CRUNCH AND AMERKS OPEN PLAYOFF SERIES  
 
The Crunch square off against the Rochester Americans in Game 1 of the North Division Semifinals tonight at Upstate Medical University Arena. 
 
The best-of-5 series begins with a back-to-back in Syracuse tonight and tomorrow. It shifts to Rochester next Friday for Game 3 and, if necessary, Sunday, April 30 for Game 4. A winner-take-all Game 5 would be in Syracuse on May 6.
 
GET IT GOING IN GAME 1
 
Tonight marks the opening match of the Crunch's 28th playoff series in franchise history. The Crunch are 14-13 all-time in Game 1's of playoff series, including a 4-4 mark under head coach Ben Groulx.
 
When winning Game 1, the Crunch are 7-7 in 14 playoff series. They are 4-9 when they drop the first game; their last series win when losing Game 1 was the 2017 North Division Semifinals against St. John's, when the Crunch rattled off three straight wins to capture the best-of-five series, 3-1.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
The Crunch finished the regular season with points in eight of their final 10 games (5-2-2-1). They ended the campaign with a 35-26-7-4 record, good for 81 points and second place in the North Division. Syracuse finished with more road wins (18) than home wins (17) for just the third time in franchise history; the last time it happened was in 2012-13 and the team ended up advancing to the Calder Cup Finals.
 
Alex Barré-Boulet capped off his record breaking regular season with three points (1g, 2a) over the final three games. With two points in the season finale, Barré-Boulet broke his tie with Carter Verhaeghe to establish a single season franchise record with 84 points (24g, 60a). He came up one point shy in the race for the AHL scoring title (Michael Carcone).
 
Barré-Boulet's fifth season with the Crunch saw him set new all-time franchise records for goals (109), assists (174) and points (283), while moving into the top-10 in game played (eighth, 271). 
 
SCOUTING THE AMERICANS
 
The Americans won their regular season finale in Cleveland to finish with a 36-27-6-3 record. They also had 81 points, but finished third behind the Crunch, who won the tiebreaker of regulation wins. The Amerks had an equal number of wins at home and on the road (18), and they gobbled up points in eight of their final 10 games (6-2-2-0).
 
Lukas Rousek topped the Amerks in scoring with 56 points (16g, 40a) in 70 games. With Brandon Biro out with an injury for the final month of the season, Rousek had eight points (1g, 7a) in his final nine games to leapfrog Biro for the scoring lead. Rousek also led the team with 21 power-play points (3g, 18a).
 
Malcolm Subban is likely to start Game 1 of the playoffs for the Amerks after appearing in 39 games during the regular season. Subban went 20-14-5 with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage in his first season for Rochester. Subban has 11 Calder Cup Playoffs games on his resume; he last played a playoff game with the Providence Bruins in the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals against the Crunch.
 
PLAYOFF HISTORY
 
The Crunch embark on their 17th playoff journey in franchise history. They've qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs in 17 of 27 possible seasons (no playoffs were held in 2020 or 2021). The Crunch have made the playoffs each season since 2016-17, which is tied with Charlotte for the second-longest active streak in the AHL (Providence, 2012-13).
 
The Amerks are back in the playoffs for the 48th time in team history, and for the fourth straight season since 2017-18. Last season, the Amerks won two playoff rounds, defeating the Belleville Senators in a two-game sweep of their first round series before outlasting the Utica Comets in the North Division Semifinals. They were swept by the Laval Rocket in the North Division Finals. The Amerks have won six Calder Cups, with their last coming in 1996.
 
This is the fifth playoff meeting between the Crunch and Amerks. Rochester won the first three series (1996, 1997 and 2004), but Syracuse won the most recent in the 2018 North Division Semifinals.
 
PREPPED FOR A RUN
 
The Crunch have a chunk of players on their roster who skated in at least one playoff game last season for the Crunch. That includes goaltenders Max Lagace and Hugo Alnefelt, plus captain Gabriel Dumont. This will be Dumont's fifth playoff season in Syracuse; he enters the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs with 35 career playoff games for the Crunch, which ranks second in team history (Matt Taormina, 40).
 
The Crunch have two Calder Cup champions on their roster. P.C. Labrie won with the Norfolk Admirals in 2011 and Trevor Carrick with Charlotte in 2019.
 
SEASON SERIES
 
The Crunch and Amerks played an even regular season series that saw both teams grab six wins head-to-head. Rochester started the series strong, with wins in five of the first seven matches. The Crunch got hot toward the end of the series and rattled off four straight wins before the Amerks won the series finale in overtime. Both teams scored 36 goals in the series.
 
The home team won only four of the 12 games (4-4-3-1). The Crunch were 2-3-1-0 at Upstate Medical University Arena and the Amerks went 2-1-2-1 at Blue Cross Arena.
 
Simon Ryfors was the Crunch's leading scorer against the Amerks with 10 points (2g, 8a) in 12 games. Eighteen different Crunch skaters scored a goal versus the Amerks. Rochester had 19 different goal scorers, but it was Jiri Kulich and Brett Murray who tied for the team lead with five goals apiece.
 
Max Lagace appeared in 11 of the 12 games against the Amerks and posted a 5-3-1 record. He went 4-0-1 in the final five games, recording a .930 save percentage. Malcolm Subban started seven games and went 3-2-2 against the Crunch.