CRUNCH HEAD BACK TO UTICA

Less than a week after suffering an overtime loss in Utica, the Crunch return to the Adirondack Bank Center for a rematch against the Comets tonight.
 
Utica has won four straight in the season series, and the Comets lead the series with five wins in eight games overall. They go head-to-head again on Wednesday in Syracuse.
 
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 Comets prevailed with a 5-4 overtime win against the Crunch in a back-and-forth affair Sunday afternoon at the Adirondack Bank Center.
 
The teams went without a goal in the first period but then combined for five in the second period. Steven Santini opened the scoring with a 4-on-4 goal at 2:56 of second period. Utica rattled off three straight over the next 10 minutes to grab a 3-1 lead. 
 
The Crunch responded with a power-play goal from Jack Finley at 16:20 of the second period. That was the first of three straight Crunch goals, which gave them a 4-3 lead in the third period. Santini tied the game with his second goal of the game at 7:42 of the final frame. Max Crozier delivered a power-play goal 22 seconds later to make it 4-3.
 
The Comets tied the game with less than 40 seconds left in regulation and then Adam Beckman scored at 1:59 of overtime to give Utica the win.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH

The Crunch hit the road for a pair of games this weekend to complete a three-game road swing. This is the final week of the regular season in which the Crunch don't play at least one game at home. Syracuse enters the week after earning three of six points in a three-in-three weekend, but the Crunch have fallen to sixth place in the North Division with 58 points (23-18-8-4).
 
Jack Finley potted goals in the final two games of the weekend to give him seven in the last 10 games. Only five players across the league have more goals since the AHL All-Star Break than Finley. Overall, the third-year pro has 18 points (9g, 9a) in 26 games this season. 
 
NEW YORK NEMESES  

Tonight marks the third straight game against the Crunch's two New York foes — Utica and Rochester. Syracuse went 1-0-1-0 in its two games against those clubs last weekend. 
 
The Crunch have 19 games remaining, including today's game, and nearly half are against their closest rivals. Six of their final 19 games feature the Comets while three will be contested against Rochester.
 
SANTINI'S SCORING TOUCH

Defenseman Steven Santini led the Crunch with three goals in Week 21. The veteran, who turns 30 today, fired home a third period, game-tying goal in back-to-back games to help the Crunch collect three standings points. Santini pulled the Crunch level at 11:52 of the third period Saturday against the Rochester Americans. The next afternoon in Utica, Santini opened the scoring with a 4-on-4 goal at 2:56 of the second period. He then tied the game at three at 7:42 of the third for his first multi-goal game of the season.
 
Santini hadn't scored in 19 games prior to his strike on Saturday. He has now set a new career high with six goals on the season, passing the five he had in 64 games for Ontario last season.
 
DEFENSEMEN POWERING THE OFFENSE

Five Crunch skaters posted more than one point in Week 21, and three of them were defensemen. Derrick Pouliot (4a), Steven Santini (3g) and Max Crozier (1g, 2a) contributed 10 points, and they combined for four of the Crunch's seven regulation goals.
 
In total, Crunch defensemen have 116 points this season, or about 30% of the team's scoring.
 
SCOUTING THE COMETS

The Comets had their four-game winning streak snapped Wednesday in Laval, where they dropped a 5-1 decision to the Rocket. Utica had won four straight, including three in a row past regulation, prior to the loss. The Comets are 22-25-4-2 and rank in seventh place in the North Division with 50 points.
 
After their midweek trip to Laval, the Comets return home, where they have been red hot since early January. They are 10-1-1-0 in the last 12 home games since Jan. 8, a stretch that began with a 5-1 win against the Crunch.
 
Adam Beckman has had a strong first season in Utica. The winger has three goals over the last two games. He scored twice, including the overtime game-winning goal, Sunday against the Crunch and then netted the Comets' lone goal Wednesday in Laval. He ranks second on Utica with 33 points (13g, 20a), three shy of matching his career high. 
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD

The Crunch and Comets go head-to-head for the ninth time this season. Utica has won five of the first eight, including an active four-game winning streak. The teams have split four games at the Adirondack Bank Center; Syracuse won the first two and Utica has won the last two.
 
Derrick Pouliot is the top scorer for either team in the series. He paces all players with eight points — all assists — in eight games. He has at least one point in six of the eight matches against the Comets. Xavier Parent tops the Comets with six points (3g, 3a) in seven games versus Syracuse. 
 
Isaac Poulter (5-0-0/2.17/.914) remains perfect against the Crunch this season.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS

Syracuse was 2-for-5 on the power play against the Comets on Sunday, snapping a spell of 17 straight games without scoring more than one. The Crunch have scored at least one in eight of the last 10 games. 
 
The Crunch's penalty kill hit a speedbump in the final two games of the weekend. After seven straight games without allowing a power-play goal, the Crunch gave up three in nine chances combined against Rochester and Utica. The Comets struck twice against the Crunch with one goal tying the game with less than one minute remaining in regulation.