CRUNCH TAKE ON DEFENDING CHAMPS 
 
The Crunch begin a three-in-three weekend tonight as they host the defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
Both teams enter the first of two head-to-head meetings riding winning streaks; the Crunch have won four straight while the Bears have rattled off nine in a row. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Mitchell Chaffee scored twice and Hugo Alnefelt made 35 saves as the Crunch earned a 3-1 win over the Toronto Marlies at Coca-Cola Coliseum last Saturday.
 
Syracuse opened a 2-0 lead in the first period with a pair of tallies in the final four minutes of the frame. Joe Carroll potted a power-play goal at 16:17 to give the Crunch a 1-0 lead. He fired home his fourth goal of the season off a pass from Gage Goncalves, who then set up Mitchell Chaffee 2:21 later for Chaffee's seventh marker and a 2-0 lead.
 
After a goalless second period, Toronto's Logan Shaw cut the Crunch lead in half 1:56 into the third period. Bidding for an equalizer, the Marlies had a 44-second 5-on-3, plus a major power play, but the Crunch penalty kill delivered down the stretch. Then Chaffee scored a shorthanded goal at 16:21 to put the Crunch ahead 3-1, which stood as the final after Hugo Alnefelt made 18 saves in the third period.
 
The win capped a two-game sweep of a home-and-home series against the Marlies. 
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
The Crunch enter with a 12-5-0-2 record, sitting at second place in the North Division with 26 points. They are three points behind Cleveland for the top spot in the division, and they have a game in hand.
 
Syracuse has won four straight games, and seven of the last nine overall. Last season, the team had two winning streaks of at least four games, including two that went five games.
 
Mitchell Chaffee (8g, 9a) and Gage Goncalves (4g, 13a) are tied for the team lead with 17 points.
 
CHAFFEE CHUGGING ALONG
 
Mitchell Chaffee notched back-to-back multi-point games to lead the Crunch with four points (3g, 1a) last week. The winger opened the scoring Friday with a power-play goal, before adding an assist later in the game. He then potted two more goals Saturday in Toronto, getting the eventual game-winner in the first period and an insurance, shorthanded goal in the third period.
 
Chaffee has scored a goal in three straight games for the third time in his career. He is in a three-way tie for the team's goal scoring lead with eight, and his 17 points are also tied for the most on the Crunch.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARS
 
The defending Calder Cup champions lead the league with an 18-4-0-0 record, accumulating 36 points. The Bears ride a nine-game overall winning streak, and a six-game road win streak, both the longest in the AHL this season. Last season, Hershey's longest winning streak during the regular season was six games.
 
Mike Sgarbossa is on a four-game points streak (1g, 4a) and he paces the team with 22 points (4g, 18a) in 22 appearances this season. The veteran features in his 13th AHL season, and sixth with Hershey. He's totaled 415 points (155g, 260a) in 552 AHL games, along with 16 points (4g, 12a) in 65 games at the NHL level.
 
HELLO OLD FRIEND
 
Jimmy Huntington makes his return to Syracuse for the first time since playing for the Crunch during a three-year run from 2019 to 2022. 
 
Huntington started his professional career with the Crunch as an undrafted free agent after signing an entry-level deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The centerman played in 88 games, tallying 29 points (11g, 18a) for Syracuse. Huntington left Syracuse in a one-for-one trade with Nashville for former Crunch forward Anthony Richard. He signed an AHL contract with the Bears this offseason after spending the two previous seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals.
 
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
 
The Crunch have won four straight home games, including three during the team's current four-game overall winning streak. Syracuse is one of five AHL teams with at least six home wins and six road wins this season.
 
A STEADY START
 
The Crunch have moved into the second quarter of the season and stand at 12-5-0-2 one game into that segment of the schedule. That matches Syracuse's 19-game start in 2018-19, when the Crunch established a new franchise record for highest points percentage to end a season at 0.671.
 
The Crunch have made an eight-point improvement from their first 19 games of last season (7-8-2-2).
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD
 
The Crunch and Bears square off twice this season; they won't rematch again until March 16 in Hershey. The Bears won both meetings last season - 4-3 Jan. 8 in Hershey and 4-1 March 25 in Syracuse. 
 
Gabe Fortier was the only Crunch player with more than one point in the series, while veterans Mike Sgarbossa and Mike Vecchione both notched two goals for the Bears. 
 
Hunter Shepard won both starts, playing to a .935 save percentage.
 
CARROLL INKS AHL DEAL
 
Forward Joe Carroll signed a two-year, AHL contract with the Crunch this week. The 22-year-old began the season on a PTO with the team, and he has played in 15 of the team's first 19 games. He has collected six points (4g, 2a), plus a shootout game winner (Nov. 25 vs. Laval).
 
Carroll is the second player to successfully turn a PTO into an AHL contract with the Crunch this season, joining Brandon Halverson.