CRUNCH EYE SWEEP OF PHANTOMS
 
The Syracuse Crunch look to sweep the season series against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms tonight at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
It's the fourth match of the year between the two teams. The Crunch have won the first three meetings by a combined score of 10-3. They last won, 3-1, on the road on Feb. 15.
 
Syracuse is second in the North Division, three points behind first-place Laval with two games in hand.
 
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
 
The Crunch had their five-game winning streak snapped in a loss to the Toronto Marlies, 5-1, on Wednesday night at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
Toronto capitalized on a pair of Syracuse turnovers at 5:03 and 13:04 of the first period to jump out to a 2-0 lead. The Marlies scored again 4:32 into the second and led 3-0 after 40 minutes.
 
Mitchell Chaffee deflected home an Ethan Samson point shot early in the third to cut the deficit to 3-1. Toronto regained the three-goal advantage five minutes later off of another Syracuse turnover. An empty netter with 2:26 remaining sealed the 5-1 Marlies win.
 
PECA EXPECTED TO MAKE CRUNCH "DEBUT"
 
Forward Matthew Peca is expected to play in his first Crunch game of the season tonight. The Crunch acquired Peca, 32, in a trade with the Springfield Thunderbirds on Tuesday. He was captain of the T-Birds for three seasons and posted 34 points (8g, 26a) in 49 games with Springfield this year.
 
The Petawawa, Ontario native played parts of four seasons with the Crunch from 2014 to 2018, totaling 134 points (34g, 100a) in 204 games. He racked up 14 points (4g, 10a) in Syracuse's run to the Calder Cup Finals in 2017.
 
Peca has 391 points (124g, 267a) in 530 career AHL games with Syracuse, Laval, Belleville and Springfield over 11 pro seasons. In addition to his Finals appearance with the Crunch in 2017, he went to the Finals in 2022 with Springfield.
 
IAN MITCHELL JOINS THE CRUNCH
 
The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired defenseman Ian Mitchell from the Detroit Red Wings yesterday in exchange for forwards Wojciech Stachowiak and Michael Milne. Mitchell has been assigned to Syracuse and is expected to draw into the lineup tonight.
 
The 27-year-old has played 45 games for Grand Rapids this season, accumulating 20 points (4g, 16a). His plus-27 rating ranks fourth in the AHL.
 
Mitchell has played in 201 career AHL games since 2020 with Grand Rapids, Providence and Rockford, tallying 113 points (27g, 86a). The University of Denver product has also skated in 110 career NHL games with Boston and Chicago.
 
SCOUTING THE PHANTOMS
 
Lehigh Valley leads Springfield by two points for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. However, the Phantoms have struggled mightily in March, losing four straight games. They fell to Bridgeport, 5-4, on Sunday on the road.
 
Jacob Gaucher has been on a tear recently. He scored twice in Sunday's loss and had five points (4g, 1a) in the Phantoms three games last weekend. Defenseman Christian Kyrou has dished out a team-best 24 assists.
 
In goal, Lehigh Valley has split the workload between rookie Carson Bjarnason (12-9-4/3.35/.879) and Aleksei Kolosov (11-5-2/2.80/.889). Bjarnason has not faced the Crunch, while Kolosov is winless in two starts but has posted a .930 save percentage against Syracuse.