Syracuse Crunch blow past Wolf Pack, 7-3

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch blew past the Hartford Wolf Pack, 7-3, tonight at the XL Center.

Seven different Crunch players scored a goal, while 13 different players recorded a point to help advance the team to 19-14-3-3 on the season.

Crunch goaltender Max Lagace turned aside 12-of-15 shots in victory. Dylan Garand stopped 8-of-13 shots in net for the Wolf Pack before being relieved by Olof Lindbom in the second period. Lindbom went on to turn aside 9-of-11.

Syracuse did not have a power play opportunity, while Hartford went 2-for-4 on the man-advantage.

The Wolf Pack were first to score just 4:27 into the game. Andy Welinski fired a shot from the right circle that was blocked, but the rebound dropped down for Ryan Carpenter to grab, turn and shoot into the net.

The Crunch quickly responded and rattled off three consecutive goals. Darren Raddysh kicked it off when he scored with a wrister from the top of the right circle at 7:26. Three minutes later, Jack Finely was down low to chip in the rebound of Jack Thompson’s long-range shot. At 15:05, Gabe Fortier redirected Trevor Carrick’s left-point shot to put the Crunch up, 3-1. With 3:26 remaining in the opening frame, Hartford stole one back on the power play when Sammy Blais tipped a shot up and over Lagace, then shoved the puck across the goal line.

Syracuse was dominant in the second period scoring four goals while limiting Hartford to just one shot. The onslaught began at the 2:19 mark when Fortier gained control of the puck along the right-wing boards and sent it out to Alex Barre-Boulet. He quickly redirected it into the slot for Gabriel Dumont to one-time into the back of the net. Three minutes later, the Crunch scored again when Lucas Edmonds beat Garand on a short odd-man rush with Gemel Smith. At the 14:42 mark, Phil Myers sent a shot from the blue line that went off a Wolf Pack defender and in. Barre-Boulet tallied the fourth goal of the period with a wrister from the left circle to build a 7-2 lead late in the frame.

With 30 seconds remaining in the game, Jonny Brodzinski powered a one-timer in while on the power play, but the Crunch had a decisive lead and could not be caught.

The Crunch travel to Providence to complete the weekend’s three-in-three tomorrow.

Single game tickets and ticket packages for the 2022-23 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. For the latest Crunch news, visit www.syracusecrunch.com or follow the club on Facebook (www.facebook.com/syracusecrunch), Twitter (@SyracuseCrunch) and Instagram (@syracusecrunch).

Crunchables: The Crunch have scored 27 goals in their last five games at the XL Center…Gabe Fortier recorded his first career three-point game tonight.