The Syracuse Crunch host the Toronto Marlies at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, before visiting the Utica Comets at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, with a chance to stop a three-game losing stretch.
Syracuse enters the weekend at 5-6-2-0 after Wednesday’s 5-0 loss to Laval at Upstate Medical University Arena. The weekend schedule and opponent background come from the Crunch’s Nov. 10 weekly release; the team’s subsequent recap supplies the updated Syracuse record.
Toronto visit closes the homestand
Friday’s game concludes a three-game Syracuse homestand and opens a six-game season series against Toronto. The Marlies won three of the teams’ four meetings last season, including both games in Syracuse.
Toronto began the week at 7-4-3-0, second in the North Division, according to the Nov. 10 release. The Marlies were nearing the end of a six-game road trip, with a 1-1-2-0 record through stops in Belleville, Hamilton and Manitoba. The trip is scheduled to conclude Sunday in Providence.
Utica rematch follows a 5-2 defeat
Saturday sends Syracuse back to Utica eight days after the Comets won the opener of their 12-game season series, 5-2. The Crunch trailed throughout that Nov. 6 game despite second-period goals from Duke and Jakob Pelletier.
Utica entered the week at 8-2-0-0 with four consecutive wins and the AHL’s best points percentage, the weekly release said. Its offense had points from 21 players, with no individual above eight points at that snapshot.
Syracuse went 1-for-5 on the power play in the first meeting while Utica converted two of three opportunities. The Crunch outshot the Comets 26-21.
Pelletier led Syracuse through the previous weekend
Pelletier scored against both Utica on Nov. 6 and Hartford on Nov. 7, extending his goal streak to four games before Wednesday’s shutout ended the run. It was the third streak of at least four consecutive games with a goal in his career, following a four-game run in December 2025 and a career-best six-game stretch in November 2022.
Through the first 12 games, Pelletier led Syracuse with nine goals and 14 points. The Nov. 10 release listed him tied for fifth in the AHL in goals. Nick Abruzzese led the Crunch with nine assists at that point.
Against Hartford, Pelletier tied the score in the first period and Mercuri scored in the second, but the Wolf Pack prevailed 3-2 in overtime. Olivier Rodrigue stopped 22 of 25 shots as Syracuse collected its only standings point from the two-game weekend.
Wednesday’s shutout adds urgency
Laval goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen stopped all 31 Syracuse shots Wednesday, handing the Crunch their first shutout loss of the season. Syracuse went 0-for-3 on the power play while killing all four Laval advantages.
The result left the Crunch 1-3-0-0 against Laval in their six-game season series. FingerLakes1’s complete game report covers the scoring and goaltending changes.
The weekly release also noted Tampa Bay’s Nov. 10 recall of rookie forward Sam O’Reilly. That transaction is covered separately in the recall report.
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