Syracuse Crunch fall to Belleville Senators, 4-2

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch fell to the Belleville Senators, 4-2, tonight at the Upstate Medical University Arena.

The loss moves the Crunch to 28-16-3-2 on the season and 0-3-1-1 in the eight-game season series against the Senators.

Crunch goaltender Hugo Alnefelt turned aside 20-of-23 shots. Leevi Merilainen stopped 18-of-20 in net for the Senators. Syracuse was held scoreless on their lone power play opportunity, while Belleville went 1-for-3.

The Senators were first on the board just 1:31 into the game when Jacob Larsson ripped a slap shot through traffic. The Crunch were quick to respond and tied the game four minutes later. Shawn Element fired a shot on net that was swept away by Merilainen and out for Sean Day to chip in as he sped down the left side. Belleville regained their lead with 11 seconds remaining in the opening frame. Garrett Pilon carried the puck into the zone and sent a pass over for Angus Crookshank to score with a wrister from the top of the left circle.

Belleville made it a two-goal lead late in the second period with a power-play goal at the 16:26 mark when Maxence Guenette scored with a shot from the right circle. Just 1:09 later, Lucas Edmonds got a stick on Day’s long shot from the blue line to tip it past Merilainen.

The Senators held onto their lead through the third period and Matthew Highmore hit the empty net in the final minutes to lock in the win.

The Crunch host the Utica Comets tomorrow to complete the team’s three-in-three weekend.

Single game tickets and ticket packages for the 2023-24 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.

Crunchables: Declan Carlile is on a six-game points streak (1g, 6a).