COMETS QUICK START SPOILED BY CRUNCH
Mar 30, 2019Syracuse, N.Y. – The Utica Comets scored first, but five unanswered goals from the Syracuse Crunch were too much to overcome during a 6-2 loss on Saturday night at the War Memorial.
An early power play opportunity for the Comets allowed them an opportunity in the opening minute of action that wouldn’t be squandered. Six seconds into the man-advantage, Tom Pyatt served a backdoor feed to Seamus Malone for a one-timer that found the back of the net for Malone’s third of the season.
The Syracuse attack created chances and capitalized with three unanswered goals throughout the rest of the period. Carter Verhaeghe and Gabriel Dumont earned tallies 21-seconds apart, and Alexander Volkov got in on the mix at the 16:21 mark of the frame. The Crunch surge put the Comets behind by a 3-1 margin following the first 20 minutes of play.
The Comets came out of the gates in the second period with a great pace and opportunity, but none of their efforts produced a goal as they tried to mount a comeback. Syracuse used another quick flurry of goals in the late moments of the period, courtesy of Volkov and Ross Colton in a 46-second span, to generate a 5-1 lead at second break.
Cutting into the deficit, Reid Gardiner uncorked a wrist shot from the right-wing side that flew into back of the net and brought the Comets to within three goals. It was as close as Utica got, as Taylor Raddysh netted the Crunch’s sixth of the night with ten seconds remaining and capped off a 6-2 final.
The Comets are back in action Friday, April 5 when they host the Toronto Marlies. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. Fan are encouraged to use the ticket exchange site, StubHub!. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHLTV.