Michael Peca’s goal with a little over a minute remaining in regulation proved to be the difference in the Utica Comets 2-1 loss to the Syracuse Crunch at the Utica Memorial Auditorium on Sunday night.
Jordan Subban (0-1-1) assisted on Derek Hulak’s (1-0-1) second period goal for his second point in as many preseason games. Thatcher Demko started the game in net and stopped 10 of the 11 shots the Crunch fired his way, while Michael Garteig made 12 saves in relief.
After a scoreless first period, Michael Bournival banked in a power-play goal off of Demko’s pad from the goal line to stake the Crunch to a 1-0 lead.
Just under six minutes later the Comets and Jordan Subban struck for the second time this preseason on the power play. Jordan Subban took a feed from Carter Bancks and wristed a shot into traffic. Derek Hulak, in his first game as a Comet at The AUD, redirected the puck past Gudlevskis glove for the team’s lone goal in the game.
The team’s battled with the score deadlocked at 1-1 until Matthew Peca found the difference maker with 1:30 left in the game. Garteig turned aside Adam Erne’s initial shot, but Peca cleaned up the rebound to give the Crunch a 2-1 victory.
The Comets penalty killed seven of the Crunch’s power-play opportunities, while the power-play converted once on seven tries.
The regular season kicks off for the Comets on Saturday, Oct. 15 in Toronto. Puck drop against the defending North Division champions is scheduled for 1 p.m. from the Ricoh Coliseum.
