CRUNCH FACE HAMMERS FOR FIRST TIME

The Syracuse Crunch wrap up the weekend with a road contest against the Hamilton Hammers this afternoon at TD Coliseum.
 
It's the first ever meeting between the teams with the Hammers joining the AHL this season as the affiliate of the New York Islanders. The clubs will meet six times this season.
 
BROADCAST COVERAGE

Countdown to Crunch Time at 2:45 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 rattled off four straight goals to overcome a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Rochester Americans, 4-2, last night at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
The Amerks scored twice in the first period to open a 2-0 lead. One tally was a shorthanded goal, and the other was a 4-on-3 power-play strike. 
 
Syracuse dug in in the second period and connected twice to tie the game. Lucas Mercuri tipped a long-range shot from Clark Bishop for his first of the season. Sam O'Reilly tied the game with a power-play goal later in the frame.
 
The Crunch dominated the third period, despite spending most of the first half of the period down a man. Jansen Harkins broke the tie with a shorthanded goal at 7:06. Bishop doubled the lead with a power-play tally five minutes later.
 
The win ended the Crunch's three-game losing streak.
 
O'REILLY BREAKS THROUGH 

Rookie forward Sam O'Reilly tallied his first professional goal with his power-play marker in the second period last night. He stuck with a puck in the slot and slid it home for his milestone tally in his fifth career game.
 
O'Reilly has two points (1g, 1a) in five games for the Crunch this season. The former Edmonton Oilers first round pick began his pro career this season after a decorated OHL career, which included three OHL championships.
 
GETTING ON THE BOARD 

The Crunch broke out of their offensive funk and saw four different players score their first goals of the season. Lucas Mercuri starting the scoring for the Crunch, and he finished the game with two points for his fifth career multi-point outing. 
 
Sam O'Reilly nabbed his first pro goal to tie the game at two.
 
Jansen Harkins picked up his first goal of the season to give the Crunch their first lead. The game-winning goal was just his second career shorthanded goal (also Oct. 16, 2022, vs. Rockford). Clark Bishop potted a power-play goal and added an assist for his first multi-point game of the year. He has three points (1g, 2a) in four games this season.
 
MILESTONE WATCH

A pair of Crunch players are knocking on the door of career milestones.
 
Nick Abruzzese sits at 198 career AHL points after earning one assist last night. The 27-year-old has four points (3g, 1a) in five games this season and 198 (65g, 133a) in 272 AHL appearances.
 
Jansen Harkins has 99 career AHL assists in 228 games. He tallied his first goal of the season last night, and he now has 162 AHL points (63g, 99a) in his AHL career.
 
SCOUTING THE HAMMERS

After having the night off yesterday, the Hammers will take their fourth swing at earning their first home win in franchise history this afternoon. The Hammer won their inaugural game at Belleville but have since gone winless in four straight games (0-3-0-1), including a 0-2-0-1 mark at TD Coliseum.
 
Former Crunch forward Mitchell Chaffee paces the Hammers with four goals in five games. Chaffee netted an opening-night hat trick for the Hammers in their only win this season. 
 
Veteran netminder Vitek Vanecek has earned the only win this season. He is 1-1-1 with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.
 
SERIES HISTORY

Today marks the first meeting between the Crunch and the Hammers, but Syracuse and Hamilton have plenty of history all-time.
 
The Crunch faced the Hamilton Bulldogs every year from 1996 through 2014, totaling 112 games. The Crunch held a 49-42-7-3 record with 11 ties in that span.
 
Of course, the history between the cities predates the Crunch's first game. The Hamilton Canucks moved from Hamilton to Syracuse, and the Crunch were born in 1994.