Team: Syracuse Crunch (6-1-1-1), AHL affiliate for the Tampa Bay Lightning
Opponent: Hamilton Bulldogs (4-3-1-1), AHL affiliate for the Montreal Canadiens
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
When: 7:30 pm EST
Media: Live stream via AHL Live; Radio: The Score 1260 AM
Finishing off their two-game series, the Crunch and the Bulldogs have trekked east into the province of Quebec and into the city of Montreal. There, the Bulldogs will try to gain favor among the hometown crowd and get revenge on the Crunch for the 3-0 shutout they dealt them on Wednesday night.
This is a homecoming of sorts for multiple personnel on the Crunch; as Cassie noted Wednesday – Julian BriseBois is a former Bulldogs (and Canadiens) employee. Center Alex Killorn and defenseman Mark Barberio are both Montreal natives, while the likes of J.P. Cote is both Quebecois and a veteran of the Bulldogs. Others on the roster from Quebec on the Crunch roster are Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Danick Gauthier and Philip-Micheal Devos. Odds are some of these guys will have friends in the stands to support them. And if not, they’ll still have Crunch employees cheering them on. Team staff have made the trip up to Montreal to take the game in first-hand.
No starting goalie has been named for the Crunch at this time, but my bet is Dustin Tokarski gets the nod – as Riku Helenius started on Wednesday. Of course, with Helenius’ prior success against the Bulldogs, he may get the start again (…so Tokarski can start tomorrow night at home against the Rochester Americans).
