The Syracuse Crunch kicked off their 2023-24 AHL season with a pair of wins. On Friday night they went in and spoiled the Utica Comets’ home opener with a 4-3 overtime win. Then on Friday the Crunch opened up their 30th season at home with a solid 4-2 win over the Bridgeport Islanders. Solid defensive play, excellent goaltending, and timely scoring led to their first 2-0 start to a season since 2016-17.
Syracuse spread the scoring around as six different players recorded goals and 10 players picked up at least one point. New head coach Joel Bouchard will be pleased with how the special teams units performed as the Crunch killed off all 8 short-handed opportunities they faced while converting 3 of their 9 power plays.