CRUNCH RATTLE OFF THREE STRAIGHT WINS
The Syracuse Crunch capped off a stretch of four games in six days with three consecutive wins.
The Crunch were shut out in their first game last week in Rochester. After that loss they picked up wins over the Utica Comets, Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Rochester Americans to move into first place in the North Division. The condensed week concluded with a 3-2 shootout win over the Amerks yesterday afternoon.
Syracuse is 22-14-2-1 this season and has 47 points as they enter Week 16 on their fifth winning streak of at least three games this season. They have a home-and-home on tap with the Comets this weekend.
TOP PERFORMER
Goaltender
Ryan Fanti won his two starts last week to get back to .500 on the season with an 8-8-1 record in 17 starts. The Thunder Bay, Ontario native made a season-high 35 saves in a 5-2 win Friday against the Utica Comets. He then turned aside 30 of 32 in yesterday's 3-2 shootout victory over Rochester.
In stopping 65 of 69 shots, Fanti played to a .942 save percentage with a 1.92 goals-against average last week. He leads qualified Crunch goaltenders with a 2.36 goals-against average and .907 save percentage this season.
***
Nick Abruzzese topped the Crunch with five points (1g, 4a) in four games last week. He notched a point in three of the four games played, but he picked up points in all three wins. He recorded back-to-back multi-point games Friday and Saturday and then added an assist yesterday.
He ranks second on the Crunch with 36 points, which is 11th overall in the AHL. His 28 assists lead the Crunch and are tied for third in the league.
***
Brendan Furry led the Crunch to their win Friday against the Comets with three points in the final four and a half minutes of the game. It marked his second career three-point game in the AHL (also April 15, 2023). He has 16 points (7g, 9a) in 39 games, which is three shy of his career-high 19 points last season.
PELLETIER, GEEKIE NAMED AHL ALL-STARS
Crunch forwards
Jakob Pelletier and
Conor Geekie were named AHL All-Stars last week. The duo will represent the Crunch at the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO, in Rockford, Ill. on Feb. 10-11.
Pelletier ranks second in the AHL in scoring with 41 points (19g, 22a) in 35 games. He is closing in on his second 20-goal season in the AHL (also 2021-22) and grabbed his 200th pro point in yesterday's win.
Geekie is third on the Crunch with 32 points (11g, 21a). He has 52 points (22g, 30a) in 57 AHL games over the last two seasons.
Both players gobbled up points in all three Crunch games following the announcement last Thursday. It's the first All-Star appearance for both players.
UPCOMING WEEK
Saturday, January 24 vs. Utica | 7 p.m.
Sunday, January 25 at Utica | 3 p.m.
The Crunch face off against the Utica Comets in a home-and-home series starting Saturday night in Syracuse and wrapping up Sunday afternoon in Utica. They are the ninth and 10 games of the season series between the clubs, including the third and fourth this month. Syracuse is 6-2-0-0 in the series so far; they are 4-0-0-0 at home and 2-2-0-0 in Utica.
The Comets are last in the North Division with 29 points (11-18-4-3), but they have earned points in four straight home games (3-0-0-1). Utica's leading scorer — Lenni Hämeenaho — was recalled to New Jersey on Saturday and made his NHL debut yesterday. He has 21 points (9g, 12a) in 33 Comets games this season.
WEEK 15 RESULTS
Wednesday, Jan. 14 | Game 36 at Rochester | L, 3-0
Syracuse 0 0 0 - 0 Shots: 4-7-9-20 PP: 0/2
Rochester 0 1 2 - 3 Shots: 7-10-2-20 PP: 1/2
Halverson 12-6-2 (19 shots-17 saves) A-4,037
Friday, Jan. 16 | Game 37 vs. Utica | W, 5-2
Utica 1 1 0 - 2 Shots: 10-14-13-37 PP: 1/3
Syracuse 0 2 3 - 5 Shots: 9-17-10-36 PP: 1/3
2nd Period-Duke 17 (
Gauthier, Abruzzese), 4:21 (PP). Pelletier 18 (
Abruzzese, Tinordi), 11:40. 3rd Period-Furry 7 (
Allard), 15:27. Mercuri 7 (
Furry), 17:16. Geekie 10 (
Furry), 19:36 (EN).
Fanti 7-8-1 (37 shots-35 saves) A-5,634
Saturday, Jan. 17 | Game 38 at Lehigh Valley | W, 4-1
Syracuse 0 2 2 - 4 Shots: 5-7-9-21 PP: 1/4
Lehigh Valley 0 1 0 - 1 Shots: 10-11-7-28 PP: 1/6
1st Period-Duke 18 (
Pelletier, Abruzzese), 4:02 (PP). Allard 4 (
Roelens, Samson), 14:14. 3rd Period-Miller 3 (
Groshev, Mercuri), 12:43. Abruzzese 8 (
Geekie, Pelletier), 17:12 (EN).
Gillies 1-0-0 (28 shots-27 saves) A-8,128
Monday, Jan. 19 | Game 39 vs. Rochester | W, 3-2 (SO)
Rochester 0 2 0 0 0 - 2 Shots: 5-15-9-3-0-32 PP: 1/1
Syracuse 1 0 1 0 1 - 3 Shots: 10-11-5-4-1-31 PP: 0/4
1st Period-Geekie 11 (
Abruzzese, Pietroniro), 14:59. 3rd Period-Pelletier 19 (
Pietroniro, Samson), 15:44. Shootout-Syracuse 1 (
Abruzzese NG, Geekie NG, Groshev G), Rochester 0 (
Rosen NG, Meyer NG, Neuchev NG).
Fanti 8-8-1 (32 shots-30 saves) A-6,054
| Category |
Average/Total |
AHL Rank (Prev) |
| Power Play |
21.9% (32-for-146) |
8th (9th) |
| Penalty Kill |
80.7% (96-for-119) |
17th (12th) |
| Goals For |
3.23 GFA (126) |
T-11th (11th) |
| Goals Against |
2.56 GAA (100) |
5th (5th) |
| Shots For |
28.44 SF/G (1109) |
17th (17th) |
| Shots Against |
24.54 SA/G (957) |
1st (1st) |
| Penalty Minutes |
13.69 PIM/G (534) |
12th (9th) |
| Category |
|
Leader |
| Points |
41 |
Pelletier |
| Goals |
19 |
Pelletier |
| Assists |
28 |
Abruzzese |
| PIM |
56 |
Mercuri|Tinordi |
| Plus/Minus |
+16 |
Pelletier |
| Wins |
12 |
Halverson |
| GAA |
2.36 |
Fanti |
| Save % |
.907 |
Fanti |
| North Division |
GP |
W |
L |
OTL |
SOL |
PTS |
PCT |
GF |
GA |
PIM |
HOME |
ROAD |
LAST 10 |
STREAK |
S/O |
| 1. Syracuse |
39 |
22 |
14 |
2 |
1 |
47 |
0.603 |
126 |
100 |
534 |
11-4-0-0 |
11-10-2-1 |
5-4-1-0 |
3-0-0-0 |
1-1 |
| 2. Laval |
38 |
22 |
13 |
1 |
2 |
47 |
0.618 |
118 |
100 |
568 |
12-5-1-2 |
10-8-0-0 |
5-3-1-1 |
0-2-1-1 |
2-2 |
| 3. Toronto |
39 |
21 |
15 |
1 |
2 |
45 |
0.577 |
123 |
131 |
542 |
10-6-0-2 |
11-9-1-0 |
7-2-0-1 |
2-0-0-0 |
2-2 |
| 4. Rochester |
38 |
19 |
13 |
4 |
2 |
44 |
0.579 |
125 |
120 |
427 |
7-6-2-1 |
12-7-2-1 |
4-3-2-1 |
0-1-1-1 |
0-2 |
| 5. Belleville |
41 |
17 |
18 |
6 |
0 |
40 |
0.488 |
136 |
151 |
546 |
9-11-3-0 |
8-7-3-0 |
5-4-1-0 |
4-0-1-0 |
3-0 |
| 6. Cleveland |
36 |
17 |
14 |
4 |
1 |
39 |
0.542 |
92 |
102 |
447 |
7-6-3-1 |
10-8-1-0 |
5-4-1-0 |
0-2-0-0 |
1-1 |
| 7. Utica |
36 |
11 |
18 |
4 |
3 |
29 |
0.403 |
87 |
115 |
429 |
7-9-1-2 |
4-9-3-1 |
4-3-1-2 |
1-0-0-1 |
1-3 |
