CRUNCH CONTINUE HOMESTAND  

The Crunch begin a three-game weekend tonight against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
It's the third game of the four-game series between the clubs. They split a home-and-home series in October and the home team won both contests.
 
Syracuse won the first two games of its four-game homestand, which ends tomorrow against Rochester.
 
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

Jack Finley scored a pair of third period goals and the Crunch downed the Laval Rocket, 3-2, Saturday at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
After giving up the opening goal to Florian Xhekaj at 12:10 of the first period, the Crunch dominated the contest and finished with a 43-18 shots advantage. Conor Sheary leveled the score with a power-play goal less than two minutes later.
 
A goalless second period gave way to two Finley goals at 3:12 and 7:31 of the third period to make it 3-1 Crunch. It marked his first career two-goal game. Sheary grabbed assists on both goals to finish with his second three-point game of the season.
 
A Laval goal with less than two seconds remaining made it a one-goal contest. Brandon Halverson earned his 13th win of the season.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH

Syracuse (22-17-7-4) enters tonight's contest in fifth place in the North Division with 55 points, one ahead of Belleville. The Crunch have won three of their last four games, including back-to-back home wins last weekend against Toronto and Laval. It marks Syracuse's first win streak since a four-game run from Dec. 27 to Jan. 3.
 
Center Jack Finley (7g, 8a) continued his hot stretch in last Saturday's 3-2 win over Laval. The Kelowna, BC native scored two goals and notched one assist. It marked his first career two-goal game and netted him his first game-winning goal of the season. Finley has scored a goal in four of the last seven contests, and he has nine points (5g, 4a) in that span. 
 
SHEARY CONTINUES TO DELIVER 

Veteran Conor Sheary paced the Crunch in scoring in Week 20 by collecting five points (1g, 4a) in two games. He earned two assists during the Crunch's 5-0 win Friday against Toronto and then posted three points (1g, 2a) in Saturday's 3-2 win over Laval. Sheary has nine multi-point games this season, including four in the last six games. 
 
Since the regular season resumed following the AHL All-Star Break, Sheary tops the Crunch and is tied for eighth in the AHL with 11 points (4g, 7a) in seven games. Overall this season he ranks second on the Crunch in goals (13) and points (35) in 38 games.
 
Sheary began his pro career with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins from 2013 to 2016. He compiled 81 points (27g, 54a) for W-B/Scranton before earning his recall to Pittsburgh.
 
NO DAYS OFF

The Crunch begin their second of three three-in-three weekend sets tonight. It's their first such weekend since Oct. 18-20, a three-game stretch on the road at Laval twice and at Belleville during the second weekend of the campaign.
 
Syracuse dropped the first two games of that set in Laval before earning a Sunday afternoon victory over the Senators. The Crunch will also play three straight days during the final weekend of March.
 
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS

The Penguins are approaching the end of a seven-game road trip that kicked off Feb. 16 at Lehigh Valley. After winning the first two contests, the Penguins have lost three straight (0-2-1-0), which is tied for their longest losing streak of the season. They've allowed five goals in all three losses.
 
The Penguins carry a 28-14-6-1 record into the weekend and they are in third place in the Atlantic Division with 63 points.

They have a potent offense that ranks second in the Eastern Conference at 3.47 goals per game. Their leading scorer, Emil Bemström, was recalled to Pittsburgh yesterday after posting 21 goals and 45 points for W-B/Scranton. Former Crunch forward Boris Katchouk (2018-22) has a career-high 19 goals, including a tally in four straight games.
 
Six different goaltenders have seen action, but Filip Larsson (8-4-3/2.54/.922) and Tristan Jarry (6-5-0/2.47/.913) are the two current goalies on the roster.
 
ANTHONY ANGELLO JOINS THE CRUNCH

The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired forward Anthony Angello from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Jesse Ylonen earlier this week. Angello grew up playing hockey in Syracuse. He skated for the Syracuse Jr. Stars of the Empire Junior Hockey League and Fayetteville-Manlius High School from 2011 to 2013.
 
Angello has skated in 41 games this season for the Milwaukee Admirals, logging 14 points (7g, 7a). He has appeared in 320 career AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Springfield and Milwaukee since turning pro at the end of the 2017-18 season. 
 
A fifth round pick by the Penguins in 2014, Angello played college hockey at Cornell from 2015 to 2018.
 
BRINGING OUT THE ORANGES

The Crunch will wear their alternate orange "SYR" jersey for the first time this season. They wore their orange jersey on three occasions last season, including once against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Crunch defeated the Penguins, 5-2, on March 22.
 
In the head-to-head series against the Penguins, the Crunch have won four straight while wearing their orange jersey dating to the 2015-16 season.