The Syracuse Crunch rallied back to force overtime but were eventually edged by the Cleveland Monsters, 6-5, in a shootout on Friday night at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Simon Ryfors netted two goals to lead Syracuse, while Gabriel Dumont, Felix Robert, and Gemel Smith found the back of the net. Smith also scored in the shootout, and Gage Goncalves added a goal.
Max Lagace started between the pipes for the Crunch and stopped 33-of-38 shots. He struggled in the shootout, turning aside just one of the four shots.
Syracuse went 3-for-4 on the powerplay while finishing a perfect 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday in Cleveland. The puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.
