SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch fell to the Utica Comets, 4-1, tonight at the Adirondack Bank Center.
The loss moves the Crunch to 8-5-0-2 on the season and 1-2-0-0 in the 14-game season series against the Comets.
Crunch goaltender Brandon Halverson stopped 19-of-22 shots before being relieved by Hugo Alnefelt in the second period. Alnefelt went on to stop all six shots he faced. Erik Källgren recorded the win blocking 25-of-26 shots. The Syracuse power play went 0-for-4, while Utica was 1-for-4.
Utica was first on the board with a power-play goal eight minutes into the game. Santeri Hatakka threw a cross-zone feed for Timur Ibragimov to fire in a one-timer from the right circle.
The Comets doubled their lead with a shorthanded goal early in the middle frame. Kyle Criscuolo skated the puck down the left side on an odd-man rush and sent a pass ahead for Shane Bowers who got behind the defense. Xavier Parent then made it 3-0 at 9:32 during a 2-on-0 play with Cal Foote. Two minutes later, Criscuolo jammed the puck in during a scramble in front of the net.
Ilya Usau stole one back for the Crunch late in the game when he came in on a 2-on-1 rush and ricocheted his cross-slot feed off a defender’s stick and in, but the team ran out of time for a comeback.
The Crunch return home to host the Comets on Friday.