SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch carried a one-goal lead through the third period until the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins netted three in the final frame to steal a 3-1 win tonight at the War Memorial Arena.
 
Jake Dotchin netted the only goal for the Crunch in defeat. The Crunch now sit at 19-10-2-5 on the season. The Penguins have a 3-0 lead in the six-game season series.
 
Kristers Gudlevskis turned aside 20-of-22 shots for the Crunch. His counterpart, Casey DeSmith, stopped 22-of-23 between the pipes for the Penguins. Syracuse was unable convert on any of their six man-advantages, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went 1-for-7 on the man-advantage.
 
The Crunch opened scoring with 4:26 remaining in the first period. Cory Conacher centered the puck for Tanner Richard to fire on net, but his shot was deflected off a Penguin's skate. Dotchin charged the loose puck and fired from the slot to score his third of the season.
 
Just 4:27 into the third period, the Penguins scored their first of the night. Dominik Simon carried the puck across the blue line and sent it to Carter Rowney who scored from the right wing side. Three minutes later, Simon tallied the go-ahead marker for the Penguins. Gudlevskis blocked a shot that dropped into the crease. The deflection was lost in the shuffle and knocked across the goal line by Simon.
 
Jake Guentzel netted an empty net power-play goal with 34 seconds left in the game to secure a 3-1 victory over the Crunch.
 
The Crunch will rematch the Penguins on Monday at 1 p.m.
 
Syracuse Crunch single game and ticket packages for the 2016-17 season are on sale now and can be purchased either in person at the Crunch office located in the War Memorial Arena at 800 S. State St. 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 (@syracusecrunch) using #SyrCrunch, #WeAreOne and #BLUnited.
 
Crunchables: Cory Conacher is on a six-game points streak with 10 points (2g, 8a)…Tonight is the third time in four games the Crunch have been held to one goal…Jake Dotchin has surpassed his point total from last year with 12 (3g, 9a)…Tonight was Mike Halmo's 250th AHL game…Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond now has 1,751 career AHL penalty minutes. He moves to 20th in league history and second among active players.