CRUNCH PURSUE FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN
 
A pair of streaking clubs square off Wednesday when the Crunch visit the Utica Comets at the Adirondack Bank Center.
 
The Crunch have won four in a row, while the Comets have won five straight games prior to tonight's game. It marks the 12^th game of the 14 game season series. The squads play three times over their final six games of the regular season, including tonight.
 
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 overcame a pair of one-goal deficits to outlast the Toronto Marlies, 3-2, in a shootout Saturday afternoon. It capped a sweep of the home-and-home series with Toronto, and the Crunch finished with a 4-1-1-0 mark against the Marlies.
 
Toronto scored both of its goals in the first period. Logan Shaw opened the scoring at 4:35 to make it 1-0. Ryan Reaves tallied at 19:11 of the frame to put the Marlies ahead 2-1.
 
Sandwiched between those goals was Dylan Duke's equalizer at 12:10 of the first period. He received a pass near the blueline to spring a breakaway. He deked past Matt Murray to tie the score at one. Daniel Walcott then leveled the game at two at 2:16 of the second period, and the game remained goal less the rest of regulation and overtime.
 
Gabriel Szturc scored in the fourth round to give the Crunch the win. Brandon Halverson made four saves in the shootout and 22 in the game to earn his 20^th win.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
The Crunch picked up their fourth straight win to make it 10 wins in the last 12 games since March 9. The Crunch have outscored their opponents 46-24 over the last 12 games to give them a plus-26 goal differential on the season.
 
Syracuse enters tonight's game with 78 points and a 33-21-8-4 record. The Crunch have a seven point cushion for the final playoff position in the North Division. However, the Crunch are only one point ahead of Toronto and Cleveland for third place; the top three teams in the division advance to the division semifinal round.
 
Dylan Duke tallied one of the two Crunch goals in regulation Saturday against the Marlies. He moved back into a tie for first on the team with 18 goals this season, including two in three games last week. Duke needs two goals over the final six games of the regular season to become the 13th Crunch rookie to reach 20 goals. 
 
HALVERSON REACHES 20 WINS
 
Brandon Halverson earned a pair of victories last week to hit 20 wins this season. He is the first Crunch goalie with 20 wins in a season since Max Lagace in 2021-22. It is the 15^th time in team history a goalie has won at least 20 games in a season.
 
Halverson entered the campaign with 25 career AHL wins. The 29-year-old is 20-10-8 with a 2.28 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. That earned him a two-year, NHL contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, which he signed on Feb. 3. He made his first career NHL start March 22 at Utah.
 
GROSHEV FILLING IN ON THE BACK END
 
Max Groshev has emerged as a reliable piece on the Crunch blueline since transitioning from forward to defense two weeks ago. He played the first 46 games of the season as a winger, but he has skated as a defenseman in the last four contests. In that time the Crunch have won all four games, and he has played to an even rating while paired with veteran Steven Santini.
 
Groshev began skating as a defensemen in practice throughout March while serving an AHL suspension. He was originally drafted as a forward by the Lightning in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft. In his first season in North America in 2023-24 he posted 30 points (10g, 20a) in 67 games. 
 
CROZIER COMING UP CLUTCH 
 
Defenseman Max Crozier has risen to the occasion in his second pro season. The defenseman has earned points in five straight games to reach 30 (8g, 22a) in 47 Crunch games this season. He ranks fourth on the team in scoring; two of the top four scorers on the Crunch are defenseman (also Derrick Pouliot).
 
Crozier is tied for the team lead with a plus-13 rating. In 23 games since the AHL All-Star break, Crozier has picked up 20 points (5g, 15a) and has a plus-9 rating. 
 
SCOUTING THE COMETS
 
The Comets have climbed to within one game of the 0.500 mark after starting the season with an 0-10-1-2 record. Utica rides a five-game winning streak into today's game and is 29-30-5-2 this season. The Comets are on the brink of elimination from playoff contention; they must win out for any chance to qualify.
 
Forward Max Willman has helped lead the way during their current winning streak. He was named AHL Player of the Week after snagging eight points (4g, 4a) in three games last week. 
 
Nico Daws has won his last three decisions since March 30. He is 11-19-1 this season with a 3.10 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage.
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD
 
The Crunch and Comets go head-to-head for the 12th time this season. The clubs play twice more to close out the regular season next Friday and Saturday. The Comets hold a slim lead with six wins in the series, but the Crunch have won the last two after the Comets won five straight.
 
Conor Sheary leads the Crunch in goals (4) and points (9) in 10 games played against Utica. Xavier Parent tops the Comets in scoring with seven points (3g, 4a) versus the Crunch. 
 
Brandon Halverson is 4-0-1/1.19/.954 against the Comets, while Nico Daws is 1-5-0/2.06/.920 against the Crunch.