SYRACUSE, N.Y. ­­– The Syracuse Crunch topped the Utica Comets, 3-2, tonight at the Upstate Medical University Arena.
 
Ben Thomas and Gemel Smith both scored to give the Crunch a two-goal lead before Utica potted back-to-back goals in the third period to tie the game. Syracuse stifled the comeback effort and Taylor Raddysh netted the game-winner late in the frame to advance Syracuse to 24-21-3-4 on the season and 3-3-0-1 in the 12-game season series against Utica.
 
Goaltender Scott Wedgewood stopped 19-of-21 in net for the Crunch, while Michael DiPietro turned aside 39-of-42 between the pipes for the Comets. Syracuse went 1-for-3 on the power play and shut down Utica's one man-advantage.
 
The Crunch opened scoring just 2:03 into the game. After getting a pass from Otto Somppi in the neutral zone, Thomas skated in and fired a wrister from the high slot.
 
Syracuse doubled their lead with a power-play goal 3:32 into the middle frame. Raddysh dug the puck out from along the boards and sent a cross-zone feed to Smith all alone in the left circle. Ross Colton tallied the secondary helper.
 
The Comets stole one back 1:22 into the final frame. Lukas Jasek passed across the slot to Nikolay Goldobin in the right circle for a backdoor one-timer. They evened the score at the 13:04 mark when Reid Boucher picked-off a cross-ice pass and cashed in from between the circles.
 
Raddysh tallied the game-winner with 5:20 remaining in the game. DiPietro made the save on Boris Katchouk's left-wing shot, but the rebound came out for Raddysh to chip in. Thomas made it a multi-point night with an assist on the play.
 
The Crunch host the Rochester Americans tomorrow at 7 p.m.
 
Ticket packages and single game tickets for the 2019-20 season are on sale now and can be purchased in person at the Crunch office located inside the War Memorial Arena at 800 S. State St. in Syracuse, by calling the office at 315-473-4444 or online through Ticketmaster. 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.
 
Crunchables: Taylor Raddysh has three goals in his last three games…Ross Colton has three assists in his last four games.