CRUNCH FACE DIVISION-LEADING LAVAL
 
The Syracuse Crunch take on the Laval Rocket tonight at Place Bell. It's the first of eight meetings between the teams.
 
Syracuse was passed by Laval last week for the top spot in the North Division. The reigning division champions are tied with Rochester and are two points clear of the Crunch for first place.
 
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 lost their second straight game in a 4-1 setback to the Belleville Senators Saturday night.
 
Syracuse gave up an early goal to fall behind 1-0 less than two minutes into the game. The Senators added a power-play goal later in the period for a 2-0 lead. 
 
Another Belleville power-play goal early in the third period made it 3-0 before Syracuse finally scored via the power play to cut the deficit to 3-1. Dylan Duke potted his fourth power-play goal of the week for the Crunch.
 
Syracuse pressed with 16 shots in the final frame but couldn't get closer than within two before the Senators iced it with an empty-net goal. The Crunch finished with a 35-14 shots advantage in the loss.
 
FREQUENT FLIERS
 
The Tampa Bay Lightning have shuttled five players up from Syracuse over the past week. Forwards Scott Sabourin, Boris Katchouk and Jakob Pelletier earned recalls to the Lightning last week. Sabourin remains up with the Lightning and has two points (1g, 1a) in four games. Katchouk and Pelletier were returned to the Crunch ahead of this trip to Laval.
 
The Lightning also recalled defensemen Declan Carlile and Steven Santini yesterday. Carlile tops Crunch defensemen with 10 points (2g, 8a) and Santini is tied for the team lead with a plus-7 rating. Both players dressed in the Lightning's 5-1 win over New Jersey last night.
 
Additionally, the Lightning reassigned defenseman Dyllan Gill and forward Milo Roelens from Orlando to Syracuse. Chris Harpur was also recalled to the Crunch from Orlando.
 
SCOUTING THE ROCKET
 
The Laval Rocket have won two straight games and are tied for first place in the North Division with 20 points (10-5-0-0). The reigning North Division champions are trying to become the first North Division team to repeat as division champions since the Toronto Marlies finished in first place three consecutive seasons from 2011-12 to 2013-14. 
 
Laurent Dauphin led the Rocket with 26 goals last season, and he's picked up where he left off. He has nine goals and 16 points in 15 games to lead the Rocket in both categories. His nine goals are one off the AHL lead. He has set the tone with the game's first goal three times, which is also one off the top spot in the AHL.
 
Rookie Jacob Fowler and veteran Kaapo Kahkonen have formed an excellent duo in net, combining for a .920 save percentage as a team. Fowler — who made his pro debut in Syracuse late last season — has six wins and three shutouts this season.  
 
PROVINCIAL HOMECOMING
 
The Crunch's first trip to the Province of Quebec is a homecoming of sorts for several players. Lucas Mercuri was born and raised in Montreal, playing at the AAA level in Chateaugauy before following a path to the NCAA in the United States. 
 
Although born in Arizona, Ethan Gauthier grew up in Quebec and played his youth hockey in Drummondville. Jakob Pelletier grew up a few hours away in Quebec City. Milo Roelens was raised in Quebec after being born in Belgium.
 
Defenseman Matteo Pietroniro was born in Boise, Idaho and grew up in Arizona before moving to Quebec as a teenager.
 
DUKE'S DYNAMITE WEEK
 
Forward Dylan Duke led the Crunch in scoring with four goals and five points last week. He matched a team record with three power-play goals on Nov. 11 at Utica for his first career hat trick.
 
He scored another power-play goal in Saturday's loss to the Senators. He is now tied with Jakob Pelletier for the team lead with four power-play goals. He scored three power-play goals all last season during a 20-goal rookie campaign. He tops the team in goals (7) and points (15) over 15 games played.