The Syracuse Crunch defeated the Utica Comets and claimed the Galaxy Cup with a 4-2 victory tonight at the Upstate Medical University Arena.
The Crunch have won the season series against the Comets and taken the Galaxy Cup in each of the last five seasons. Tonight’s win advances the team to 18-9-3-0 on the season and 7-4-2-0 with one game remaining in the 14-game season series with Utica.
Spencer Martin recorded the win as he turned aside 35-of-37 shots in net for the Crunch. Joel Hofer stopped 26-of-30 between the pipes for the Comets. Syracuse went 1-for-2 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.
The Crunch were first on the board halfway through the opening period. Hofer made the save on Lucas Carlsson’s left-side shot, but the rebound came out for Devante Stephens to send home from the right circle. The Comets evened it up with 3:34 remaining in the frame. As Will Lockwood centered the puck from along the goal line, it went off a stick and up for Hugh McGing to bat in out of the air.
Syracuse regained their lead with a power-play goal of their own 2:31 into the middle stanza. Sean Day fed Peter Abbandonato for a one-timer from the right faceoff dot. The Crunch scored again at 8:22 when Henry Bolwby split the defense and beat Hofer one-on-one.
The Comets stole one back 1:27 into the third period when Lukas Jasek fired a wrister from the right circle. The Crunch quickly responded and went back up by two just two minutes later. Cal Foote pick off a stretch pass, skated into the zone and ripped a slap shot from the top of the right circle.
The Crunch travel to Utica to complete the five-game stretch against the Comets on Monday.
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Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].