CRUNCH HOST MARLIES FOR WEEKEND SET
 
The Crunch begin a weekend series against the Toronto Marlies tonight at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
Tonight marks the seventh of eight head-to-head matches between the teams. The Crunch have won all six previous matches; the two wins in Syracuse were both by one goal.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch fell to the Belleville Senators, 4-2, last Saturday at CAA Arena.
 
Belleville opened the scoring later in the first period when Garrett Pilon looped a pass to himself and snuck home a shot from the slot at 14:33.
 
Syracuse tied the score early in the second period. Waltteri Merelä forced a takeaway near the circle and Gage Goncalves grabbed the puck, curled toward the slot and fired home an equalizer at 1:21. 
 
The game turned back in the Senators favor when they scored back-to-back power-play goals, including one on a 5-on-3 advantage, in a 34-second span four minutes after the Crunch tied the game. Jack Finley responded with a power-play goal to make it 3-2 with just over a minute left in the middle frame.
 
Belleville stretched the lead with an end-to-end rush by Lassi Thomson 5:05 into the third. The Sens iced it with an empty-net goal to make it a 5-2 final. 
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
The Crunch return home for back-to-back games against the Marlies as they begin the penultimate weekend of the regular season. Syracuse has five games remaining and is in a tight battle for the top three positions in the division. The Crunch (38-23-4-2) begin the day in a tie for the division lead with 82 points, and they are only one point ahead of third place.
 
Over the final two weeks of the season, Syracuse has five games remaining. Three of the final five games will be played at home. The Crunch have won 18 games at home and 20 on the road. If they win two of their final three at home, it would mark the fourth time the Crunch have won 20 or more both at home and on the road in the same season (also 2005-06, 2017-18 and 2018-19).
 
CRUNCH ARE PLAYOFF BOUND 
 
The Crunch became the first team in the North Division to secure a playoff last week. It marks the 18th time the Crunch have qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs. It will be the third consecutive season in the playoffs; Syracuse has made the postseason every eligible season since 2016-17, but there were no playoffs held in 2020 or 2021. This will be the 10th time the Calder Cup Playoffs are contested since the Crunch affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2012-13; they have qualified eight times. 
 
Syracuse can still finish anywhere from first place to fifth place in the North Division. The top three teams in the division advance directly to the North Division Semifinals, while the teams finishing in fourth and fifth place face off in a play-in series. Syracuse last won a division title in 2018-19 and the Crunch's magic number to win the division is currently nine. 
 
SCOUTING THE MARLIES
 
Back-to-back losses (0-1-1-0) to Utica and Belleville have stymied Toronto's momentum a bit, but the Marlies remain in fourth place in the North Division. They are 32-23-10-2 and their 76 points are four clear for the final playoff position. Their magic number to clinch a playoff berth is six.
 
The Marlies are one of six teams with at least three 50-point scorers this season. Veteran Joseph Blandisi leads their trio with a career-high 56 points (25g, 31a). His previous best was last season's 39 points in 61 games for the Marlies. Logan Shaw tops the Marlies with 28 goals, which represents a new career high, and is tied for fifth in the AHL.
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD  
 
The Crunch and Marlies will continue and complete their season series with this weekend's two-game set in Syracuse. This is the fourth of four two-game sets this season. The Crunch have won all six matches; those six wins are tied for the most in a single season by one team in the series (Toronto, 2015-16).
 
With their top two goal scorers against Toronto - Joe Carroll (traded) and Gabriel Dumont (injured) - unavailable, Gage Goncalves is the top scorers for the Crunch in the series with seven points (2g, 5a). Topi Niemelä paces the Marlies with five points - all assists - against the Crunch.
 
Both Hugo Alnefelt and Matt Tomkins have earned three wins against Toronto. Dennis Hildeby, Keith Petruzzelli and Luke Cavallin have each started twice against the Crunch. 
 
FINLEY'S FINESS 
 
Crunch forward Jack Finley potted a goal in both games in Week 26. The second-year pro netted a pair of power-play tallies, giving him five man-up goals and 12 total markers on the season. He is one back of the team lead in power-play goals. 
 
Finley broke a 1-1 tie in the third period by stuffing home a pass from Gage Goncalves at 8:25. That held up as the game-winning goal, the first of Finley's career, in the Crunch's 3-1 win at Laval. He scored again Saturday at Belleville in the team's loss.
 
His 12 goals in 47 games matches his rookie total set in 67 games last season. His 30 points are tied for fourth among active players on the Crunch.
 
WALCOTT NAMED CRUNCH'S MAN OF THE YEAR 
 
Daniel Walcott has been named the Crunch's winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Syracuse community during the 2023-24 season.
 
Walcott is now one of 32 finalists for the AHL's 2023-24 Yanick Dupré Memorial Award, which will be announced by the AHL later this month.
 
This is the fifth time Walcott has been named the Crunch's IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year.