CRUNCH AND MARLIES OPEN WEEKEND SET 
 
The Crunch start another home-and-home series tonight when they host the Toronto Marlies at Upstate Medical University Arena. It's the fifth straight week with a home-and-home for the Crunch.
 
Syracuse has won back-to-back games – both at home – to finish with a 6-3-0-2 record in November.
 
The teams square off eight times in 2023-24, the most head-to-head since 2017-18. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Matt Tomkins made three saves on three shootout attempts to win in his Crunch debut as Joe Carroll provided the winner in a 4-3 victory over the Laval Rocket.
 
Felix Robert's power-play goal 1:14 into the first period staked the Crunch to a 1-0 lead. Laval survived the early surge, and then responded with a pair of goals later in the first to take a 2-1 lead into the break.
 
Mitchell Chaffee tied the game for the Crunch by potting a rebound off a strong move to the goal by Gage Goncalves 4:27 into the second period. Jan Mysak answered again to give the Rocket a 3-2 lead heading to the third.
 
Goncalves tied the score with a power-play goal at 7:28, giving him three points on the night. Following a shotless overtime, Carroll struck in the second round of the shootout for the Crunch, and Tomkins made that stick to seal the win. 
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
The Crunch enter with a 10-5-0-2 record, sitting at second place in the North Division with 22 points. 
 
Felix Robert leads the team with 16 points (7g, 9a) in 14 games. Robert has three points (1g, 2a) in two games since returning from an injury. The centerman marked his third power-play goal on Saturday against Laval; he's tied for the team lead in goals on the man advantage with Crunch captain Gabriel Dumont.
 
Goaltender Matt Tomkins gets the call again tonight for the Crunch. The 29-year-old made 21 saves in his Crunch debut last Saturday versus Laval. That marked a 925 day gap between his last AHL appearance, a 4-1 win with Rockford over Chicago on May 14, 2021. Tomkins played overseas in the SHL for two seasons prior to signing with the Lightning organization this summer. He made three appearances for the Tampa Bay Lightning, including his NHL debut (Oct. 15 at OTT) and his first career NHL win (Nov. 7 at MTL).
 
HOME COOKING
 
Tonight wraps up a three-game homestand for the Crunch. Syracuse opened with wins versus Utica (3-0) and Laval (4-3, SO) last weekend, extending its home winning streak to three games. They only had two such winning streaks on home ice last season.
 
The Crunch are 5-2-0-1 at home this season after finishing 17-11-7-1 at Upstate Medical University Arena in 2022-23.  
 
SCOUTING THE MARLIES
 
Toronto comes off consecutive losses past regulation, and the team is winless in the last four games (0-2-1-1). Last season, the Marlies didn't suffer a four-game winless spell until March, when the club won just two of its final 13 games. At 8-5-3-1, the Marlies have 20 points and rank fourth in the North Division.
 
Dylan Gambrell is the only player who currently holds points in consecutive games, totaling two points (1g, 1a). Gambrell is up to 10 points (2g, 8a) in 17 games played this season. The forward has spent the majority of his time in the NHL over the past four seasons, including last year with Ottawa. He recorded 10 points (4g, 6a) in 60 games for the Senators.
 
Zach Solow had a multipoint night in Toronto's last contest against Cleveland. The forward notched two points (1g, 1a) for the second time in his AHL career (also Feb. 23, 2022 vs. Manitoba). The 25-year-old now has three points (1g, 2a) in 12 games played this season.
 
GONCALVES' MILESTONE
 
Forward Gage Goncalves picked up his 100th career AHL point during a three-point performance Saturday versus Laval. The third-year-pro is at 101 points (33g, 68a) in 160 career games.
 
Goncalves has six career games with at least three points. Saturday, the 22-year-old grabbed assists on the team's first two goals before potting a game-tying goal in the third period. 
 
Goncalves leads the Crunch with 11 assists, and he is tied for second on the team with 14 points in 17 games.
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD
 
Tonight marks the first meeting this season between the Crunch and Marlies, and it's the first head-to-head match since Feb. 26, 2023. Last season, the Crunch faced the Marlies five times in their first 22 games.
 
Overall, both teams secured three wins in the series. The Marlies won twice in three tries in Syracuse (Oct. 28 and Dec. 9). 
 
Among Crunch returners, Gage Goncalves topped the Crunch with three points (1g, 2a) against Toronto. Alex Steeves grabbed five points (3g, 2a) in six games against the Crunch. 
 
Hugo Alnefelt earned one win – a shutout – in three appearances (1-1-0) versus the Marlies, while Keith Petruzzelli picked up all three wins against the Crunch.
 
Syracuse has won the last three regular-season series against Toronto, dating back to the 2019-20 season.
 
HOME-AND-HOME
 
The Crunch and Marlies face off in a home-and-home series this weekend; they play tonight in Syracuse and tomorrow at 4 p.m. in Toronto.
 
This is the fifth straight week the Crunch face the same opponent in consecutive games with the venue changing. It is also the second one requiring overnight travel for both clubs; the Crunch and Hartford Wolf Pack went from Syracuse to Hartford two weeks ago.
 
The Crunch have split their five previous back-to-backs against the same opponent, including a two-game set in Cleveland Oct. 20-21. They have won the first game three times.
 
Syracuse has another home-and-home on the docket next Saturday and Sunday against Utica.