SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch fell to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 4-2, tonight at the PPL Center.
 
The Crunch move to 20-17-7-4 on the season and 0-1-1-0 in the four-game season series against the Phantoms.
 
Crunch goaltender Brandon Halverson turned aside 18-of-21 shots, while Keith Petruzzelli put a stop to 16-of-18 for the Phantoms. Syracuse special teams converted on 1-of-4 power play opportunities while holding the Phantoms off the scoresheet on their lone man-advantage.
 
Lehigh Valley opened scoring with less than two minutes remaining in the first period. Alexis Gendron picked up a turnover in the high slot and potted it from the left circle. The Crunch knotted the score on the power play just over a minute later. Conor Geekie fed the puck to Derrick Pouliot who ripped a one-timer from the right circle.
 
The Phantoms regained their lead at the 15:44 mark of the second frame. A deflected puck rolled to Anthony Richard in the left circle where he potted a one-timer. 
 
Gendron notched his second goal of the night and extended the Phantoms' lead to 3-1 at the 13:30 mark of the third period with a shot from the left circle. The Crunch mounted a late comeback effort and made the score 3-2 with 1:15 remaining in the final frame. Gage Goncalves traveled into the offensive zone and scored on a snapshot from the left circle. Adam Ginning sealed the victory for Lehigh Valley with an empty-net goal with 48 seconds remaining. 
 
The Crunch return home on Friday when they face off against the Toronto Marlies. 
 
Single game tickets and ticket packages for the 2024-25 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: Derrick Pouliot recorded his 200^th career AHL assist.