SYRACUSE, N.Y. – After going down by two in the first period, Ben Thomas and Jonathan Racine evened the score to eventually force overtime, but the Syracuse Crunch were unable to overtake the Toronto Marlies and fell, 3-2, in a shootout tonight at the War Memorial Arena.
Despite the loss, the Crunc
h earned one point and now sit at 34-23-6-6 on the season. The Marlies take a 4-2-1-0 lead in the eight-game season series.
Netminder Mike McKenna turned aside 31-of-33 shots on goal and stopped 1-of-2 shootout attempts. His counterpart, Garret Sparks, made 24 saves on 26 shots and went 3-for-3 in the shootout. Syracuse was unable to convert on three power play opportunities and went 6-for-7 on the penalty kill.
The Marlies built a two-goal lead in the first period. At the 7:41 mark, Seth Griffith picked up a centering feed from Cal O’Reilly and netted one from the high slot. With 3:39 remaining in the period, Brendan Leipsic carried the puck into the zone on a breakaway and slipped it past McKenna.
The Crunch mounted a comeback in the second period. Thomas kicked it off with his third of the season halfway through the frame. Erik Condra sent a feed to the right wing for Thomas to fire from the right circle. Dominik Masin earned a point for the helper.
Syracuse tied the game with 4:40 remaining in the middle stanza when Racine swatted in a loose puck from the bottom of the right circle.
The teams remained tied through regulation and the overtime period. The Marlies ultimately took the win when Griffith scored the only goal of the shootout in the first round.
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