CRUNCH SKID REACHES FOUR GAMES
The Crunch returned from the AHL All-Star Break and came up short in a pair of games, seeing their losing streak hit four (0-3-1-0). It's the third time this season they've gone at least four straight games without a win.
Their two-game week began in Laval on Friday. After scoring first, the Crunch gave up the final three goals, including two in the third period, as the Rocket won, 3-1. It was the Crunch's ninth straight regular season loss (0-7-2-0) at Place Bell.
The following night, the Crunch completed their back-to-back with a 4-1 home loss versus Rochester. The Crunch were held to just one goal for the second straight game; Syracuse has been limited to no more than one goal only five times all season.
The Crunch remain in third place in the North Division with 49 points. They are 21-17-4-3 and are 4-4-2-0 in the last 10 games.
TOP PERFORMERS
Gabe Fortier scored the Crunch's lone goal in their loss to the Rochester Americans Saturday night. It gives the third-year-pro 10 goals this season, making him the seventh player on the team with at least 10 tallies. They are the seventh team in the league with at least seven 10-goal scorers.
Fortier, 23, has recorded 21 points (10g, 11a) in 42 games this season. He scored 14 goals in 72 Crunch games last season.
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Rudolfs Balcers netted his first Crunch goal Friday at Laval. The veteran winger opened the scoring in the first period, converting off a pass from
Gabriel Dumont, for his first AHL goal since Feb. 22, 2020 with Belleville. Balcers, who originally was assigned to the Crunch on a conditioning loan Jan. 15, is now in Syracuse on a regular assignment and he has five points in 10 games.
The Latvian born forward has also played for Belleville and San Jose in his AHL career, totaling 120 points (57g, 63a) over 153 games. He was acquired by the Tampa Bay Lightning via waivers in November and added one goal in three games with the Bolts before suffering an injury.
JERSEY SWAP
Following the All-Star Break, the AHL has made the switch from white jerseys at home to dark jerseys at home. Syracuse unveiled it's alternate orange jerseys Saturday; the team will also wear blue and several specialty jerseys over the final two months of the season.
Syracuse is 10-6-0-2 in blue jerseys, with six straight wins. The Crunch are 10-10-4-1 wearing white jerseys, with five straight losses. They are 0-1-0-0 in orange and 1-0-0-0 in specialties (lavender).
HOME SLUMP
The Crunch have lost five straight home games since their last home win Jan. 16. They have been outscored 18-10 in the five games.
The Crunch's longest home losing streak in franchise history is seven games from Feb. 19 to March 24, 2000.
UPCOMING: BELLEVILLE|UTICA|ROCHESTER
The Crunch go right back on the road for three straight games against North Division foes. Syracuse has struggled within its division this year with a 13-13-2-3 record that is only better than Belleville (14-15-3-1) among divisional opponents.
The Crunch start the week against the Senators tomorrow. It's the Crunch's final visit to CAA Arena this season; the teams have split four games overall, including a pair in Belleville. A lot has changed for the Senators since the last meeting, which the Sens grabbed, 3-2, in a shootout on Jan. 6. Belleville replaced head coach Troy Mann with interim coach David Bell following their game Feb. 2. Since then, Belleville is 0-2-1-0 and has sunk to last place in the North Division with 39 points and a 17-24-4-1 record.
The Crunch follow that with their third trip of the season to the Adirondack Bank Center, where they have earned two wins against the Comets. The Crunch have won five of the first seven head-to-head games (5-1-1-0) following a 4-3 shootout triumph in Utica Feb. 1. The Comets enter the week four points ahead of the Crunch in the division, having played two more games than the Crunch.
The Crunch end the week Sunday afternoon in Rochester. It's the second meeting in just over a week for the teams following the Amerks' 4-1 win in Syracuse on Saturday. Rochester has grabbed five of seven head-to-head meetings, including each of the last two.
WEEK 18 RESULTS
Friday, February 10 | Game 44 at Laval | L, 3-1
Syracuse 1 0 0 - 1 Shots: 9-20-11-40 PP: 0/2
Laval 1 0 2 - 3 Shots: 6-11-6-23 PP: 1/4
1st Period-Balcers 1 (
Dumont, Barré-Boulet), 7:53. . . .
Alnefelt 12-7-1 (22 shots-20 saves) A-8,234
Saturday, February 11 | Game 45 vs. Rochester | L, 4-1
Rochester 1 0 3 - 4 Shots: 14-11-5-30 PP: 1/4
Syracuse 0 0 1 - 1 Shots: 8-13-12-33 PP: 0/2
3rd Period-Fortier 10 (
Raddysh, Day), 8:11. . . .
Lagace 8-8-5 (29 shots-26 saves) A-5,961
| Category |
Average/Total |
AHL Rank (Prev) |
| Power Play |
17.9% (26-for-145) |
T-19th (21st) |
| Penalty Kill |
80.8% (147-for-182) |
T-16th (16th) |
| Goals For |
3.53 GFA (159) |
7th (4th) |
| Goals Against |
3.27 GAA (147) |
21st (21st) |
| Shots For |
31.67 SF/G (1425) |
6th (7th) |
| Shots Against |
30.47 SA/G (1371) |
16th (19th) |
| Penalty Minutes |
16.69 PIM/G (751) |
3rd (3rd) |
| Category |
|
Leader |
| Points |
55 |
Barré-Boulet |
| Goals |
17 |
Ryfors |
| Assists |
40 |
Barré-Boulet |
| PIM |
89 |
Smith |
| Plus/Minus |
+24 |
Carlile |
| Wins |
12 |
Alnefelt |
| GAA |
2.33 |
Alnefelt |
| Save % |
.923 |
Alnefelt |
| North Division |
GP |
W |
L |
OTL |
SOL |
PTS |
PCT |
GF |
GA |
PIM |
HOME |
ROAD |
LAST 10 |
STREAK |
S/O |
| 1. Toronto |
47 |
32 |
12 |
2 |
1 |
67 |
0.713 |
167 |
147 |
611 |
13-7-0-1 |
19-5-2-0 |
6-3-1-0 |
2-0-1-0 |
3-1 |
| 2. Utica |
47 |
23 |
17 |
5 |
2 |
53 |
0.564 |
137 |
141 |
567 |
12-8-2-2 |
11-9-3-0 |
3-6-0-1 |
0-1-0-0 |
1-2 |
| 3. Syracuse |
45 |
21 |
17 |
4 |
3 |
49 |
0.544 |
159 |
147 |
751 |
10-8-4-1 |
11-9-0-2 |
4-4-2-0 |
0-3-1-0 |
2-3 |
| 4. Laval |
47 |
20 |
19 |
6 |
2 |
48 |
0.511 |
168 |
167 |
568 |
12-5-5-2 |
8-14-1-0 |
6-1-2-1 |
3-0-0-0 |
1-2 |
| 5. Rochester |
43 |
22 |
18 |
2 |
1 |
47 |
0.547 |
133 |
146 |
432 |
11-10-1-0 |
11-8-1-1 |
3-6-1-0 |
1-0-0-0 |
1-1 |
| 6. Cleveland |
44 |
19 |
20 |
3 |
2 |
43 |
0.489 |
144 |
167 |
554 |
10-10-2-0 |
9-10-1-2 |
5-4-1-0 |
2-0-0-0 |
3-2 |
| 7. Belleville |
46 |
17 |
24 |
4 |
1 |
39 |
0.424 |
146 |
174 |
761 |
10-11-1-1 |
7-13-3-0 |
2-6-1-1 |
0-2-1-0 |
4-1 |
