SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch fell to the Utica Comets, 4-3, in overtime tonight at the Adirondack Bank Center.
The Crunch opened scoring and held three different leads until the Comets tied the game late in the third period and took the win less than a minute into overtime. Despite the loss, the Crunch earn a point and move to 11-11-3-1 on the season. The team is now 0-3-1-0 in the 14-game season series against the Comets.
Crunch goaltender Hugo Alnefelt stopped 16-of-20 shots, while Mareks Mitens earned the win turning aside 31-of-34 in net for the Comets. Syracuse went 1-for-5 on the power play and stopped Utica’s lone man-advantage.
Gabriel Dumont opened scoring 13:21 into the game when the puck ricocheted off him and into the net. Just 56 seconds into the second period, the Comets knotted the score when Fabian Zetterlund fired a wrister from the left circle.
Syracuse regained their lead at the 14:04 mark of the middle frame with a power-play goal. Alex Barre-Boulet sent a pass to Charles Hudon in the slot. His quick redirect earned him his third goal in as many games. Utica again responded, this time just 1:35 later. Zetterlund sped down the left wing and threw the puck towards the net for Nate Schnarr to jam in.
With just five seconds remaining in the second period, Syracuse went back up, 3-2. Otto Somppi got his stick on Alex Green’s long right-point shot to send the puck past Mitens.
Schnarr potted his second of the game late in the third period with a shot from the slot to force overtime. Zetterlund then secured a victory for the Comets with the game-winner 20 seconds into the extra frame.
The Crunch and Comets face each other again tomorrow in Syracuse.
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: Charles Hudon has goals in three consecutive games.
