CRUNCH LOOK TO ACE TEST IN SPRINGFIELD
The Crunch travel to Springfield for an early morning field trip match against the Thunderbirds at MassMutual Center.
It’s the first of two meetings between the Crunch and Thunderbirds this season, making today the Crunch’s lone trip to Springfield.
LAST TIME OUT
The Crunch scored four goals in both the first and second period to rout the Utica Comets, 8-3, Saturday at Upstate Medical University Arena.
The Crunch came out of the gates quickly, snagging a 2-0 lead on goals by Trevor Carrick and Daniel Walcott in the game’s opening 6:43. Nolan Foote answered for the Comets to make it 2-1, but the Crunch bounced back with the final two goals of the frame by Simon Ryfors and Alex Barré-Boulet.
The onslaught accelerated in the second period on goals by Lucas Edmonds, Shawn Element, Barré-Boulet and Gage Goncalves as the Crunch opened an 8-1 lead.
The Comets netted two late goals in the third period to make it an 8-3 final.
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
Syracuse enters today’s game with back-to-back wins for the first time all season. The Crunch (4-6-1-2) also have wins in three of their last four overall and they are currently in fifth place in the North Division with 11 points.
The Crunch have two of the top three point producers in the league in Alex Barré-Boulet (1st, 20) and Darren Raddysh (T-2nd, 18). They also have a red-hot Trevor Carrick, who has five points (1g, 4a) in the last two games. The veteran defensemen has nine points this season. He and Raddysh give the Crunch two defensemen with at least nine points; they are one of only three teams that can claim that.
Max Lagace has started the last two games for the Crunch, earning a pair of wins to improve to 3-4-2 this season. In the two wins, Lagace stopped 60-of-65 total shots for a .923 save percentage.
SCOUTING THE THUNDERBIRDS
The T-Birds are off to a 6-5-0-2 start this season following their first berth in the Calder Cup Finals in the spring. After an 0-3-0-0 start, Springfield has earned points in eight of the last 10 games (6-2-0-2).
The T-Birds return 13 players from last year’s Eastern Conference Championship team, including former Crunch captain Luke Witkowski and forward Matthew Peca, who is out with an injury suffered during the playoffs.
Two of their top three scorers,…
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