CRUNCH LOOK TO FEAST ON SENATORS
The Crunch are home for a pre-Thanksgiving matchup against the Belleville Senators at Upstate Medical University Arena.
It's the fifth head-to-head meeting already this season. The Crunch have won three of the first four games.
Syracuse enters after a pair of one-goal home setbacks last week, while Belleville split a home-and-home series against the Laval Rocket.
BROADCAST COVERAGE
Countdown to Crunch Time at 6:45 p.m.
Streaming: Pay-to-watch video via AHLTV on FloHockey |
www.syracusecrunch.com/watch
Radio: ESPN Radio Syracuse |
www.espncny.com
LAST TIME OUT
The Crunch erased a two-goal deficit in the third period before falling in a shootout to the Hershey Bears, 5-4, Saturday at Upstate Medical University Arena.
The Bears capitalized on a sluggish Crunch start for two goals in the first period to open a 2-0 lead. It stayed that way until late in the second period when
Niko Huuhtanen circled the zone and fired home his sixth goal of the season at 15:59.
After Hershey stretched the lead back to two on a 2-on-1 goal early in the third, Huuhtanen deposited his second tally of the night at 11:59 to make it 3-2. Pierrick Dube potted a power-play goal with 6:02 remaining to put the Bears up 4-2.
Tobie Bisson sniped a response 22 seconds later to make it 4-3. The Crunch tied the score when
Dylan Duke tipped a
Derrick Pouliot shot at 17:34 to make it 4-4.
After a frantic overtime, the Bears scored the only shootout goal over four rounds to win the game.
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
The Crunch came up short in a pair of one-goal games last week, earning one standings point in a shootout loss Saturday against the Bears. Syracuse has earned points in four of the last five games (2-1-0-2) and is 7-6-1-2 this season. The Crunch have 17 points this season and are in sixth place in the North Division.
Half of the Crunch's games this season — eight of 16 — have been decided by one goal. The Crunch are 2-3-1-2 this season in games decided by one goal, and they have ended up on the wrong side in four straight instances (0-1-1-2).
HUUHTANEN TAKING OFF
Niko Huuhtanen maintained his scoring touch in Week 7 by pacing the Crunch with three goals in two games.
Huuhtanen began his week by scoring a game-tying power-play goal in the third period of Friday's 4-3 setback against the Utica Comets. He followed that with a two-goal performance to spark a comeback bid that netted the Crunch a valuable standings point in Saturday's shootout loss to the Hershey Bears.
The Finnish forward has scored five goals over the last five games. He has a pair of two-goal games in that span; he has recorded half of the team's four multi-goal games this season. His seven goals this season rank third in the AHL among rookies.
Huuhtanen was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the last pick, 224th overall, in the 2021 NHL Draft. He spent the past two seasons playing in Finland's Liiga, and he earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2022-23.
POULIOT PACES THE CRUNCH
Derrick Pouliot continues to find the scoresheet for the Crunch and he notched two multi-point outings in Week 7.
The defenseman had two third period helpers as the Crunch erased two deficits before losing to the Comets. He then had two more assists on Saturday, including the primary assist on the Crunch's game-tying goal late in the third period which forced overtime.
Pouliot leads the Crunch with five multi-point games this season, and he paces the Crunch in scoring with 14 points (3g, 11a) in 16 games. He ranks fourth in the AHL among defensemen in scoring.
The veteran is coming off a career-high 46 points (9g, 37a) in 64 games last season for the Texas Stars.
SCOUTING THE SENATORS
The Senators split a two-game weekend home-and-home against the Laval Rocket last week. They are 7-3-0-4 this season and are in fifth place in the North Division with 18 points.
They won the road portion of that home-and-home with the Rocket to improve to 4-0-0-2 on the road this season. They are one of two AHL teams (Hershey, 8-0-1-0) without a regulation loss on the road this season.
Belleville's leading scorer, Cole Reinhardt, is on recall with Ottawa and scored his first NHL goal two days ago. Garrett Pilon leads active Sens with 13 points (1g, 12a) in 14 games; seven of those have come in four matches with the Crunch.
Malcolm Subban has been the goalie of record in six straight games, including five straight starts, since Nov. 8. The veteran is 3-2-1 with a 2.68 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage this season.
TURNING THE TIDE AT HOME
The Crunch are looking to end their five-game winless spell on home ice. The Crunch won their first three home games this season, but they have gone 0-3-0-2 in the last five home contests since then.
Their last home win was Nov. 1 when they bested the Hartford Wolf Pack, 3-2, in overtime.
The Crunch have had a five-game winless streak in each of the last two seasons. They went 0-3-2-0 from Jan. 21 to Feb. 11, 2023 and again from Dec. 9, 2023 to Jan. 12, 2024.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Crunch have won three of the first four head-to-head meetings with the Senators this season. After the first game was decided in a shootout, the last three have been decided by three goals or more.
Derrick Pouliot (3g, 4a) and Garrett Pilon (1g, 6a) are tied for the series lead with seven points apiece. Pouliot and Angus Crookshank lead the way with three goals.
