CRUNCH SQUARE OFF AGAINST SENATORS

The Crunch look to salvage the final game of their three-in-three weekend this afternoon against the Belleville Senators at CAA Arena.
 
Syracuse suffered its second straight loss at the hands of the Laval Rocket, 1-0, yesterday afternoon at Place Bell.
 
Belleville, which was idle on Friday, faced off against Utica last night in the Senators home opener, grabbing a 5-4 win.
 
LAST TIME OUT

A first period goal by Laval's Owen Beck stood as the game-winning tally in a 1-0 Rocket win over the Crunch yesterday at Place Bell.
 
Syracuse finished with 23 shots on goal while suffering its first shutout loss of the season. After mustering only five bids in the first period, the Crunch fired nine in both the second and third periods, but Connor Hughes shut the door for his first career AHL shutout in only his second ever start in North American pro hockey.
 
Brandon Halverson kept the Crunch close all game, finishing with 19 saves on 20 shots, but Beck beat him with a snipe from the right circle at 12:48 of the first period for his first pro goal and the decisive marker. 
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH

With their back-to-back losses against the Rocket to begin the weekend, the Crunch have fallen to 2-2-0-0 this season. The Crunch hope to avoid a third straight loss in this three-in-three weekend; the Crunch first three-game winless streak last season came in November (0-1-0-2), but they didn't lose three in a row in regulation until Dec. 9-13. 
 
Syracuse was shut out only two times in the regular season all of last year (Nov. 10 and March 27). However, including the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Crunch have taken a pair of 1-0 shutout losses in their last seven games (also Game 1 of the North Division Finals vs. Cleveland).
 
Syracuse is also looking to avoid falling below 0.500 for the first time since the 2022-23 season. The last time they ended a game with a record below 0.500 was when a regulation loss at Belleville slid the Crunch to 7-8-2-2 on Dec. 2, 2022.
 
LOOKING TO BREAK THROUGH

The Crunch were shut out last night in part because of a sputtering power play to begin the season. After an 0-for-5 night against the Rocket, the Crunch are now 0-for-16 on the season. They are one of three teams without a power-play goal so far along with Rochester and Bakersfield.
 
Syracuse went 0-for-7 in its win against Belleville last week. 
 
The Crunch have been sharp on the penalty kill through four games. They have allowed two power-play goals — both coming Friday in Laval — and they have killed off 15-of-17 to begin the season.
 
TEASDALE REACHES PRO MILESTONE

Crunch forward Joel Teasdale is poised to reach a milestone in his pro career today as the Crunch face the Belleville Senators. Teasdale enters the day with 199 career pro games played; he has 197 AHL games and two NHL appearances since turning pro in 2019-20.
 
The 25-year-old joined the Crunch on a PTO prior to the start of the season and has picked up two points (1g, 1a) in four games. In 197 AHL games, Teasdale has accumulated 99 points (54g, 45a) for Laval, Iowa and Syracuse.
 
He skated in two games for the Montreal Canadiens in the 2022-23 season, earning one assist.
 
THREE-IN-THREE

The Crunch will conclude the first of three three-in-three weekend sets today at Belleville. Syracuse had three instances last year and earned at least a win all three weekends; they went 4-5-0-0 in the nine total games over the three weekends, including a 1-2-0-0 mark in the Sunday finales.
 
The Crunch not gone winless in a three-in-three weekend since Jan. 6-8, 2023. They lost a shootout against Belleville before taking regulation losses to Rochester and Hersey.
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD  

The Crunch and Senators go head-to-head for the second time in just over a week following last Saturday's shootout win for the Crunch in their home opener.
 
Joel Teasdale scored the lone regulation goal for the Crunch. That tied the score at one after Jan Jenik opened the scoring with a first period goal for the Senators.
 
Matt Tomkins and Mads Sogaard dueled their way to a shootout with 57 combined saves on 59 shots. Jaydon Dureau scored the lone goal in the shootout for the Crunch.
 
Syracuse earned only one win in eight tries last year against Belleville. That included an 0-2-0-2 record at CAA Arena. The Crunch are winless in their last six games in Belleville; their last win was on Nov. 19, 2022.
 
SCOUTING THE SENATORS

The Senators have picked up five of six possible standings points in 2024-25 and are one of four teams without a regulation loss this season. Belleville (2-0-0-1) held off the Comets for a 5-4 win last night in the Sens home opener. 
 
Cole Reinhardt led the way with a goal and two assists; he had a hand in the first three goals as the Senators opened a 4-0 lead. Reinhardt leads the team with two goals and five points in three games this season.
 
Leevi Merilainen improved to 2-0-0 on the season with a win last night. He's allowed six goals in two games. Mads Sogaard, who started last Saturday against the Crunch and who picked up six wins in seven starts against Syracuse last year was recalled to Ottawa. Michael Simpson backed up Merilainen last night; if he starts today in the second game of a back-to-back it would be his pro debut. The 21-year-old won two straight OHL championships with Peterborough (2022-23) and London (2023-24).