CRUNCH FINALLY BACK ON HOME ICE
 
The Syracuse Crunch begin their only home weekend of December with a match up against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms tonight at Upstate Medical University Arena. 
 
Tonight is the first of four head-to-head meetings this season. The teams split their four-game set last season.
 
BROADCAST COVERAGE
 
Streaming: Pay-to-watch video via AHLTV on FloHockey | www.syracusecrunch.com/watch
Television: CNY Central — CW6 beginning at 7 p.m.
Radio: ESPN Radio Syracuse | www.espncny.com beginning at 6:45 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Crunch lost their third straight game, 3-2, to the Utica Comets Wednesday at the Adirondack Bank Center.
 
Utica got a pair of goals from Dmitry Osipov and one from Seamus Casey. Osipov's first gave the Comets a 1-0 lead in the first period. Nick Abruzzese tied the game off the rush at 11:09 of the second period. It was his sixth goal of the season.
 
Osipov and Casey tallied for the Comets in the final four and a half minutes of the second period to make it 3-1. Jakob Pelletier struck with five minutes left in regulation to cut the Crunch deficit to one, but they were unable to tie the game.
 
PELLETIER PILING UP THE POINTS
 
Left wing Jakob Pelltier is on a roll coming into tonight's matchup. The 24-year-old recorded his 10th multi-point game after scoring one goal and notching an assist against Utica on Wednesday.
 
He leads the Crunch with 28 points and sits in first on the team in both goals (12) and assists (16). He is tied for second overall in the AHL in scoring. The former first round pick signed a three-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning as a free agent after finishing last season with the Philadelphia Flyers.
 
SCOUTING THE PHANTOMS
 
Lehigh Valley (12-8-1-2) enters tonight's game in third place in the Atlantic Division. The Phantoms have won one of their last five games, a 3-2 overtime win against Utica last Saturday.
 
The Phantoms are led in scoring by left wing Anthony Richard with eight goals and 18 points. The veteran has been held pointless in two straight games for only the second time this season (also Oct. 22-29).
 
Between the pipes, Lehigh Valley has alternated between Aleksei Kolosov and rookie Carson Bjarnason for seven straight games. Kolosov is 6-6-1 with a .898 save percentage and a 2.87 goals-against-average. Bjarnason is 5-2-2 record with a .906 save percentage. He is sixth overall among rookie goaltenders with a 2.70 goals-against-average.
 
SAMSON JUMPS RIGHT IN
 
Defenseman Ethan Samson made his Crunch debut and collected an assist on Wednesday against the Comets. He was acquired on Monday from the Philadelphia Flyers in a trade for Roman Schmidt.
 
Samson has spent the two previous seasons with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. After being injured in training camp this season, Samson returned to action in mid-November and had four assists in 10 games for the Phantoms prior to the trade. The former sixth round pick has 40 points (15g, 25a) in 142 games for the Phantoms since 2023-24.
 
ROMAN SCHMIDT RETURNS TO CUSE
 
On Monday, Tampa Bay traded defenseman Roman Schmidt to Philadelphia in exchange for defenseman Ethan Samson. Schmidt could make his Phantoms debut tonight; the team has not played since his acquisition.
 
Schmidt skated in 13 games with the Crunch this season with only one assist. Over three years in Syracuse, the 22-year-old appeared in 63 games and scored three goals and four assists.