CRUNCH GO FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN
 
The Syracuse Crunch take aim at a fifth consecutive victory as they close the weekend with a match against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the PPL Center.
 
The Crunch extended their winning streak to four with a shutout win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins yesterday in the first game following the All-Star Break.
 
Syracuse has won the first two contests against Lehigh Valley this season by a combined score of 7-2.
 
BROADCAST COVERAGE
 
Countdown to Crunch Time at 2:50 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 cruised past the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last night, 5-2, at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza behind Cooper Flinton's first career two-goal game. Syracuse is now 2-1-0-0 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season.
 
Flinton opened the scoring 8:10 into the first period – the third-straight game the Crunch have scored first. Matteo Pietroniro added a goal with nine seconds left in the frame to give Syracuse a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
 
Dylan Duke deflected in a Jakob Pelletier shot on the power play midway through the second to make it 3-0. Duke and Belleville's Arthur Kaliyev are tied for the AHL lead with 14 power-play goals.

Mitchell Chaffee tallied another power-play marker two minutes into the third, and Flinton potted his second of the night shortly thereafter to push it to 5-0. Brandon Halverson made 16 saves to secure his fourth shutout of the season.
 
POWER PLAY PROWESS
 
The Crunch's five forward power play has been red-hot recently. Syracuse scored twice on the man advantage last night and has notched a power-play goal in five consecutive games. Over that span, the unit is converting at a 38.9% clip (7-for-18).
 
On the season, the Crunch boast the second-best power play in the Eastern Conference (23.1%). Only the Rochester Americans (23.3%) have been better on the man-up.
 
SCOUTING THE PHANTOMS
 
Lehigh Valley limps into this Sunday matinee on a four-game losing streak and just 2-8-0-0 in its last 10 games. The Phantoms are fifth in the Atlantic Division and have amassed 46 points in 46 games. They lost, 5-2, last night to the Cleveland Monsters at the PPL Center.
 
Forward Lane Pederson leads the Phantoms in goals (16) and points (31). The 10-year veteran had his three-game goal streak snapped in last night's loss to Cleveland.
 
Defenseman Christian Kyrou is Lehigh Valley's assists leader. He was the Phantoms' lone representative at this year's All-Star Classic.
 
Between the pipes, Aleksei Kolosov is 9-12-1/2.75/.900 in 22 starts for Lehigh Valley. He allowed two goals on 27 shots in a loss to the Crunch on Dec. 12.  
 
ALL-STARS KEEP IT ROLLING
 
Forwards Conor Geekie and Jakob Pelletier were Syracuse's representatives at the AHL All-Star Classic earlier this week. Last night, the pair dished out three assists each in the Crunch's 5-0 win over the Penguins.
 
Geekie is now riding a six-game point streak and has recorded back-to-back multi-point outings. His 31 assists are tied for fourth in the AHL.
 
Pelletier has seven points (1g, 6a) in his last three games. He has a team-high 16 multi-point games this season.
 
COOP'S CAREER GAME
 
Rookie forward Cooper Flinton registered the first two-goal game of his professional career last night. He ended a 20-game goal drought with the icebreaker 8:10 into the first period and scored a third-period goal to make it 5-0.
 
It's the 22-year-old's first two-goal game since he racked up four points (2g, 2a) as a sophomore at Dartmouth in a game against RPI in 2024.
 
KEYSTONE STATE SUCCESS
 
The Crunch play their final road game in the state of Pennsylvania this afternoon. Syracuse has posted a 4-1-0-0 record through five games in the Keystone State. The Crunch went 2-0-0-0 at Hershey, 1-1-0-0 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and are 1-0-0-0 at Lehigh Valley.
 
Road games in Pennsylvania have amounted to four of the Crunch's 13 road wins. They also have road wins in New York (3), Connecticut (2), Ontario (3) and Quebec (1).