The Syracuse Crunch put together a week that pretty much had everything: a lopsided loss, a heartbreaker, and a blowout win. After three games in five days - two on the road against the Laval Rocket and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, plus one at home against the Rochester Americans - Syracuse picked up three of a possible six points and stayed in fifth place in the North Division, hanging on to the final playoff spot early in the season.
There were a few players who stood out while the results swung wildly from game to game, and Ethan Gauthier, Jakob Pelletier and Brendan Furry all had their fingerprints on the week.
Gauthier has been one of Syracuse’s early bright spots, and he kept that going against Rochester on Oct. 23.
With the Crunch trailing 2-1 in the final minute, a scramble developed right in front of the net and Gauthier kept jabbing at the loose puck until he finally forced it past Matthew Villalta to tie the game. It was the kind of late push Syracuse has already leaned on more than once this season.
Gauthier added three more points in the win over Lehigh Valley, giving him five points through eight games.
Pelletier’s week had a different kind of impact. He entered the game against the Phantoms with just four points in eight games after winning the John B.
Sollenberger Trophy in 2025-26 and earning a spot on the AHL First All-Star Team. Then he snapped out of it in a big way on Oct. 24, finishing a hat trick before the second period ended.
Every one of those goals came in the second frame, and Nick Abruzzese assisted on two of them by sending pucks toward Carter Bjarnson for Pelletier to redirect. When Pelletier gets rolling, the Crunch are a different team.
Furry also made his mark in the Rochester game, using his speed and energy to turn a small opening into a goal. Mercuri had the puck on the left wall, Rochester’s skaters drifted toward him, and that left the middle of the ice open.
Furry spotted it, cut through, and was found by Mercuri for a one-on-one chance against Villalta. He finished it on the forehand, slipping the puck past Villalta’s right pad to trim the deficit.
Furry described the play this way: “It was just a nice quick transition play, and there was open ice in the middle. I don’t know if we caught them in a change, but yeah, some nice little puck movement led to a breakaway, and fortunately we scored.”
Furry now has four points in eight games. Gauthier has five in eight. Pelletier’s breakout night gave Syracuse a huge boost as the team turns to its next test against the Hamilton Hammers on Oct. 30, the first time the Hammers are traveling to Syracuse.
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Flyers Suddenly Need Their Blue-Line Depth More Than Ever
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With Ristolainen out again, Philadelphia has had to lean on a patchwork approach behind its top pair. Rookie Oliver Bonk has handled the job next to Travis Sanheim effectively, while Hunter McDonald, Simon Benoit and David Jiricek have been part of the committee filling the other defensive minutes, giving the Flyers a deeper test of their blue-line depth than they probably expected this early. [Read more 🡒]