CRUNCH AIM TO REBOUND AGAINST MONSTERS
 
The Crunch hope to recover from last night's overtime defeat as they rematch with the Cleveland Monsters tonight at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
 
Cleveland erased a two-goal deficit in the final three minutes to stun the Crunch in overtime and earn their second win in two efforts against Syracuse this season.
 
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 Monsters overcame three two-goal deficits to stagger the Crunch, 5-4, in overtime last night in Cleveland.
 
The Crunch opened a 2-0 lead with two quick goals late in the first period. Steven Santini shot home a rebound to open the scoring at 17:39. Just over a minute later, Dylan Duke tipped home a pass from Niko Huuhtanen at 18:53 for a 2-0 advantage. The Monsters struck late in the period when Joseph LaBate tipped a point shot for a power-play goal with 7.5 seconds left in the period.
 
Gabriel Szturc put the Crunch back up by two 56 seconds into the second period with his first professional goal. Another power-play goal by the Monsters seven minutes later cut the Crunch lead to 3-2.
 
It remained 3-2 halfway through the third period until Szturc potted his second of the game at 10:20. Syracuse carried a 4-2 lead deep into the third, but Luca Del Bel Belluz connected with two goals in barely a minute with 2:11 and 1:05 left in regulation to force overtime. Corson Ceulemans sniped the overtime winner at 2:36 to give the Monsters an improbable win.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
The Crunch's season-high winless spell stretched to four games (0-1-2-1) with their overtime loss last night, although they have earned a standings point in three straight games for only the second time all season. Syracuse has one win in the last seven games (1-2-2-2) and is 3-2-2-3 over the last 10 games.
 
With 22 points in 21 games, the Crunch rank sixth in the North Division.
 
Derrick Pouliot logged his second straight multi-point game with a pair of assists last night. He has a team-leading 19 points (5g, 14a) in 21 games and has posted seven multi-point outings this season. He has five points (2g, 3a) during an active three-game scoring streak. 
 
CLOCKING OVERTIME HOURS
 
Last night was the Crunch's eighth overtime game of the season through 21 games played (38.1%). Only Lehigh Valley (9) and Toronto (9) have played overtime more frequently than the Crunch.
 
The Crunch won their first two games that went past regulation — a shootout win on Oct. 12 and an overtime win on Nov. 1. Since then, the Crunch have lost six straight games that have gone to overtime; three have gone into shootouts and three were decided in the overtime period.
 
Their 0.250 win percentage in overtime games is tied for the third-worst among teams that have played at least two overtime games this season.
 
Six of their eight overtime games have been played on home ice. They are 0-2 on the road in overtime.
 
The Crunch are 2-3-3-3 overall in one-goal games this season.
 
SCOUTING THE MONSTERS
 
The Monsters grabbed sole possession of first place in the North Division with their comeback win against the Crunch last night. They are 15-6-0-1 this season after earning their third win this season when trailing after two periods (3-6-0-1).
 
Cleveland improved to 6-1 in games decided after regulation this season. The Monsters are 7-0-0-1 in one-goal games this season.
 
Second-year-pro Luca Del Bel Belluz sparked the rally with the final two goals of regulation to erase a 4-2 deficit. They marked the 12th and 13th goals of the season for Del Bel Belluz, who already has four more than he had his entire rookie campaign. Del Bel Belluz ended the Crunch's season with a late go-ahead goal in Game 3 of the North Division Finals last year, breaking a 4-4 tie in the series clincher. 
 
PK WOES  
 
The Crunch allowed a pair of power-play goals for the second straight game. They've allowed at least one goal in seven straight games and in 10 of the last 11. During this seven game stretch, the Crunch have allowed 11 power-play goals in 35 chances (68.6%).
 
Syracuse's penalty kill is operating at 77.7% (73-for-94) one year after finishing with an 83.9% penalty kill, which was tied for eighth in the AHL.
 
Opponents have scored a power-play goal in 14 of the Crunch's 21 games this season.
 
DUKE SHINES IN CLEVELAND  
 
Dylan Duke notched one goal and two assists for his second three-point game of the season last night. Duke — who grew up in neighboring Strongsville, Ohio — attended Monsters games as a kid. His three-point night was in front of close to 50 friends and family in attendance. 
 
The University of Michigan product is tied for the Crunch lead with eight goals and he ranks third with 15 points. 
 
SZTURC CHUCKS THE MONKEY OFF HIS BACK   
 
Rookie Gabriel Szturc finally broke through for the first two goals of his pro career last night against the Monsters. The 21-year-old scored the Crunch's third and fourth goals of the game for his first two tallies of the season. 
 
Szturc joins a growing list of Crunch players to score their first North American pro goals this season. In addition to Szturc, the list includes Niko Huuhtanen, Dylan Duke, Milo Roelens, Dyllan Gill and Roman Schmidt.
 
Szturc ranks fourth on the Crunch with 11 points (2g, 9a) in 21 games this season.