CRUNCH MATCH UP AGAINST COMETS
 
The Syracuse Crunch play their third straight road game tonight when they face off against the Utica Comets at the Adirondack Bank Center.
 
The clubs reach the halfway point of their season series tonight. Syracuse has won all five games of the series so far, including both previous contests in Utica.
 
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 tied the game late, but they lost in overtime to the Cleveland Monsters, 3-2, Saturday afternoon at Rocket Arena. It capped a winless two-game set against the Monsters.
 
The teams traded goals in the first period with the Monsters striking first at 5:57. Jakob Pelletier answered at 17:35 off a setup by Nick Abruzzese to level the score at one.
 
The Monsters grabbed the lead early in the second period with a strike by Corson Ceulemans. The 2-1 advantage stood until the final minute or regulation when Mitchell Chaffee fired home a rebound to tie the game at two.
 
Cleveland capitalized on a power play at 4:47 of overtime to pull out the 3-2 win.
 
CAPTAIN RETURNS
 
Crunch captain Steven Santini has returned from the Tampa Bay Lightning following a three-week stint with the Bolts. Santini played in seven games for the Lightning, adding one assist, to bring his NHL career total to 131 games played.
 
Santini missed seven Crunch games while on recall to the Lightning. The team went 4-2-1-0 in those games, but they allowed at least three goals in all but one of those games. They had given up three or more eight times in the first 15 games of the season.
 
SCOUTING THE COMETS
 
The Comets have earned points in three straight games (2-0-1-0), which is their longest run of the season. They earned wins over Rochester and Bridgeport before falling in overtime to Lehigh Valley. Utica has struggled to score this year to the tune of 2.15 goals per game, which ranks 30th in the AHL. The Comets have improved recently by scoring three or more goals in five of the last six games.
 
A quartet of Comets are tied with five points over the last six games, but Xavier Parent and Mike Hardman lead the way with three goals in that span. Parent is their leading scorer on the season with 12 points (6g, 6a) in 20 games.
 
Nico Daws has started nine of the last 10 games and 13 of 20 games overall this season for the Comets. He is 3-7-3 with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .888 save percentage.
 
TWO NEW DEFENSEMEN ADDED TO CRUNCH
 
The Crunch have two new defensemen on the roster ahead of tonight's game. Syracuse signed veteran blueliner Jarred Tinordi on Monday. The 33-year-old has skated in 664 games between the NHL and AHL since he turned pro in 2012-13. He skated in 30 games last season for the Calgary Wranglers before suffering a season-ending injury in February.
 
Ethan Samson joins the Crunch after being acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Roman Schmidt late Monday. Samson has 142 career games to his name for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he had 40 points (15g, 25a). 
 
SABOURIN RECALLED TO LIGHTNING
 
Forward Scott Sabourin has been recalled to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He skated in his fourth game of the season for the Lightning last night and fought Montreal's Josh Anderson.
 
The veteran has played 17 games this season for the Crunch posting four goals and six points.