ALBANY, N.Y. – Yanni Gourde and Tanner Richard scored in the final 10 minutes of the third period to bring the Syracuse Crunch back from a two-goal deficit to the Albany Devils and force overtime. The Crunch were unable to maintain momentum in the extra frame and fell to the Devils, 3-2, tonight at the Times Union Center.
 
Despite the loss, the Crunch earn one point to maintain their position atop the North Division with a 20-10-3-5 record and .632 points percentage. Syracuse also holds a 2-0-1-0 lead in the eight-game season series with Albany.
 
Crunch goaltender Adam Wilcox turned aside 23-of-26 shots, while his counterpart, Ken Appleby, earned the win making 29 saves for the Devils. The Crunch were unable to convert on four power play opportunities and went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
 
The Devils struck first six minutes into the opening frame. Carter Camper controlled the puck behind the cage before skating around the net and backhanding a feed across the crease for Ryan Kujawinski to redirect in. Ben Sexton recorded the secondary assist.
 
Albany doubled their lead on the power play at the 7:04 mark of the third period. Vojtech Mozik netted his fourth of the season with a wrist shot from the left circle off assists from Reece Scarlett and Brian Gibbons.
 
The Crunch started a comeback with 9:13 to play. Ben Thomas fired a shot from the high slot that was blocked. Gourde picked up the rebound in the slot, skated around a scrum in front of the net and chipped it in from the right post. Cory Conacher earned a point on the marker.
 
Less than three minutes later, the Crunch evened the score. Jeremy Morin set Richard up with a feed from the goal line. Richard picked up the pass and crashed the net. His first attempt was stopped, but he grabbed his own rebound and lit the lamp. Mathieu Brodeur earned a point on the equalizer.
 
The teams remained tied through regulation and went into overtime. Just 1:17 into the extra period, Kevin Rooney ended it and gave Albany their first victory over Syracuse this season.
 
The Crunch return home to host the Binghamton Senators Friday at 7 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: The Crunch have gone into extra time 11 times this season…Tanner Richard is on a four-game points streak (2g, 4a)…Yanni Gourde now leads the team with 13 goals.