pro missed the start of the season while recovering from an injury suffered near the end of the 2022-23 regular season. He nabbed an assist in his first game of the campaign.
 
Selected with the 57^th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Lightning, Finley finished his rookie season with 21 points (12g, 9a) in 67 games prior to his injury on April 12. He had scored goals in four of his final six games prior to the injury. 
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD
 
The Crunch and Senators both went 3-2-0-1 head-to-head last season. The Senators earned two wins in three home games at CAA Arena, with the most recent one a 4-2 decision Feb. 15.
 
All six games were decided by two or fewer goals.
 
The two teams will not rematch until a two-game set in Syracuse Feb. 2-3.