Pelletier shines as Crunch dominate Wolf Pack

The Syracuse Crunch’s 7-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday was a night of firsts: Jakob Pelletier moved into first place in the AHL in scoring, and Ethan Gauthier scored his first professional goal. 

Pelletier scored twice, with his opener coming from a shorthanded penalty shot. He glided from left to right and back toward the middle of the ice before wiring a wrist shot past Hartford goaltender Spencer Martin. The tally tied the score at two. 

His second came on the power play. Connor Geekie’s shot clapped off Martin’s pad and straight to Pelletier. All he had to do was tap it into the vacant net. It was his seventh multipoint performance in his last nine games. 

“Every young guy or older guy has more under their hood,” head coach Joel Bouchard said. “His goal is to be a full-time NHL player and he knows it starts (from here).”  

While Pelletier has established himself in the AHL, Gauthier’s career is just getting started. The forward scored his first professional goal in his 18th career game. 

The 2023 second-round pick took a rifler of a shot from the left boards which eluded Martin. He let out a celebratory scream as he rounded the corner boards and received a Gatorade bottle shower as he fist-bumped his elated teammates. 

“It was good for everybody,” Bouchard said. “For him to leave tonight with a puck and his first goal as a pro is pretty fun.”

Gauthier wasn’t the only player to reach a milestone. Hartford’s Daniel Walcott, who played a franchise-record 494 games with Syracuse, was back at Upstate Medical Arena wearing Wolf Pack blue on Saturday night. He laced up his skates for the 500th time of his AHL career. The forward was honored with a video and received a standing ovation from the crowd. 

“(Walcott’s) a legend,” Crunch forward Jack Finley said. “I think 90 percent of Syracuse knows who he is. He’s done a lot for this team, this organization and the community.” 

The night ended well for Syracuse, but the game’s opening moments were unkind to the Crunch. The puck found Pelletier’s stick in front of the goal. All he had to do was shoot it through the canyon between Martin and the near post, but he was handcuffed and could not get a shot off.

Moments later, Hartford defenseman Connor Mackey’s shot fluttered toward Crunch goaltender Ryan Fanti. The puck snuck through his pads and sputtered over the goal line to give the Wolf Pack an early lead. 

Over the remaining 58 minutes, Syracuse outscored Hartford 7-1. 

“Our execution wasn’t clean in the beginning and I think that put us a little behind the eight ball,” Bouchard said. “We found a way to get our legs under us and get going.”