CRUNCH SWEEP THEIR WAY TO ALL-STAR BREAK
The Syracuse Crunch collected three straight wins in Week 18 to enter the AHL All-Star Break on a three-game winning streak.
The Crunch began the week with a 4-3 home win versus the Springfield Thunderbirds on Wednesday. Then they defeated the Belleville Senators twice in a home-and-home series. The Crunch won, 5-3, Friday in Syracuse and then earned a 5-2 win in Belleville on Saturday.
It's the sixth time this season the Crunch have won at least three straight games. They enter the All-Star Break in second place in the North Division with 56 points. They are 10 games above hockey 0.500 (26-16-3-1) for the first time this season.
The Crunch have 26 games remaining after the All-Star Break. They have 17 home games and nine road games left on the schedule.
TOP PERFORMERS
Forward
Mitchell Chaffee powered the Crunch to three straight wins with at least one point in all three games in Week 18. Chaffee topped the team with five points (3g, 2a) during the week and ended the week with goals in back-to-back games.
The Rockford, Michigan native added two assists Wednesday versus Springfield, scored a hard-nosed empty-net goal to seal a win Friday versus Belleville then added two more goals against the Senators on Saturday. He ranks fifth on the Crunch with 35 points (14g, 21a) in 34 games this season. He has points in the last four games, scoring six points (4g, 2a) in that span.
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Ethan Gauthier continued his strong play with three points over three games in Week 18. The rookie notched his first career two-goal game, which included his first game-winning goal, Friday versus Belleville. That came after he grabbed an assist Wednesday against the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Gauthier has earned 12 points (6g, 6a) in 34 games this season for the Crunch.
ALL-STARS SET TO SHINE IN ROCKFORD
Crunch All-Star forwards
Jakob Pelletier and
Conor Geekie are ready to show off at the AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO, in Rockford. The showcase begins with the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Tuesday followed by the 2026 AHL All-Star Challenge on Wednesday. It is the first All-Star appearance for both players.
Coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET both nights and will be televised live to national audiences on NHL Network in the United States and TSN in Canada, along with streaming coverage on AHLTV on FloHockey
UPCOMING WEEK
Saturday, February 14 at W-B/Scranton | 6:05 p.m.
The Crunch play their first game following the All-Star Break Saturday against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. It's the Crunch's second and final visit to Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
The home team has won the first two games of the season series. Syracuse won, 6-0, at home on Jan. 3 and the Penguins answered with a 4-1 win on Jan. 31. That win over the Crunch began their active five-game winning streak, which has the Penguins sitting at 32-12-2-2. Their 68 points are third-most in the AHL, but that is only good enough for second place in the Atlantic Division.
Sunday, February 15 at Lehigh Valley | 3:05 p.m.
The Crunch play their third straight road game when they visit the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the PPL Center on Sunday. The Crunch have defeated the Phantoms twice — by a combined 7-2 score — through the first two games of their season series. Syracuse won, 4-1, at Lehigh Valley on Jan. 17.
The Phantoms lost their last three games prior to the All-Star Break, and they have only two wins in the last 10 games (2-8-0-0). They are 21-20-2-2 this season and sit in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with 46 points.
WEEK 18 RESULTS
Wednesday, Feb. 4 | Game 44 vs. Springfield | W, 4-3
Springfield 2 0 1 - 3 Shots: 7-6-17-30 PP: 1/4
Syracuse 3 1 0 - 4 Shots: 7-9-4-20 PP: 1/3
1st Period-Allard 5 (
Duke, Newpower), 15:56. Duke 21 (
Chaffee, Gauthier), 19:43 (PP). Newpower 1 (
Geekie, Chaffee), 19:59. 2nd Period-Groshev 2 (
Lundmark), 5:22.
Halverson 14-6-3 (30 shots-27 saves) A-4,201
Friday, Feb. 6 | Game 45 vs. Belleville | W, 5-3
Belleville 1 0 2 - 3 Shots: 11-11-10-32 PP: 2/4
Syracuse 2 1 2 - 5 Shots: 9-9-9-27 PP: 1/4
1st Period-Groshev 3 (
Furry), 1:56. Mercuri 8 (
Pietroniro, Allard), 17:29. 2nd Period-Gauthier 5 (
Roelens), 12:09. 3rd Period-Gauthier 6 (
Geekie, Pelletier), 12:58 (PP). Chaffee 12 (
Pelletier, Santini), 19:39 (EN).
Gillies 2-0-0 (32 shots-29 saves) A-5,027
Saturday, Feb. 7 | Game 46 at Belleville | W, 5-2
Syracuse 2 1 2 - 5 Shots: 11-4-8-23 PP: 2/3
Belleville 2 0 0 - 2 Shots: 5-12-6-23 PP: 0/2
1st Period-Geekie 13 (
Pelletier, Duke), 1:37 (PP). Pelletier 20 (
Geekie, Furry), 15:42. 2nd Period-Szturc 3 (
Duke, Mercuri), 15:57 (PP). 3rd Period-Chaffee 13 (
Furry, Groshev), 16:09. Chaffee 14 (
Groshev), 17:54 (EN).
Halverson 15-6-3 (23 shots-21 saves) A-2,937
| Category |
Average/Total |
AHL Rank (Prev) |
| Power Play |
22.8% (38-for-167) |
5th (8th) |
| Penalty Kill |
80.1% (113-for-141) |
22nd (18th) |
| Goals For |
3.24 GFA (149) |
T-11th (T-15th) |
| Goals Against |
2.65 GAA (122) |
6th (5th) |
| Shots For |
28.04 SF/G (1290) |
18th (16th) |
| Shots Against |
25.20 SA/G (1159) |
2nd (2nd) |
| Penalty Minutes |
13.91 PIM/G (640) |
10th (9th) |
| Category |
|
Leader |
| Points |
46 |
Pelletier |
| Goals |
21 |
Duke |
| Assists |
29 |
Abruzzese |
| PIM |
69 |
Mercuri |
| Plus/Minus |
+18 |
Pelletier |
| Wins |
15 |
Halverson |
| GAA |
2.41 |
Halverson |
| Save % |
.904 |
Halverson |
| North Division |
GP |
W |
L |
OTL |
SOL |
PTS |
PCT |
GF |
GA |
PIM |
HOME |
ROAD |
LAST 10 |
STREAK |
S/O |
| 1. Laval |
47 |
29 |
14 |
2 |
2 |
62 |
0.660 |
151 |
124 |
716 |
15-5-1-2 |
14-9-1-0 |
7-2-1-0 |
5-0-0-0 |
2-2 |
| 2. Syracuse |
46 |
26 |
16 |
3 |
1 |
56 |
0.609 |
149 |
122 |
640 |
14-4-1-0 |
12-12-2-1 |
7-2-1-0 |
3-0-0-0 |
1-1 |
| 3. Toronto |
45 |
23 |
15 |
4 |
3 |
53 |
0.589 |
142 |
147 |
652 |
11-6-1-2 |
12-9-3-1 |
5-1-3-1 |
4-0-3-1 |
2-3 |
| 4. Cleveland |
45 |
23 |
15 |
6 |
1 |
53 |
0.589 |
130 |
137 |
578 |
11-6-4-1 |
12-9-2-0 |
6-2-2-0 |
0-1-1-0 |
2-1 |
| 5. Rochester |
45 |
23 |
16 |
4 |
2 |
52 |
0.578 |
143 |
130 |
495 |
10-9-2-1 |
13-7-2-1 |
4-4-1-1 |
2-0-0-0 |
0-2 |
| 6. Belleville |
49 |
20 |
21 |
8 |
0 |
48 |
0.490 |
159 |
178 |
683 |
9-12-3-0 |
11-9-5-0 |
5-3-2-0 |
0-2-0-0 |
3-0 |
| 7. Utica |
43 |
13 |
22 |
5 |
3 |
34 |
0.395 |
103 |
141 |
519 |
9-10-2-2 |
4-12-3-1 |
3-5-1-1 |
0-1-0-0 |
2-3 |
