Syracuse Crunch Clinch Playoff Berth With 5-3 Win Over Rochester

Syracuse needed help from across the North Division to make it official, and it arrived Friday night in the form of a Utica loss and a Belleville shootout defeat. Combined with the Crunch's own 5-3 road victory over the Rochester Americans at Blue Cross Arena, those results sent Syracuse to the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs for the eighth consecutive season in which the playoffs were held, and the 10th time in 12 tries since the franchise began its affiliation with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Rochester drew first blood when Zac Jones scored at 15:45 of the first period, but Syracuse responded with three straight goals in the second period to seize a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission. The Crunch added two more goals early in the third to push the margin to 5-1 before the Americans mounted a late charge, scoring twice in the final seven minutes. The rally came up short, and Syracuse walked out of Blue Cross Arena with a victory that secured its postseason spot.

Nick Abruzzese and Conor Geekie each finished with two goals to pace the offense. Abruzzese recorded his third career two-goal game and has now posted multiple points in back-to-back contests. Geekie notched his fifth career two-goal game. Mitchell Chaffee also scored, and Jakob Pelletier, Dylan Duke and Matthew Peca each contributed two assists. Four additional Crunch skaters recorded points on the night.

The win moved Syracuse to 36-19-3-2 on the season and 5-4-0-0 in its 12-game season series against Rochester. The Crunch entered the game having dropped three straight for the first time in 2026, going 0-2-1-0 the previous week while being outscored 13-5 in losses to Toronto, Lehigh Valley and Laval.

Pelletier, the AHL's leading scorer entering the game with 23 goals and 64 points through 53 games, extended his points streak to 11 consecutive games. At his current pace he would become just the third player in franchise history to crack 80 points in a single season, joining Carter Verhaeghe, who scored 82 in 2018-19, and Alex Barre-Boulet, who set the franchise record with 84 in 2022-23.

Syracuse is one of five North Division clubs that will qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs. The top three finishers earn byes into the division semifinals, while the fourth and fifth seeds will meet in a best-of-three opening-round series. The AHL's regular season runs through April 19, leaving the Crunch with room to maneuver for seeding position while sitting second in the North Division.