Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 31, No. 24
AHL Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 31, No. 24

March 25, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


CRUNCH SPLIT SLATE OF GAMES

The Crunch went 1-1-0-0 in their two games in Week 24, earning a win on the road before dropping a contest at home.

Syracuse stretched its winning streak to five games with a 3-0 win Friday at Lehigh Valley. It marked the longest winning streak of the season for the Crunch. Matt Tomkins and Ryan Fanti combined for 20 saves in the shared shutout; the Crunch have posted eight shutouts this season.

The Crunch returned home Friday and lost to the Rochester Americans, 4-1, for their first regulation defeat since March 7.

The Crunch currently hold the final playoff position in the North Division with 68 points (28-20-8-4). Syracuse has 12 games remaining and will play three games in each of the final four weeks of the season.

TOP PERFORMER

Forward Conor Geekie had a hand in three of the four goals the Crunch scored in Week 24. The rookie forward netted a pair of goals in the Crunch's 3-0 win over the Phantoms on Friday. He scored the game's first two goals, grabbing the game-winning goal along with his first career two-goal game.

The 20-year-old followed that with an assist on the team's only goal Saturday in their 4-1 loss to Rochester. Geekie has 12 points (5g, 7a) in 17 games since joining the Crunch following the AHL All-Star Break. He ranks sixth on the Crunch in scoring in that span.

HALVERSON MAKES FIRST NHL START

Goaltender Brandon Halverson earned a recall to the Tampa Bay Lightning over the weekend, and he made his first NHL start Saturday at Utah. His only previous NHL appearance was a relief outing for the New York Rangers on Feb. 17, 2018.

Halverson, who inked an NHL contract last month, leads Crunch goaltenders with a 16-9-8 record, along with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.

COOPER FLINTON JOINS CRUNCH

Forward Cooper Flinton has signed his entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he has joined the Crunch on an amateur try-out. Flinton was selected by the Lightning in the seventh round, 211th overall, at the 2021 NHL Draft.

The Auburn, New Hampshire native spent the last three seasons at Dartmouth College. He compiled 64 points (32g, 32a) in 89 games for the Big Green. He scored 11 power-play goals and had five game-winning tallies in that time.

UPCOMING WEEK

Friday, March 28 vs. Utica | 7 p.m.

The Crunch open their final three-in-three weekend of the season Friday against the Utica Comets. It's the 11th game of the 14-game season series between the clubs. Syracuse snapped a five-game losing streak in the series with a 2-1 win in the last meeting on March 12, but the Comets hold a 6-4 advantage versus the Crunch. The Crunch have been held to two or fewer goals in seven of the 10 matches.

The Comets have lost back-to-back games and their playoff hopes are fading. They are 24-29-5-2 and trail the Crunch by 13 points for the final playoff position with 12 games remaining.

Saturday, March 29 vs. Rochester | 7 p.m.

The Crunch take on the Canal Mules identity Saturday against the Rochester Americans. The Canal Mules debuted last season in a 4-0 win over the Providence Bruins on March 30. More information on the Canal Mules can be found here.

The opening leg of a home-and-home set is the 11th match of the season series. The Amerks won their sixth game in the series against the Crunch (4-4-1-1) last Saturday in Syracuse. It was Rochester's 21st road win of the season (21-8-1-2).

Sunday, March 30 at Rochester | 3:05 p.m.

The Crunch and Amerks conclude their home-and-home series - and their regular season series - Sunday afternoon at Blue Cross Arena. It'll be the third meeting in nine days between the clubs.

The Amerks enter the week having won back-to-back games. Sunday will also be the final game of a three-in-three for Rochester, which plays at home on Friday against Bridgeport before the two-game set against the Crunch. They trail Laval by six points for the top spot in the North Division, and their magic number to secure a playoff spot is at 11.

WEEK 24 RESULTS

Friday, March 21 | Game 59 at Lehigh Valley | W, 3-0

Syracuse 0 2 1 - 3 Shots: 12-7-5-24 PP: 1/6

Lehigh Valley 0 0 0 - 0 Shots: 4-8-8-20 PP: 0/6

2nd Period-Geekie 4 (Brown, Finley), 1:17 (PP). Geekie 5 (Bisson, Angello), 9:48. 3rd Period-Angello 9 (Duke, Huuhtanen), 12:16.. .. Tomkins 12-10-4 (16 shots-16 saves), Fanti ND (4 shots-4 saves) A-6,751

Saturday, March 22 | Game 60 vs. Rochester | L, 4-1

Rochester 1 1 2 - 4 Shots: 16-10-7-33 PP: 2/7

Syracuse 0 0 1 - 1 Shots: 7-3-7-17 PP: 0/3

3rd Period-Allard 5 (Geekie, Bisson), 5:28.. .. Fanti 0-1-0 (33 shots-29 saves) A-6,230

Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)

Power Play 16.7% (36-for-316) T-26th (25th)

Penalty Kill 81.9% (172-for-210) 16th (T-15th)

Goals For 2.92 GFA (175) 21st (T-20th)

Goals Against 2.60 GAA (156) 5th (5th)

Shots For 27.58 SF/G (1655) 25th (24th)

Shots Against 27.33 SA/G (1640) 8th (8th)

Penalty Minutes 11.83 PIM/G (710) 24th (26th)

Category Leader

Points 48 Pouliot

Goals 17 Sheary

Assists 41 Pouliot

PIM 67 Crozier

Plus/Minus +15 Huuhtanen

Wins 16 Halverson

GAA 2.32 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 61 41 16 3 1 86 0.705 196 154 981 22-7-2-1 19-9-1-0 8-1-1-0 4-0-1-0 3-1

2. Rochester 61 37 18 3 3 80 0.656 208 164 690 16-10-2-1 21-8-1-2 4-4-0-2 2-0-0-0 5-3

3. Toronto 61 32 20 3 6 73 0.598 177 167 717 18-9-1-3 14-11-2-3 5-5-0-0 1-0-0-0 3-6

4. Cleveland 61 30 21 5 5 70 0.574 171 189 757 13-10-3-4 17-11-2-1 4-6-0-0 1-0-0-0 3-5

5. Syracuse 60 28 20 8 4 68 0.567 175 156 710 13-9-4-4 15-11-4-0 6-3-1-0 0-1-0-0 3-4

6. Belleville 60 29 23 4 4 66 0.550 176 186 824 16-9-2-2 13-14-2-2 5-5-0-0 0-2-0-0 4-4

7. Utica 60 24 29 5 2 55 0.458 158 189 747 13-12-3-2 11-17-2-0 4-5-1-0 0-1-1-0 2-2

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2025


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