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CRUNCH LOOK FOR BOUNCE BACK IN SPRINGFIELD
The Syracuse Crunch hit the road for the back half of a back-to-back with a match against the Springfield Thunderbirds at MassMutual Center.
It’s the final game of a two-game series between the teams. The Crunch defeated the T-Birds, 4-3, in their previous match up on Feb. 4.
Syracuse enters off a 4-2 home loss against the Providence Bruins while the Thunderbirds grabbed a 4-2 victory over the Hershey Bears.
BROADCAST COVERAGE
Countdown to Crunch Time at 5:50 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 twice erased one-goal deficits but fell to the Providence Bruins, 4-2, last night at Upstate Medical University Arena.
The Bruins hopped out to an early lead, but Matthew Peca tied the score at one with a redirect in the slot at 6:58 of the first period. Providence converted with a power-play goal later in the frame to lead 2-1 after the first period.
Nick Abruzzese tied the score at 1:35 in the second period, but the Bruins came right back to take the lead two minutes later. The Crunch were unable to tie the score and the Bruins added an empty-net tally to make it a 4-2 final.
Brandon Halverson stopped 13 of 16 shots before being relieved by Ryan Fanti after the Bruins third goal. Fanti stopped all 11 shots he faced.
PECA’S REUNION
Forward Matthew Peca returns to a place he called home for five seasons tonight in Springfield. The veteran skated in 271 games for the T-Birds starting in the 2021-22 campaign. He holds the franchise record for points (233) and assists (150) and ranks second in goals (85). He helped Springfield capture the Eastern Conference Championship in 2022 and then captained the team from 2023 to 2026.
Peca was acquired by the Crunch in a trade with Springfield on March 9. After scoring last night, Peca has nabbed 10 points (3g, 7a) in nine games since joining the Crunch. He only trails Jakob Pelletier in scoring on the Crunch in that time.
PELLETIER CLOSING IN ON FRANCHISE RECORD
Jakob Pelletier recorded an assist on a second period goal last night to extend his scoring streak to an AHL leading 17 games. That stands one game shy of the Crunch’s franchise record of 18 games set by Mark Hartigan from Dec. 14, 2005 to Feb. 2, 2006.
Pelletier leads the AHL with 74 points (27g, 47a) in 60 games this season. He needs 10 points in the final six games of the regular season to match Alex Barré-Boulet’s single-season franchise record. Pelletier skates in his 200th AHL game tonight.
SCOUTING THE THUNDERBIRDS
Springfield occupies the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. The T-Birds have a two-point lead on Lehigh Valley after they used a three-goal second period to skate past Hershey last night, 4-2, at home.
The Thunderbirds have won three consecutive games and are 6-3-1-0 in their last ten contests. Offense has been scarce at times for the Thunderbirds this season, but they have gotten hot at the right time. They average just 2.82 goals per game — third fewest in the Eastern Conference — but they have scored 30 goals over the last eight games (3.75 goals per game).
Chris Wagner paces the team in goals (23) and points (43), while blueliner Calle Rosén leads the club in assists (26). Wagner was named the Thunderbirds captain following Matthew Peca’s trade to Syracuse.
In the crease, backup Georgi Romanov (9-11-3/3.38/.893) has won his last three starts. Starter Vadim Zherenko (16-4-1/3.04 /.904) made 31 saves in last night’s victory against Hershey.