TORONTO – After Cory Conacher scored twice in the first period to put the Syracuse Crunch on top, the Toronto Marlies mounted a third period comeback to eventually take a 3-2 victory in overtime today at Ricoh Coliseum.
 
Despite the loss, the Crunch earned one point as they move to 26-17-5-5 on the season and 3-1-1-0 in the eight-game season series against the Marlies.
 
Adam Wilcox turned aside 20-of-23 shots in net for the Crunch. His counterpart, Garret Sparks, stopped 28-of-30 for the Marlies. Syracuse was unable to convert on three power play opportunities and went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.
 
The Crunch built a 2-0 lead in the first period off back-to-back goals by Conacher. Halfway through the frame, Sparks made the stop on a shot from the right circle, but the puck slid through his legs and gave Conacher the opportunity to poke it across the goal line. Mike Halmo and Ben Thomas earned the assists on the opening goal.
 
With 4:31 remaining in the first, Conacher struck again. Adam Erne passed out from the corner for the forward to one-time from the top of the left circle. Yanni Gourde recorded the secondary helper.
 
The Marlies cut the lead to one just 1:07 into the third period. Kerby Rychel passed ahead for Brett Findlay to get around the Crunch defense and start a short breakaway. He came down the left wing side and faked the shot before pulling it to his backhand to tuck the puck around Wilcox.
 
At the 9:42 mark, Toronto knotted the score. Colin Smith fired a wrist shot from the right circle that ricocheted off the far post and down for Dmytro Timashov to chip in backdoor. Travis Dermott earned a point on the equalizer.
 
The teams were still tied after regulation and headed into overtime. After a costly turnover at the blue line, Rychel carried the puck back into the offensive zone and passed across for Justin Holl. The defenseman put the puck back in the slot for Findlay to net the game-winner with his second of the game.
 
The Crunch cap off a six-game road trip against the Rochester Americans Friday at 7:05 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 recorded his third two-goal game of the season today…The Crunch are 20-3-2-2 when scoring first…Syracuse is 4-10 when requiring extra time.