The Syracuse Crunch advanced to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2018 with a 5-2 victory over the Rochester Americans in Game 5 of the North Division semifinals at a sold-out Blue Cross Arena on Friday night.
Syracuse jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game and never looked back despite Rochester cutting the deficit to one late in the first period.
Cole Koepke scored twice to lead the Crunch, while Declan Carlile, Walttero Merela, and Felix Robert also tallied goals. Jeremy Davies and Michael Mersch found the back of the net for the Amerks.
Brandon Halverson stopped 16 shots for Syracuse, and Devon Levi turned aside 15 for Rochester.
The Crunch will take on the Cleveland Monsters in the North Division finals.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.
