Utica, N.Y. – The Utica Comets fell to the Syracuse Crunch 3-2 in a shootout Saturday night at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena.
Alexander Volkov netted the game’s first goal halfway through the opening period. Carter Verhaeghe and Reid McNeill had the assists. Michael Carcone tied the game at one at the 15:41 mark of the first period. Darren Archibald and Guillaume Brisebois tallied the assists.
Marco Roy’s first of the year put the Comets up 2-1 with 5:45 to go in the second period. Jalen Chatfield picked up the assist.
Volkov tied the game at two with 14:32 to go in the third period. Mathieu Joseph and Anthony Cirelli were credited with the assists. Neither team could find a winner in regulation and the game would head to overtime.
Overtime did not yield a winner and the game would head to a shootout.
Cole Cassels, Philip Holm, and Archibald traded goals with Volkov, Joseph, and Adam Erne, but Ben Thomas scored the winning goal in the 11th round of the shootout.
Thatcher Demko made 39 saves and his record falls to 11-6-5. Connor Ingram stopped 15 shots. His record improves to 5-5-1. The Comets power play went 0-2, while the penalty kill did not allow a goal in four attempts.
The Comets are back in action Friday, January 5 as they battle the Laval Rocket. Puck drop is at 7pm at the Adirondack Bank Center. Fans are encouraged to utilize the ticket exchange website, StubHub!. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL Live.
