Crunch fall back to earth in Week 16

Last Week
Wed., Jan. 17 - Crunch at Belleville - OTL, 2-1
Fri., Jan. 19 - Crunch vs. Toronto - L, 4-1
Sat., Jan. 12 - Crunch at Utica - L, 4-2
This Week
Wed., Jan. 24 - Crunch at Laval - 7:30 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 26 - Crunch vs. Belleville - 7 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 27 - Crunch vs. Toronto - 7 p.m.

Crunch cool off in Week 16
Syracuse's point streak hit 10 games, matching a season high, but the Crunch lost all three games in Week 16. After scoring at least three goals in every game during their nine-game winning streak, the Crunch scored a total of four goals in their three losses. The Crunch's fourth three-game losing streak of the season leaves them at 24-14-2-2, third in the North Division with a 0.619 point percentage.
Syracuse started the week with a 2-1 overtime setback in Belleville against the Senators as the Crunch's nine-game winning streak came to an end. Syracuse came back home and dropped a 4-1 decision to the AHL-leading Toronto Marlies and then lost 4-2 in Utica against the Comets.
Syracuse heads into the All-Star Break at the conclusion of Week 17; the Crunch play games against Laval, Belleville and Toronto.
Top Performers
Mitchell Stephens scored two of the Crunch's four goals in Week 16 to take over sole possession of first place on the team with 14 goals. He scored power-play goals Wednesday in Belleville and Friday against Toronto; both goals were the only Crunch goal of the game.
Stephens, 20, had goals in four straight games Jan. 13-19 to become the first Crunch player this season to do so. Three Crunch skaters scored a goal in four straight games last season. He has eight goals in the last 10 games after notching six through his first 31 games.
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Rookie forward Anthony Cirelli returned from injury and had a point in the two games he played in during Week 16. Cirelli, 20, missed six games with a lower body injury sustained Jan. 6 vs. Hartford, but picked up an assist in his first game game Friday vs. Toronto. He also had a helper Saturday in Utica to complete the week.
Cirelli enters the week tied for fifth on the Crunch with 25 points and is most among active Crunch skaters with 19 assists.
Roster Moves
The Crunch have made a series of roster moves over the last few days, prompted due to an injury to former Crunch and current Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ondrej Palat. To mitigate the loss of Palat, the Lightning recalled two forwards-Michael Bournival and Matthew Peca-from the Crunch. Both players made their Lightning season debut in Monday's 2-0 win at Chicago.
Peca, 24, is the Crunch's leading scorer with 31 points (8g, 23a) and is one of three players (Mat Bodie and Ben Thomas) to appear in all 42 games this season. After logging just five points (5a) in the first 16 games of the season, the Crunch's lone AHL All-Star representative has 26 points (8g, 18a) over the last 26 games since Nov. 22. Peca skated in 10 games for the Lightning last season, picking up a goal and assist in his first NHL action.
Bournival, 25, is second on the Crunch with 27 points and has a career-high 13 goals in 40 games. He is three points shy of his career high of 30, set in 69 games as a rookie in 2012-13 for the Hamilton Bulldogs. Including last night, Bournival has skated in 109 career NHL games and 20 with the Lightning. He has 22 career NHL points (12g, 10a).
Upcoming: Laval, Belleville, Toronto
The Crunch play three games against their neighbors to the north in Week 17, visiting Laval Wednesday then hosting Belleville and Toronto Friday and Saturday.
The week begins in Québec where the Crunch make their final trip to Laval against the Rocket. Syracuse has lost the first three matches at Place Bell by a combined scored of 16-9. The Crunch's lone win in the season series came Dec. 2 at the War Memorial Arena, where the teams have three meetings later in the season.
Syracuse returns home for two games leading into the All-Star Break. Friday features a matchup with the Belleville Senators who snapped the Crunch's nine-game winning streak Jan. 17 with a 2-1 overtime win. The Crunch have points in all six games (4-0-1-1) against the Senators this season. This is the seventh of eight matches this year; the series concludes Mar. 30.
The final game before the All-Star Break is Saturday against Toronto, the seventh of eight matches between the clubs. The Marlies, who defeated the Crunch 4-1 Jan. 19 in Syracuse, lead the series 4-2. The final meeting is a morning game at Ricoh Coliseum Feb. 28. The Crunch have 13 total goals in six games against Toronto, eight in two wins and five in four losses.
Week 16 ResultsWednesday, January 17 | Game 40 at Belleville | OTL, 2-1
Syracuse 1 0 0 0 - 1 Shots: 5-6-6-2-19 PP: 1/3
Belleville 0 1 0 1 - 2 Shots: 6-8-10-1-25 PP: 0/4
1st Period-Stephens 13 (Joseph, Bodie), 3:22 (PP). . . . Ingram 10-5-2 (25 shots-23 saves). A-2,881
Friday, January 19 | Game 41 vs. Toronto | L, 4-1
Toronto 1 2 1 - 4 Shots: 8-12-5-25 PP: 3/5
Syracuse 0 1 0 - 1 Shots: 8-10-11-29 PP: 1/5
2nd Period-Stephens 14 (Cirelli, Yan), 10:08 (PP). . . . Ingram 10-6-2 (24 shots-21 saves). A-5,288
Saturday, January 20 | Game 42 at Utica | L, 4-2
Syracuse 0 1 1 - 2 Shots: 11-11-20-42 PP: 1/6
Utica 1 3 0 - 4 Shots: 7-15-2-24 PP: 1/2
2nd Period-Tammela 2 (Bournival, McBain), 5:42 (PP). 3rd Period-Bournival 13 (Cirelli, Walcott), 0:29. . . . Ingram 10-7-2 (22 shots-18 saves), Riopel ND (2 shots-2 saves). A-3,917
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 16.2% (32-for-197) 16th (20th)
Penalty Kill 85.5% (189-for-221) 7th (5th)
Goals For 3.29 GFA (138) 6th (4th)
Goals Against 2.69 GAA (113) 5th (4th)
Shots For 30.14 SF/G (1266) 16th (16th)
Shots Against 25.83 SA/G (1085) 1st (1st)
Penalty Minutes 16.76 PIM/G (704) 3rd (3rd)
Category Leader
Points 31 Peca
Goals 14 Stephens
Assists 23 Peca
PIM 137 Gallant
Plus/Minus +23 Cernak
Wins 11 Domingue
GAA 2.07 Domingue
Save % 0.921 Domingue