SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch were downed by the Hershey Bears, 2-1, tonight at the Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
Declan Carlile scored the Crunch's lone goal as the team moves to 9-5-0-0 on the season.
 
Crunch goaltender Brandon Halverson stopped 19-of-21 shots. Clay Stevenson turned aside 22-of-23 shots in net for the Bears. The Syracuse power play went 1-for-6, while the penalty kill went 3-for-4.
 
After a scoreless first period, the Bears broke the stalemate with a power-play goal 11 minutes into the middle frame. Ilya Protas fired a wrister from the bottom of the right circle that went off the far post and in.
 
Hershey added another goal at the 12:45 mark of the third period. Andrew Cristall was down low along the goal line to chip a close-range shot on net. His first attempt was stopped, but he got a stick on his own rebound and jammed it in. The Crunch finally responded with a power-play goal of their own late in the game. Conor Geekie set up Carlile for a rocket of a one-timer from the right point to pull the Crunch back within one, but the team ran out of time to complete their comeback and suffered a loss to the Bears.
 
The Crunch are back in action when they host the Belleville Senators tomorrow night.
 
Single game tickets and ticket packages for the 2025-26 season are on sale now and can be purchased in person at the Crunch office located inside the Upstate Medical University Arena at Onondaga County War Memorial at 800 S. State St. in Syracuse, by calling the office at 315-473-4444 or online through Ticketmaster. For the latest Crunch news, visit www.syracusecrunch.com or follow the club on Facebook (www.facebook.com/syracusecrunch), X (@SyracuseCrunch) and Instagram (@syracusecrunch).
 
Crunchables: The Crunch have scored four power-play goals in their last two games.