Syracuse Crunch rally past the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 5-2

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch rallied past the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 5-2, tonight at the Upstate Medical University Arena.

The win advances the Crunch to 35-19-4-2 on the season and the team completes the four-game season series against the Penguins with a 2-2-0-0 record.

Crunch goaltender Brandon Halverson stopped 24-of-26 shots in victory. Joel Blomqvist turned aside 30-of-33 in net for the Penguins. Syracuse was held scoreless on four power play opportunities, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went 2-for-5.

The Penguins opened scoring with a power-play goal late in the first period. Xavier Ouellet fired a wrister from the blue line that was tipped in by Austin Rueschhoff.

The Crunch evened the score just 1:04 into the second period. Félix Robert was in front of the net to redirect Phil Myers’s right-point shot. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went back on top six minutes later when Joona Koppanen fired in a wrister from the top of the left circle while on the man-advantage. At 13:09, Myers netted a shot from the high slot to tie the game, 2-2.

Syracuse took over the lead 7:43 into the final frame. Cole Koepke skated the puck down the left side before centering a feed that bounced up off a defender, ricocheted off Waltteri Merelä and past Blomqvist. Gabriel Fortier and Alex Barré-Boulet then added a pair of empty-net goals in the final minutes to secure the Crunch win.

The Crunch travel to face the Springfield Thunderbirds tomorrow.

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: Phil Myers recorded his first three-point game since Jan. 13, 2023 tonight.