Hershey evens its season series with win over Syracuse

The Syracuse Crunch fell 4-3 at home against the Hershey Bears from the Upstate Medical University Arena. 

Despite Jakob Pelletier extending his point streak (0+2) to 14 games and Matthew Peca notching his 10th of the season (1+1) and scoring goals in four straight, it wasn’t enough in the end. 

The Crunch came into the game with the 5th-best Power Play in the league, but despite that success, the Bears held the Crunch to 1-6 on the man advantage. 

Hershy’s penalty was doing such a good job that it led to a shorthanded goal for Brett Leason in the second period to put the Bears up 3-0 at the time.

“It comes down to one play here, one play there,” Syracuse Crunch head coach Joel Bouchard said. “It’s controlled chaos—and right now, I don’t think we’re controlling that chaos as well as we need to.” 

Syracuse battled back in the later stages of the second with Dylan Duke getting his 31st of the season off a shot from the point from Peca on the power play for the team’s lone goal with the extra skater in hand.  

Only 61 seconds later, Pelletier made one of the best plays you’ll see all season in dancing his way into and through the slot, finding Connor Geekie on a beautiful, backhanded saucer for the goal.  

In the third, Alex Suzdalev beat Syracuse netminder Brandon Halverson (20 SVS on 24 SOG) to extend the Bears’ lead back up two. 

In the later stages of the third, Peca beat Hershey netminder Mitch Gibson (32 SVS on 35 SOG) to get Syracuse back within one later, but it wasn’t enough in the end.  

The Crunch’s three-game win streak is snapped, as the Bears win their first game after four consecutive losses. 

Syracuse moves to 38-20-3-2 already having a playoff spot locked up. The team moves its focus to the Rochester Americans tomorrow at 7 p.m. for a North Division matchup.