CRUNCH READY FOR 2026  

The Syracuse Crunch closed out the 2025 portion of their schedule with two games on the road against the Laval Rocket in Week 12.
 
Syracuse dropped the first game out of the Christmas Break, 4-3, in a shootout on Saturday. Both teams overcame deficits in regulation, but neither team scored in a frenetic overtime. Laval outscored the Crunch, 3-2, in the shootout to earn the extra standings point. In the rematch on Sunday the Rocket picked up a 4-2 win.
 
Syracuse is tied for second place in the North Division with 36 points (17-11-1-1). The Crunch have played a league-high 20 road games (10-8-1-1), and they play the last of six straight road contests in Toronto on New Year's Day.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
 
Mitchell Chaffee picked up assists in both games last weekend to extend his scoring streak to six games. He had a helper on the Crunch's tying goal in the third period on Saturday and another assist in the third period on Sunday.
 
Chaffee has 20 points (8g, 12a) in 21 games for the Crunch this season. He has been on the scoresheet in 15 of his 21 appearances for the Crunch. 
 
***
 
Defenseman Ethan Samson scored his first Crunch goal, which tied Sunday's game at one in the first period. Samson had missed the previous four games due to injury. He has two points (1g, 1a) in four games since being acquired in a trade on Dec. 8. 
 
GROSHEV MAKES NHL DEBUT
 
Defenseman Max Groshev earned his second recall to the Tampa Bay Lightning this season and went on to make his NHL debut Sunday versus Montreal. The Agryz, Russia native finished with 13:03 time on ice and picked up his first NHL point with an assist.
 
Groshev, 24, is in his first full season as a defenseman after switching from forward late last season. He became the 102nd player to skate for both the Crunch and Lightning since the affiliation began in 2012, and he is the fifth new player added to that list this season. 
 
TRADES BRING IN TWO FROM IOWA
 
The Lightning and Crunch made related trades with the Minnesota and Iowa Wild that brings forward Michael Milne and defenseman Wyatt Newpower to the Crunch from Iowa. Veteran forward Boris Katchouk was traded to the Wild.
 
Milne, 23, was in his fourth season with Iowa and had five points (2g, 3a) in 15 games this season. He has 65 points (32g, 33a) in 172 career AHL games. He played one game for Minnesota last season.
 
Newpower, 28, has three assists in 23 games this season. He has played in 235 career AHL games for the Wild, Bridgeport Islanders, Grand Rapids Griffins and Cleveland Monsters since 2020-21.
 
UPCOMING WEEK        
           
Thursday, January 1 at Toronto | 2 p.m.
The Crunch finish their six-game road stretch with a New Year's Day matinee against the Toronto Marlies. It's the second straight season the clubs have met to ring in the New Year; Syracuse won, 2-0, last season and is 2-0-0-0 all-time on New Year's Day.
 
Thursday is the second game of the four-game season series. The Crunch earned a 5-4 win at the Coca-Cola Coliseum on Oct. 29. Since the beginning of the 2023-24 season the Crunch are 11-1-1-2 head-to-head against the Marlies, including a 7-0-1-0 mark in Toronto.
 
The Marlies are 15-13-1-1 this season and rank fourth in the North Division with 32 points.
 
The Crunch are 2-2-0-1 so far on their season-high six-game road trip. Twenty of their 30 games played this season have been on the road.
 
Saturday, January 3 vs. W-B/Scranton | 7 p.m.
The Crunch return home for the first time since Dec. 13 to face off against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. It's the first of four games in the season series.
 
The Penguins lead the Eastern Conference with 47 points (22-7-1-2), and they have earned points in five straight games (3-0-0-2). They have a plus-32 goal differential which ranks second in the conference and third overall in the AHL.
 
Syracuse has played the fewest home games in the AHL (10) and has won four straight at Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
WEEK 12 RESULTS
 
Saturday, Dec. 27 | Game 29 at Laval | SOL, 4-3
Syracuse    1 1 1 0 0 - 3  Shots: 11-9-9-7-0-36    PP: 0/2
Laval          0 1 2 0 1 - 4  Shots: 2-10-9-3-1-25    PP: 0/1
1st Period-Gauthier 2 (Unassisted), 15:20. 2nd Period-Geekie 8 (Abruzzese, Pelletier), 0:20. 3rd Period-Stachowiak 9 (Furry, Chaffee), 13:22. Shootout-Laval 3 (Davidson NG, Belzile G, Roy G, Farrell G), Syracuse 2 (Geekie G, Stachowiak G, Pelletier NG, Katchouk NG). . . . Halverson 10-4-1 (24 shots-21 saves) A-10,243
 
Sunday, Dec. 28 | Game 30 at Laval | L, 4-2
Syracuse    1 0 1 - 2         Shots: 9-13-11-33         PP: 0/2
Laval          2 2 0 - 4         Shots: 10-6-3-19           PP: 2/2
1st Period-Samson 1 (Pelletier, Furry), 13:29. 3rd Period-Duke 12 (Chaffee, Abruzzese), 16:03. . . . Fanti 6-7-1 (19 shots-15 saves) A-10,243
 

Category	Average/Total	AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play	21.1% (24-for-114)	T-11th (8th)
Penalty Kill	79.8% (71-for-89)	T-19th (16th)
Goals For	3.40 GFA (102)	4th (4th)
Goals Against	2.73 GAA (82)	9th (7th)
Shots For	28.67 SF/G (860)	16th (18th)
Shots Against	24.80 SA/G (744)	3rd (3rd)
Penalty Minutes	12.47 PIM/G (374)	19th (17th)

 

Category		Leader
Points	33	Pelletier
Goals	15	Pelletier
Assists	22	Abruzzese
PIM	32	Mercuri
Plus/Minus	+15	Pelletier
Wins	10	Halverson
GAA	2.45	Fanti
Save %	.902	Fanti

 

North Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	PIM	HOME	ROAD	LAST 10	STREAK	S/O
1. Laval	30	19	10	0	1	39	0.650	98	76	476	11-3-0-1	8-7-0-0	5-4-0-1	2-0-0-0	2-1
2. Syracuse	30	17	11	1	1	36	0.600	102	82	374	7-3-0-0	10-8-1-1	4-4-1-1	0-2-0-1	0-1
3. Rochester	30	16	10	3	1	36	0.600	101	93	381	6-5-2-1	10-5-1-0	5-1-3-1	2-0-1-0	0-1
4. Toronto	30	15	13	1	1	32	0.533	91	101	438	7-5-0-1	8-8-1-0	6-4-0-0	2-0-0-0	2-1
5. Belleville	33	13	15	5	0	31	0.470	107	119	445	6-9-2-0	7-6-3-0	3-4-3-0	1-0-0-0	2-0
6. Cleveland	28	13	10	4	1	31	0.554	70	76	344	5-5-3-1	8-5-1-0	6-3-1-0	1-0-1-0	0-1
7. Utica	28	7	16	3	2	19	0.339	60	92	314	4-9-1-2	3-7-2-0	4-4-1-1	0-1-0-1	1-2