SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch were downed by the Utica Comets, 3-1, this afternoon at the Adirondack Bank Center.
The Crunch move to 5-5-1-0 on the season and 0-3-0-0 in the 14-game season series against the Comets.
Goaltender Amir Miftakhov stopped 21-of-24 shots and a penalty shot in net for the Crunch. Nico Daws recorded the win with 30 saves between the pipes for the Comets. Syracuse was unable to convert on their one power play opportunity, but the penalty kill went 3-for-3.
After a scoreless first period, the Crunch opened scoring 12:16 into the middle frame. Sean Day fired a shot wide left that bounced off the end boards and back to Jimmy Huntington along the goal line. He sent a perfect feed to Gabe Fortier on the backdoor who backhanded the puck into an open net.
Just over a minute later, the Comets responded during a scramble in front of the net. A.J. Greer was able to get his stick on the loose puck and sneak it past Miftakhov.
Utica took the lead with two goals late in the third period. At 15:24, Marian Studenic skated the puck into the zone down the left side before centering it for Fabian Zetterlund to chip in. Exactly two minutes later, Studenic wrapped around the back of the cage and sent the puck back into the slot for Greer to pot his second of the night.
The Crunch return home to host the Hershey Bears in Syracuse on Saturday night.
Single game tickets and ticket packages for the 2021-22 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 now lost three consecutive games to the Comets for the first time since Jan. 2-16, 2019.
