CRUNCH MATCH UP WITH MONSTERS
 
The Syracuse Crunch take on the Cleveland Monsters at Rocket Arena in the first of two games between the clubs this week.
 
The teams are slated to play four times this season. After this two-game set in Cleveland they will face off in Syracuse twice in March.
 
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 grabbed a 5-3 win over the Utica Comets Saturday at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
Ten players found the scoresheet, led by Jakob Pelletier's second straight two goal game. He and Wojciech Stachowiak scored in the first period to open a 2-1 advantage. 
 
After the Comets tied the game at two, Matteo Pietroniro put the Crunch back in front for good in the second period. Pelletier extended the lead with a power-play tally and Mitchell Chaffee capped the scoring with a strike in the third period. 
 
Syracuse improved to 5-0-0-0 against the Comets, and Brandon Halverson earned his ninth win of the season.
 
PELLETIER PUMPING OUT POINTS
 
Jakob Pelletier finished November scorching hot. The winger rattled off a trio of multi-point games to top the Crunch with six points (4g, 2a) in Week 8. He has posted four straight multi-point games overall, and he carries a six-game scoring streak into December.
 
Pelletier has 11 points (5g, 6a) during his scoring streak to move into a tie for second in the AHL with 24 points this season. He is one of just three players in the AHL with at least 10 goals and at least 10 assists so far this season. The Crunch are 11-3-0-0 this season when Pelletier registers at least one point.
 
SCOUTING THE MONSTERS
 
The Monsters complete a difficult back-to-back tonight against the Crunch. They played in Grand Rapids last night and lost to the Griffins, 4-1, for their third straight loss. That moves the Monsters below 0.500 (6-7-3-1) for the first time this season. Cleveland ranks sixth in the North Division with 16 points, but the Monsters have played the fewest games in the AHL.
 
The Monsters have struggled on home ice this season. They've earned only one home win (1-5-2-1) and have been outscored 32-21 at Rocket Arena. Conversely they are 5-2-1-0 on the road with a plus-1 goal differential (19-18). 
 
Two of Cleveland's top three scorers — Luca Del Bel Belluz (5-6—11) and Luca Pinelli (5-5—10) — are on recall to Columbus. Mikael Pyyhtia is their top scorer with 12 points (3g, 9a) in 15 games.
 
DEFENSIVE MEASURES
 
Defenseman Simon Lundmark was reassigned to the Crunch from Tampa Bay following last weekend's slate of games. Lundmark was unavailable for the Crunch's games Friday and Saturday after he was swapped on the Lightning roster with fellow defenseman Max Groshev. Groshev was on recall and missed the Crunch's game last Wednesday at Utica.
 
Groshev was recalled to the Lightning prior to their game yesterday at New York, but he was returned yesterday. Without a coresponding move the Crunch now have the services of three of the six defensemen who played in their season opener at Hershey.
 
HALVERSON RECALLED TO LIGHTNING
 
Goaltender Brandon Halverson was recalled to the Tampa Bay Lightning today. The netminder is tied for the league lead with nine wins, and he has victories in his last four starts. He is 9-4-0 this season with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.
 
Syracuse signed goaltender Kevin Mandolese to a PTO. The 25-year-old joins the Crunch in Cleveland having played one game this season. He earned a win over the Crunch while playing for the Charlotte Checkers in November. Mandolese is 40-34-5 in his AHL career while playing for Belleville, Colorado and Charlotte.
 
WOJO STREAKING
 
Crunch forward Wojciech Stachowiak netted goals in all three games last week to carry a three-game goal scoring streak into Cleveland. It's the longest goal streak for any Crunch player so far this season.
 
Stachowiak is tied for second on the Crunch with eight goals. He has 13 points in 20 games during his first pro season in North America.