SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Jakob Pelletier recorded a hat trick as the Syracuse Crunch blew past the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 7-2, tonight at the PPL Center.
 
Syracuse tallied six consecutive goals on their way to a dominant victory. Pelletier led the team with his three goals, while Gabriel Szturc recorded two goals and Elliot Desnoyers contributed a goal and an assist. Ethan Gauthier and Nick Abruzzese both tallied three helpers. In total, eleven different Crunch players earned points as the team advances to 4-4-1-0 on the season.
 
Olivier Rodrigue earned the win stopping 21-of-23 shots in net for the Crunch. Phantoms netminder Carson Bjarnason turned aside 21-of-28. Syracuse converted on 2-of-8 power play opportunities and went a perfect 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

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The Phantoms were first on the board off their first shot of the game 30 seconds in. Zayde Wisdom skated down the left wing and beat Rodrigue with a wrister from the top of the circle. The Crunch responded with a pair of goals to steal the lead by the end of the first period. At 6:51, Michael Callahan ripped a one-timer from the blue line that bounded off Jansen Harkins and in while he battled in front of the net. With 1:19 remaining in the frame, Desnoyers grabbed the puck near the end boards and scored from a sharp angle along the goal line.
 
Syracuse dominated in the second period and added four more goals to build up a 6-1 lead. Pelletier kicked off the middle frame onslaught just 1:27 into the period. Bjarnason made the initial save on Abruzzese's shot, but the rebound came out for Pelletier to chip in from the bottom of the right circle. Two minutes later, Gabriel Szturc went top shelf from the right circle on the man-advantage. Pelletier completed his hat trick performance with two more goals just 2:22 apart. At 17:26, he redirected Abruzzese's right-side shot as he came streaking down the slot. Two minutes later, he scored another goal the exact same way to earn his second career hat trick.
 
Lehigh Valley stole one back in the third period when they capitalized on a turnover. Nolan Foote grabbed the puck and set up Alex Ciernik for a close-range shot at the 7:37 mark. The Crunch halted a comeback attempt and Szturc potted his second of the game on the power-play with just 1:15 remaining in the game to secure the win.
 
The Crunch are back in action on Friday when they host the Hamilton Hammers.
 
Single game tickets and ticket packages for the 2026-27 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: Lucas Mercuri has three points in his last two games (3a)…Nick Abruzzese tallied his 200th AHL point tonight…Jakob Pelletier recorded his second career hat trick tonight. It's his first since March 9, 2022. It's the Crunch's first hat trick since Dylan Duke's three-goal game at Utica on Nov. 11, 2025.