SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Matt Taormina and Cameron Darcy struck in the third period to bring the Syracuse Crunch back from a two-goal deficit and force overtime, but the Crunch were outlasted by the Toronto Marlies and lost, 4-3, tonight at the War Memorial Arena.
 
Tye McGinn opened scoring with his fifth of the season, while Taormina tallied number six. Darcy recorded his first professional goal with the equalizer late in the final stanza.
 
By making it to overtime, the Crunch earned one point and ended a four-game pointless streak. The team now sits at 10-10-3-1 and 1-1-1-0 in the eight-game season series. The Marlies advance to a division-leading 20-5-1-0.
 
Syracuse goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 34 of 38 shots, while Marlies netminder Antoine Bibeau turned aside 32 of 35. Both teams produced on the man-advantage, with Syracuse going 1-for-7 and Toronto 1-for-4.
 
McGinn lit the lamp and sent Stanley Steemer Tired Teddy Toss bears flying just 4:51 into the contest. After a battle in front of the cage, McGinn was able to solve Bibeau with the help of Mike Angelidis and Yanni Gourde.
 
The Marlies went on a run with five minutes remaining in the opening frame to take a 3-1 lead. In a matter of 2:16, Toronto notched a power-play goal and two even-strength tallies. T.J. Brennan started the onslaught with a one-timer from the right point on the man-advantage off assists from William Nylander and Richard Panik. Matt Frattin notched the go-ahead goal when he knocked in a rebound one minute later. With 2:44 remaining in the first, Andrew Campbell scored on an odd-man rush with Brendan Leipsic.
 
The Crunch started their comeback at the 3:02 mark of the third period. Taormina stepped into a wrist shot on the power play and netted one through traffic. Gourde picked up his second point of the night with the primary assist. Tanner Richard grabbed the secondary helper.
 
Darcy tied the game and forced overtime when he scored his first professional goal from the slot with 2:21 left on the clock. Adam Erne and Joel Vermin earned points on the play.
 
Despite the third period comeback, the Crunch were unable to top the Marlies and fell, 4-3, in the extra period due to a marker by Rinat Valiev.
 
The Crunch host the Binghamton Senators at the War Memorial Arena at 7 p.m. Friday.
 
Single game and season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased either in person at the Crunch Box Office located in the War Memorial on 800 South State Street in Syracuse or by calling the office at 315-473-4444. For the latest Crunch news, visit www.syracusecrunch.com or follow the club on Facebook (www.facebook.com/syracusecrunch), Twitter (@SyracuseCrunch) and Instagram (@officialsyracusecrunch) using #SyrCrunch and #BelieveInBlue.
 
Crunchables: Tonight was the second multi-point game for Yanni Gourde this season…Tanner Richard has power-play assists in three consecutive games…The Crunch have scored power-play goals in seven of the last eight games.