Crunch blank Senators 4-0 in home finale, enter playoffs strong

Jon Gillies gave the Syracuse Crunch exactly the kind of playoff tune-up their home crowd wanted: a 4-0 shutout over Belleville that closed the regular-season slate at Upstate Medical University Arena with control, discipline and no late drama.

Spencer Kersten got Syracuse started in the first period, scoring the opening goal to put the Crunch ahead 1-0 and set the tone for a night that never slipped out of their hands. The lead grew in the second period when Syracuse cashed in on the power play, turning a special-teams chance into the kind of margin that lets a team dictate the rest of the game.

That was the difference in a finale that looked more like a postseason dress rehearsal than a routine regular-season finish. Syracuse went 3-for-8 on the power play and a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, a strong combination for a team trying to sharpen its details before the Calder Cup playoffs begin immediately after the regular season. Belleville goalie Kaidan Mbereko stopped 29 of 33 shots, but the Senators never found a way through Gillies, who stopped all 21 shots he faced.

For Syracuse, the shutout carried more weight than a single win. The Crunch finished the 2025-26 regular season at 41-24-3-4 with 89 points, good for second place in the North Division. That standing gives them a favorable platform heading into the playoffs, and the final result offered the kind of proof coaches like to see in April: scoring from the top end, support from the power play and a defense that kept the opponent from building any momentum.

The victory also served as a sharp response to the night before, when Syracuse fell 6-4 at Belleville in a game that turned wild in the third period and featured nine combined goals. Instead of carrying that loose, high-scoring script back home, the Crunch answered with structure and restraint, a sign the group can adjust from one night to the next.

With their North Division Semifinals opponent still to be determined by the remaining league results, Syracuse left its home ice with a finish that should reassure fans across Onondaga County. A shutout in the finale was more than a clean ending. It was a reminder that this Crunch team can win with pace, patience and enough defensive bite to matter when the games tighten up.