CRUNCH LOOK TO EXTEND STREAK TO FOUR 
 
The Crunch play the middle game of their three-in-three weekend tonight at they host the Hartford Wolf Pack at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
It's the final game of the two-game season series between the teams; Syracuse took the first game, 7-3, Jan. 28 in Hartford.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch earned their third straight win, 3-2, last night versus the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
 
Alex Barré-Boulet potted the first goal on the game's first power play at 9:53 of the opening frame. A quick passing sequence between Gabriel Dumont and Simon Ryfors resulted in a backdoor feed to Barré-Boulet, who deposited his 17th goal of the season. The Penguins tied the game with a power-play goal of their own off the stick of Alex Nylander at 12:46. 
 
Syracuse took control of the game in the second period to grab a 3-1 lead. Rudy Balcers broke the tie by roofing a puck near the top of the crease for his third goal of the season at 4:37. Later in the period, Jack Finley found Lucas Edmonds in the slot for a one-timer to make it 3-1.
 
The Penguins scored with their goalie pulled late in the third period to cut the score to 3-2, but Max Lagace ended with 26 saves to earn his third straight win for the Crunch.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
The Crunch enter tonight on their fifth win streak of at least three games this season. This comes on the heels of a five-game losing streak, so the Crunch have stabilized to a 24-18-4-3 record. They are third place in the North Division with 55 points; they are two points behind Utica for second place and still have three games in hand on the Comets.
 
Syracuse continues its third three-in-three weekend tonight. The Crunch wrap up their three games in three days set tomorrow afternoon at Toronto. Last night's win snapped a five-game home losing streak.
 
With a goal last night, Crunch forward Alex Barré-Boulet upped his point total on the season to 62-good for third in the AHL. The fifth-year-pro has goals in consecutive games, and has logged at least a point in 10 of his previous 11 games.
 
He has pulled within two points of the league lead by rattling off 18 points (7g, 11a) in the last 11 games since Jan. 28. 
 
EDMONDS FINDING HIS STRIDE
 
Crunch forward Lucas Edmonds has seen an uptick in production of late. The rookie scored a goal in last night's victory over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, raising his total to 12 points during the regular season.
 
Edmonds has now scored four goals over the previous three games, thanks in large part to his first career AHL hat trick in last Saturday's 8-5 win over Utica. He has two game-winning goals in the last three games, and his three total are tied for the most on the Crunch with Daniel Walcott.
 
A 2022 third round pick of the Lightning, Edmonds is tied for the most goals among rookies on the Crunch. Both he and Jack Finley have seven goals this season. The North Bay, Ontario native scored a whopping 113 points across 68 games last season in the OHL with the Kingston Frontenacs.
 
SCOUTING THE WOLF PACK

Hartford comes into tonight's contest winners of three straight, most recently securing a 5-1 victory over Springfield on Wednesday night. Forward Lauri Pajuniemi recorded a hat trick in the win.
 
Despite their three-game win streak, the Wolf Pack come into tonight's contest in seventh place out of eight Atlantic Division teams. Hartford's 53 points (22-20-3-6) is ahead of only Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the Atlantic.
 
The power play has been amongst the biggest concerns for the Wolf Pack this season. Hartford converts at the lowest rate in the AHL while on the man advantage, at just 14.4% (26-for-181).
 
Forward Tanner Fritz paces Hartford in points. The 31-year-old has notched 30 points this season, with four goals and 26 assists. Fritz has collected seven assists over his previous seven contests.
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD
 
The Crunch took down the Wolf Pack, 7-3, in the first match on Jan. 28 at the XL Center. Syracuse had seven different goal scorers, including Gabe Fortier, who paced the Crunch with three points (1g, 2a). 
 
The Wolf Pack scored a pair of power-play goals (2-for-4) in the game, but they were limited to 15 total shots in the loss. Syracuse did not have a power-play chance in the game. 
 
The Crunch are now 8-0-0-1 in the last nine games against the Wolf Pack. Their last regulation loss to the Wolf Pack came Dec. 21, 2016.
 
FRIEND TURNED FOE
 
Tonight marks the second night in a row the Crunch could face one of their former goaltenders. Last night, the Crunch bested Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Dustin Tokarski, who spent part of the 2012-13 campaign with the Crunch.
 
Tonight, Hartford comes to town with Louis Domingue, who donned a Crunch sweater in 2017-18 and again in 2019-20. He posted a 15-6-1 record in 22 Crunch games, including a 13-5-0 record with a 2.17 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in 2017-18.
 
POWER PLAY CLICKING
 
Syracuse has registered at least one power-play goal in each of the last three games. In total, Ben Groulx's squad has logged five power-play goals across 11 chances during this three-game winning streak.
 
Simon Ryfors' six power-play scores are the most among Crunch players this season. Ryfors lit the lamp for a power-play goal in last Saturday's win over Utica-one of two goals he scored in the 8-5 victory.
 
Syracuse has now raised its conversion rate to 19.5% this season, which is tied for 15th out of 32 AHL teams.