Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 31, No. 22
AHL Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 31, No. 22

Published on March 11, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


CRUNCH EARN WIN TO CLOSE WEEK

The Crunch split their two games in Week 22 and continue to jostle for the final playoff position in the North Division with six weeks remaining in the regular season.

Syracuse contested both games on the road to finish a three-game road swing. It was the final week this season without at least one home game on the docket.

The Crunch lost to the Utica Comets, 4-1, on Friday at the Adirondack Bank Center. It was their second loss to the Comets in less than a week. After a rare Saturday night off, the Crunch rebounded Sunday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with a 5-1 win against the Penguins. The Crunch earned a split of the four-game season series with the Penguins by scoring five unanswered goals after falling behind 1-0 early in the first period.

The Crunch and Belleville Senators are tied for the final North Division playoff spot with 60 points in 55 games played. The Crunch currently hold the tiebreaker with one more regulation win.

TOP PERFORMER

Forward Conor Geekie scored in both Crunch games in Week 22. He potted the Crunch's only goal in their 4-1 loss against the Comets on Friday. He followed that with a marker Sunday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to help the Crunch grab a 5-1 win. He netted a crucial insurance goal to give the Crunch a 3-1 lead in the third period.

The 20-year-old has points in three of his last four games (2g, 1a), giving him six points (3g, 3a) in 12 Crunch games. He has also dressed in 49 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, adding 12 points (6g, 6a).

***

Forward Anthony Angello powered the Crunch to their 5-1 win against the Penguins on Sunday at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza. Angello scored a goal and added an assist for his first two points with the Crunch. It was his second Crunch game after he was acquired in a trade from the Nashville Predators on Feb. 26. The goal stood as the game-winning tally.

Angello, a Syracuse native who grew up in Manlius, has totaled 16 points (8g, 8a) in 43 games this season for the Crunch and Milwaukee Admirals.

AHL TRADE/LOAN DEADLINE APPROACHES

The AHL's trade/loan deadline is set for 3 p.m. eastern on Friday. AHL contracted players or players on loan from their NHL parent clubs cannot be traded or loaned to another club following the deadline.

Syracuse has already made two AHL trades this season. They acquired forward Reece Newkirk from Springfield in exchange for Kale Kessy on Feb. 20. Over the weekend the Crunch dealt forward Jujhar Khaira to Abbotsford for future considerations.

UPCOMING WEEK

Wednesday, March 12 vs. Utica | 7 p.m.

The Crunch face off against the Utica Comets for the third time in the last four games tomorrow at Upstate Medical University Arena. The Comets have won five straight head-to-head matches and lead the season series, 6-3. The Comets have outscored the Crunch, 20-9, during their five-game winning streak in the series.

The Comets are eight points behind the Crunch and Senators for the final playoff position in the North Division at 23-25-4-2. They started the season 0-10-1-2.

Friday, March 14 vs. Springfield | 7 p.m.

The Crunch begin a home-and-home series with the Springfield Thunderbirds Friday at Upstate Medical University Arena. The teams have not faced off since last March 23; last year the T-Birds swept the two-game season series.

The Thunderbirds are the hottest team in the Atlantic Division with points in eight of the last 10 games (7-2-0-1) entering the week. They are 30-20-2-4 and have 66 points, which is good for fifth place in the division. They are led by former Crunch forward Matthew Peca, who has netted the game-winning goal in consecutive games and ranks eighth in the AHL with 50 points (26g, 24a).

Saturday, March 15 at Springfield | 7:05 p.m.

Both the Crunch and Thunderbirds hop on a bus following Friday's game and take the series to Springfield for a Saturday rematch. The Thunderbirds sport a 16-10-0-1 record at the MassMutual Center, although their goal differential on home ice is even (88-88).

The T-Birds have five games remaining against North Division teams. They are 1-4-0-0 so far against the Crunch's division.

Week 22 Results

Friday, March 7 | Game 54 at Utica | L, 4-1

Syracuse 0 1 0 - 1 Shots: 3-4-11-18 PP: 1/4

Utica 2 0 2 - 4 Shots: 13-10-7-30 PP: 2/3

2nd Period-Geekie 2 (Duke, Khaira), 8:17 (PP).. .. Tomkins 10-10-4 (29 shots-26 saves) A-2,432

Sunday, March 9 | Game 55 at W-B/Scranton | W, 5-1

Syracuse 1 1 3 - 5 Shots: 11-9-10-30 PP: 0/1

W-B/Scranton 1 0 0 - 1 Shots: 9-9-9-27 PP: 0/1

1st Period-Allard 4 (Unassisted), 16:16. 2nd Period-Angello 8 (Bisson, Brown), 17:16. 3rd Period-Geekie 3 (Crozier, Angello), 11:04. Crozier 7 (Unassisted), 17:23 (EN). Teasdale 7 (Walcott), 17:56.. .. Halverson 14-9-8 (27 shots-26 saves) A-4,817

Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)

Power Play 15.7% (31-for-198) 30th (31st)

Penalty Kill 81.8% (157-for-192) 16th (T-14th)

Goals For 2.76 GFA (152) 28th (29th)

Goals Against 2.62 GAA (144) 5th (4th)

Shots For 27.89 SF/G (1534) 24th (22nd)

Shots Against 27.55 SA/G (1515) 8th (8th)

Penalty Minutes 11.47 PIM/G (631) 25th (24th)

Category Leader

Points 44 Pouliot

Goals 16 Duke

Assists 37 Pouliot

PIM 56 Crozier

Plus/Minus +13 Huuhtanen

Wins 14 Halverson

GAA 2.34 Halverson

Save % .913 Halverson

North Division GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT GF GA PIM HOME ROAD LAST 10 STREAK S/O

1. Laval 55 37 15 2 1 77 0.700 176 143 880 20-6-1-1 17-9-1-0 7-3-0-0 5-0-0-0 3-1

2. Rochester 56 34 16 3 3 74 0.661 192 151 618 14-8-2-1 20-8-1-2 5-3-0-2 0-2-0-2 4-3

3. Toronto 55 29 17 3 6 67 0.609 162 153 630 15-8-1-3 14-9-2-3 4-4-1-1 1-0-0-0 3-6

4. Cleveland 56 28 18 5 5 66 0.589 161 171 657 13-10-3-4 15-8-2-1 4-4-1-1 0-2-0-0 3-5

5. Syracuse 55 24 19 8 4 60 0.545 152 144 631 11-8-4-4 13-11-4-0 5-3-2-0 1-0-0-0 3-4

6. Belleville 55 26 21 4 4 60 0.545 158 176 743 13-8-2-2 13-13-2-2 5-4-1-0 0-2-0-0 4-4

7. Utica 54 23 25 4 2 52 0.481 145 170 691 12-10-2-2 11-15-2-0 6-3-1-0 1-0-0-0 2-2

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics

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