Crunch's winning streak ends at 10

Last Week
Fri., Dec. 15 - Crunch vs. Providence- W, 5-3
Sat., Dec. 16 - Crunch at Lehigh Valley - L, 4-2
This Week
Wed., Dec. 20 - Crunch at Laval - 7:30 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 22 - Crunch at Belleville - 7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 23 - Crunch vs. Utica - 7 p.m.

Crunch's streak hits 10, comes to an end in Week 11
Syracuse's AHL-best winning streak reached 10 games before ending in their final game of Week 11. The Crunch (14-10-1-2) matched their second-longest winning streak in franchise history-trailing only a 15-game run at the end of the 2007-08 season-and are planted in third place in the North Division with a 0.574 points percentage.
The Crunch opened the week with a showdown against the Providence Bruins in an Eastern Conference Finals rematch that featured the two longest active winning streaks in the league. The Crunch, winners of nine straight entering the game, scored four goals in the first period and cruised to a 5-3 win to snap the Bruins eight-game winning streak. The next night, the Crunch made their lone visit to Allentown and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms netted three unanswered second-period goals to beat the Crunch, 4-2.
Syracuse plays three games in Week 12, starting with a trip to Laval on Wednesday followed by a visit to Belleville Friday. The week concludes with a home match Saturday against the Utica Comets.
Top Performers
Kevin Lynch scored a goal in both games in Week 11 and he is tied for the second-most goals on the Crunch with seven. He scored an insurance goal Friday against Providence and then pulled Syracuse within one with a third-period marker Saturday, giving him goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his 122-game AHL career.
With seven goals this season, Lynch has eclipsed his previous career high of five goals, set in 37 games last season. Entering this year, the Grosse Pointe, Michigan native had eight goals and 11 points in 97 career AHL games; he has 15 points (7g, 8a) in 25 games this season.
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Adam Erne's two-goal performance Friday vs. the Bruins nudged his scoring streak to a career-high six games with 10 points (7g, 3a). He finished tied for the team lead with 12 points (7g, 5a) over the Crunch's 10-game winning streak.
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First-year Crunch forward Carter Verhaeghe logged a goal and an assist last week, extending his point streak to a career-high six games. He scored the Crunch's first goal Friday and picked up an assist on the final goal of the week Saturday. His previous career-high five-game point streak came last season (Feb. 11-19) for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, netting eight points (6g, 2a) with a goal in each game. He has 13 points (7g, 6a) and a +6 rating in 14 games this season.
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Matthew Peca had three points (1g, 2a) in Week 11 and enters Week 12 with his second three-game point streak of the season. Friday against Providence, the 24-year-old registered two assists for his second consecutive multi-point game. His five multi-point games lead the Crunch; Peca had 10 in 68 games last year and 12 in 65 games in 2015-16.
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Michael Bournival led all players with three points (1g, 2a) Friday vs. Providence, giving the Crunch a three-point performer in four straight games. For Bournival it was his first three-point game since Dec. 6, 2014 for the Hamilton Bulldogs. Bournival is tied for the team lead with eight goals-two shy of his career high-and has 16 points.
Upcoming: Laval, Belleville, Utica
The Crunch return to North Division action with three divisional games in Week 12.
Syracuse begins the week Wednesday in Laval for the Crunch's third of four visits to Place Bell. The Crunch are 1-1-0-1 against the Rocket this season. Laval enters the week with just one win in its last 13 games (1-8-2-2) and on a four-game losing streak (0-4-1-0). The Rocket (10-13-4-2) have fallen to fifth place in the North Division with a 0.448 points percentage. Nikita Scherbak returned last week from a six-week absence following knee surgery and recorded three points in two games. He has at least one point in all eight games he's appeared in for the Rocket this season, totaling 12 points (3g, 9a).
The Crunch's trip rolls into Belleville Friday for their third match with the Senators in 21 days. It's the fifth head-to-head matchup with the Crunch holding a 3-0-0-1 record against the Sens; two wins came during their 10-game winning streak. Belleville opens the week Wednesday in Rochester having lost two straight games and seven of its last 10 (3-5-0-2). The Sens (11-14-0-3) have allowed five or more goals in four of their last five games.
Syracuse returns to the War Memorial to face the Comets for just the third time this season; both teams have earned one road win. Utica has points in eight of 10 games (4-2-4-0) to slot into fourth place in the North Division at 11-11-4-1. The Comets are 10-1-0-0 when allowing two goals or fewer this season.
Week 11 ResultsFriday, December 15 | Game 26 vs. Providence | W, 5-3
Providence 2 0 1 - 3 Shots: 11-7-9-27 PP: 0/3
Syracuse 4 0 1 - 5 Shots: 15-6-7-28 PP: 0/4
1st Period-Verhaeghe 7 (Cirelli, Masin), 3:18. Erne 7 (Bodie), 11:20. Bournival 8 (Masin, Peca), 12:33. Erne 8 (Peca, Bournival), 15:27. 3rd Period-Lynch 6 (Cernak, Bournival), 5:04. . . . Domingue 7-2-0 (27 shots-24 saves). A-5,475
Saturday, December 16 | Game 27 at Lehigh Valley | L, 4-2
Syracuse 1 0 1 - 2 Shots: 8-4-12-24 PP: 0/4
Lehigh Valley 0 3 1 - 4 Shots: 10-15-8-33 PP: 1/5
1st Period-Peca 4 (Joseph, Cernak), 17:53. 3rd Period-Lynch 7 (Verhaeghe, Volkov), 12:55. . . . Ingram 4-5-1 (33 shots-29 saves). A-7,113
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 14.0% (19-for-136) T-25th (24th)
Penalty Kill 84.2% (128-for-152) 9th (9th)
Goals For 3.30 GFA (89) 8th (10th)
Goals Against 2.96 GAA (80) T-10th (T-9th)
Shots For 29.30 SF/G (791) 22nd (18th)
Shots Against 25.37 SA/G (685) 1st (1st)
Penalty Minutes 17.11 PIM/G (462) T-4th (3rd)
Category Leader
Points 20 Cirelli
Goals 8 Bournival, Erne
Assists 14 Cirelli, Peca
PIM 85 Gallant
Plus/Minus +14 Bodie
Wins 7 Domingue
GAA 2.11 Domingue
Save % 0.922 Domingue