The Syracuse Crunch scored first on Saturday, but the Cleveland Monsters responded with four unanswered to grab a 4-1 victory and take a 2-0 series lead in the North Division finals.
Syracuse jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 8:07 of the first period on Devante Stephens’ power-play goal, but Cleveland scored twice in four minutes to close the period and added two more in the third, including an empty-netter to seal the victory.
Crunch goaltender Brandon Halverson stopped 24 of the 27 shots he faced, while Jet Greaves made 17 saves for the Monsters.
Syracuse went 1-for-4 on the man advantage and Cleveland finished 1-for-3.
Game 3 of the best-of-five series is set for Wednesday, May 22, at the Upstate Medical University Arena, with puck drop set for 7:05 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.