SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch were downed by the Utica Comets, 5-2, tonight at the NBT Bank Arena. 

Dylan Duke opened scoring for the Crunch in the second period followed by Jakob Pelletier late in the frame. The loss moves Syracuse to 5-5-1-0 on the season.

Crunch goaltender Mads Sogaard turned aside 16-of-20 shots. The Comet's David Rittich earned the win stopping 24-of-26 shots. Syracuse converted on 1-of-5 power play opportunities, while Utica went 2-for-3.

The Comets scored the lone goal in the first period while on the power play just 2:20 into the game. Vladislav Kolyachonok fired a one-timer from the blue line that was tipped down low by Gabe Klassen in front of the net.

In the second period, Ben Steeves stole the puck in the Syracuse zone, leaving him one-on-one with Sogaard, and scored an unassisted power-play goal at 4:48. The Crunch finally responded at 6:31. Duke pulled the Crunch back within one after he tipped in Jansen Harkins's shot from the right circle. At 14:57, Utica regained their two-goal lead. Shane Lachance wrapped around the net and centered a pass for Colin White. Matteo Pietroniro then set up Pelletier to make it a one goal game at 16:03, but just 24 seconds later, Lenni Hämeenaho scored off a cross-ice pass from Steeves to extend the Comets lead, 4-2.

The Crunch battled in the third frame, but were unable to rally back. Gabe Klassen secured the win for the Comets when he tallied an empty-netter in the final minutes.

The Crunch return home tomorrow to host the Hartford Wolf Pack. 

Single game tickets and ticket packages for the 2026-27 season are on sale now and can be purchased in person at the Crunch office located inside the Upstate Medical University Arena at Onondaga County War Memorial 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), X (@SyracuseCrunch) and Instagram (@syracusecrunch).

Crunchables: Jakob Pelletier has scored three goals in seven games, and it is his third multi-point game … Jansen Harkins now has 100 AHL assists.