CRUNCH GRAB FOUR POINTS IN WEEK 4
The Syracuse Crunch secured two of their three games in Week 4 to move to 7-2-0-0 this season.
The Crunch edged the Toronto Marlies in a 5-4 win on the road on Wednesday at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Syracuse shut out the Utica Comets for the second time this season on home ice, 4-0, at Upstate Medical University Arena on Friday. The Crunch suffered their first home loss of the season with a 7-4 setback to the Belleville Senators on Saturday.
Syracuse begins a four-game road trip in Week 5. The team heads to Rochester on Wednesday before a pair of contests in Charlotte on Friday and Saturday. This marks the second-longest road stretch for the Crunch all season.
OUTSTANDING OCTOBER
The Crunch could not have asked for a better start to their campaign. The Crunch finished October with a 7-1-0-0 record for a 0.875 points percentage. That surpassed the previous club mark of 0.857 (6-1-0-0) set back in the 2008-09 season.
Syracuse posted a 4-1-0-0 road record and a 3-0-0-0 mark at Upstate Medical University Arena, where the Crunch outscored opponents 10-0. The team became the 18th in AHL history to post three straight home shutouts in the regular season. It was the first time in AHL history it happened in the first three home games of a season.
TOP PERFORMERS
Goaltender
Ryan Fanti earned his first career AHL shutout on Friday against the Comets. The 26-year-old is 3-0-0 with a 1.66 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage in three starts this season.
In 10 appearances with the Crunch over the last two seasons, the Thunder Bay, Ontario native is 6-1-0 with a 1.53 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage.
***
Forward
Jakob Pelletier was named the Crunch's Toyota Player of the Week after posting three straight multi-point games. He finished the week with a team-high six points (2g, 4a). The 24-year-old has points in five consecutive contests and in all but one game this season.
The Quebec product is Syracuse's current points (13), goals (5), and assists (8) leader. Pelletier is tied for third in the league for points, and is top-10 in both goals and assists. He is nearly a point-per-game player in his AHL career, logging 143 points (56g, 87a) in 148 AHL games for Syracuse, Calgary and Stockton since 2021-22.
UPCOMING WEEK
Wednesday, November 5 at Rochester | 7:05 p.m.
The Crunch and Rochester Americans battle for the third time this season tomorrow at Blue Cross Arena. Syracuse and Rochester have split the first two meetings this season, with the home team winning both games. The Amerks dealt the Crunch their first loss of the season two weeks ago in Rochester.
The Amerks had a five-game winning streak snapped over the weekend in Laval, but they are tied with the Crunch at 14 points (7-3-0-0) atop the North Division.
Friday, November 6 at Charlotte | 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 7 at Charlotte | 6 p.m.
The Crunch head to the Queen City for a two-game visit with the Charlotte Checkers at the Bojangles Coliseum. This marks Syracuse's first matchup in Charlotte since the 2022-23 campaign. The teams will play four games in total this season; Charlotte returns for a two-game set in Syracuse Feb. 20-21.
The Checkers are the defending Eastern Conference Champions, but they are only off to a 4-4-1-0 start this season. They are 2-1-1-0 on home ice after sweeping a two-game set with Iowa and losing a pair (0-1-1-0) to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
The AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers is led in scoring by Wilmer Skoog, who has eight points (3g, 5a) in nine games. Rookie Cooper Black is 4-3-1/3.21/.882 in eight appearances this season.
The Crunch are 10-13-1-0 in 24 all-time meetings with the Checkers since 2010-11.
WEEK 4 RESULTS
Wednesday, Oct. 29 | Game 7 at Toronto | W, 5-4
Syracuse 0 4 1 - 5 Shots: 6-8-9-23 PP: 2/4
Toronto 1 2 1 - 4 Shots: 7-11-6-24 PP: 0/6
2nd Period-Stachowiak 2 (
Katchouk, Santini), 5:38. Miller 1 (
Allard, Szturc), 6:15. Pelletier 4 (
Duke, Carlile), 10:56 (PP). Geekie 2 (
Pelletier, Duke), 12:15 (PP). 3rd Period-Katchouk 3 (
Stachowiak, Duke), 18:57 (EN). . . .
Halverson 4-1-0 (24 shots-20 saves) A-2,422
Friday, Oct. 31 | Game 8 vs. Utica | W, 4-0
Utica 0 0 0 - 0 Shots: 5-12-16-33 PP: 0/6
Syracuse 1 3 0 - 4 Shots: 7-10-14-31 PP: 1/7
1st Period-Sabourin 2 (
Geekie, Groshev), 18:50. 2nd Period-Abruzzese 2 (
Pelletier, Groshev), 1:03. Furry 1 (
Szturc, Carlile), 16:21. Geekie 3 (
Pelletier, Abruzzese), 19:09 (PP). . . .
Fanti 3-0-0 (33 shots-33 saves) A-4,776
Saturday, Nov. 1 | Game 9 vs. Belleville | L, 7-4
Belleville 2 2 3 - 7 Shots: 9-10-11-30 PP: 2/2
Syracuse 1 2 1 - 4 Shots: 16-16-10-42 PP: 0/2
1st Period-Flinton 1 (
Huuhtanen, Lundmark), 5:28. 2nd Period-Pelletier 5 (
Geekie), 1:18. Abruzzese 3 (
Pelletier, Geekie), 6:05. 3rd Period-Katchouk 4 (
Huuhtanen, Furry), 2:36. . . .
Halverson 4-2-0 (28 shots-23 saves) A-5,251
| Category |
Average/Total |
AHL Rank (Prev) |
| Power Play |
20.5% (8-for-39) |
T-14th (19th) |
| Penalty Kill |
87.1% (27-for-31) |
3rd (7th) |
| Goals For |
3.78 GFA (34) |
4th (T-6th) |
| Goals Against |
2.44 GAA (22) |
7th (4th) |
| Shots For |
32.44 SF/G (292) |
2nd (2nd) |
| Shots Against |
25.89 SA/G (233) |
T-4th (4th) |
| Penalty Minutes |
16.33 PIM/G (147) |
5th (T-18th) |
| Category |
|
Leader |
| Points |
13 |
Pelletier |
| Goals |
5 |
James |
| Assists |
8 |
Pelletier |
| PIM |
23 |
Carlile |
| Plus/Minus |
+7 |
Groshev |
| Wins |
4 |
Halverson |
| GAA |
1.66 |
Fanti |
| Save % |
.941 |
Fanti |
| North Division |
GP |
W |
L |
OTL |
SOL |
PTS |
PCT |
GF |
GA |
PIM |
HOME |
ROAD |
LAST 10 |
STREAK |
S/O |
| 1. Syracuse |
9 |
7 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
0.778 |
34 |
22 |
147 |
3-1-0-0 |
4-1-0-0 |
7-2-0-0 |
0-1-0-0 |
0-0 |
| 2. Rochester |
10 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
0.700 |
32 |
26 |
165 |
3-0-0-0 |
4-3-0-0 |
7-3-0-0 |
0-1-0-0 |
0-0 |
| 3. Laval |
10 |
6 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0.600 |
29 |
24 |
162 |
4-1-0-0 |
2-3-0-0 |
6-4-0-0 |
1-0-0-0 |
0-0 |
| 4. Toronto |
9 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
0.500 |
27 |
28 |
106 |
2-2-0-1 |
2-2-0-0 |
4-4-0-1 |
1-0-0-0 |
0-1 |
| 5. Belleville |
9 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
0.500 |
31 |
34 |
90 |
1-2-1-0 |
3-2-0-0 |
4-4-1-0 |
1-0-0-0 |
1-0 |
| 6. Cleveland |
7 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
0.643 |
15 |
18 |
104 |
0-1-1-1 |
3-0-1-0 |
3-1-2-1 |
1-0-2-1 |
0-1 |
| 7. Utica |
8 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0.188 |
13 |
26 |
124 |
1-3-1-0 |
0-3-0-0 |
1-6-1-0 |
1-0-0-0 |
0-0 |
