Nate Smith scored his seventh goal of the season to kick things off for Charlotte at 12:07 of the first period. Jack Studnicka stole the puck at the right-wing half-boards and centered it to the slot, where Smith was wide open.
Smith fired a shot over the left arm of Crunch netminder Ryan Fanti, giving the Checkers their first lead against Syracuse this weekend.
In the second period, Matteo Pietroniro answered back for Syracuse at 8:00. Kirill Gerasimyuk stopped Ethan Gauthier on a penalty shot at 10:21, keeping the game tied heading into the final period.
MacKenzie Entwistle restored the lead for Charlotte in the third, notching his fourth goal of the season at 6:11. Robert Mastrosimone joined the scoring at 12:57, doubling the Checkers’ advantage to 3-1 with a tremendous individual effort.
Dylan Duke recorded his AHL-leading 15th power-play goal for the Crunch at 14:31, but Smith found the empty net at 18:18 to cap off a solid performance from the visitors.
Lucas Mercuri scored at 19:20 for Syracuse. Gerasimyuk made 28 saves on 31 shots, logging his sixth win of the season. Charlotte is 2-1 on their current ten-game road trip and will be back in action on Wednesday night in Bridgeport to take on the Islanders.
