SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch fell to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 4-2, tonight at the PPL Center.
The Crunch move to 20-17-7-4 on the season and 0-1-1-0 in the four-game season series against the Phantoms.
Crunch goaltender Brandon Halverson turned aside 18-of-21 shots, while Keith Petruzzelli put a stop to 16-of-18 for the Phantoms. Syracuse special teams converted on 1-of-4 power play opportunities while holding the Phantoms off the scoresheet on their lone man-advantage.
Lehigh Valley opened scoring with less than two minutes remaining in the first period. Alexis Gendron picked up a turnover in the high slot and potted it from the left circle. The Crunch knotted the score on the power play just over a minute later. Conor Geekie fed the puck to Derrick Pouliot who ripped a one-timer from the right circle.
The Phantoms regained their lead at the 15:44 mark of the second frame. A deflected puck rolled to Anthony Richard in the left circle where he potted a one-timer.
Gendron notched his second goal of the night and extended the Phantoms’ lead to 3-1 at the 13:30 mark of the third period with a shot from the left circle. The Crunch mounted a late comeback effort and made the score 3-2 with 1:15 remaining in the final frame. Gage Goncalves traveled into the offensive zone and scored on a snapshot from the left circle. Adam Ginning sealed the victory for Lehigh Valley with an empty-net goal with 48 seconds remaining.
The Crunch return home on Friday when they face off against the Toronto Marlies.
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