SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch were defeated by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 4-1, tonight at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
 
The Crunch move to 23-16-3-1 on the season and 1-1-0-0 in the four-game seasons series with the Penguins.
 
Crunch goaltender Ryan Fanti put a stop to 14-of-18 shots in net. Sergei Murashov earned the win turning aside 26-of-27 shots for the Penguins. Syracuse converted on 1-of-2 power play opportunities while holding Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scoreless on their lone man advantage. 
 
The Penguins struck first with 12:49 to play in the first period when Avery Hayes took a shot off his backhand in front of the net. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard doubled their lead a minute later as he scrambled for a rebound at the crease and hammered it home. 
 
With 1:13 to play in the second frame, the Penguins scored their third of the night when Matt Dumba fired a shot in from the right point. 
 
Syracuse was on the board 3:46 into the final period with a power-play goal from Conor Geekie. Dylan Duke picked up the puck after the faceoff and sent it back above the left circle to Jakob Pelletier. Pelletier dished it to Geekie at the top of the right circle and he potted a one-timer to make it 3-1. A little over a minute later, the Penguins regained their three-goal lead as Gabe Klassen sent the puck from the blue line into an open net. 
 
The Crunch return to Syracuse on Wednesday to face off against the Springfield Thunderbirds.  
 
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: Conor Geekie led the Crunch with 12 points (4g, 8a) in the month of January.