SYRACUSE, NY – Jimmy Huntington scored the game winner from the air in overtime at the PPL Center tonight to lift the Syracuse crunch 3-2 over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
The Crunch amassed 6 out of 6 points in their last three games in four nights and is now 4-2-1-0 for the season.
>> Box score
Goalkeeper Amir Miftakhov stopped 24 of 26 shots to win. Felix Sandstrom turned 28 of 31 aside between the pipes for the Phantoms. Syracuse went 1 for 4 on power play and continued their excellent penalty shoot-out by undermining Lehigh Valley’s 2-of-2-man advantages.
The Phantoms opened the game at 2:33 when Gerry Mayhew finally got the puck over the goal line during a tussle in the goal area.
With 24 seconds remaining in the opening picture, the crunch equalized the number of points in the power play. Simon Ryfors carried the puck into the zone and cut off the slot before being kicked off his stick. The puck went direct to Charles Hudon, who sent it for the third time this season.
Lehigh Valley went back to the second verse at 5:09. Morgan Frost raced over the blue line and scored a wrister from the top of the left circle.
Syracuse tied a second time at 4:30 a.m. of the third period. Sean Day’s left point shot ricocheted off Hudon and landed in the slot. Gabe Dumont was there to grab the loose puck, turn it and cover a shot top shelf.
The teams remained bound by the regulation and went into overtime. Just 1:01 in the extra frame, Ryan Jones fired a shot from the right circle that was stopped, but the rebound bounced open for Huntington to hit from the air.
The Crunch are back in action on Friday when they host the Utica Comets.
Single game tickets and ticket packages for the 2021-22 season are on sale now and can be purchased in person at the Crunch office in the Upstate Medical University Arena in the Onondaga County War Memorial at 800 S. State St. Syracuse at the office at 315-473 -4444 or online via 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).
Crunchables: Kevin Lohan made his AHL debut tonight … The Crunch have needed overtime in three consecutive games and four of their seven games this season … The Crunch penalty is 15-for-15 in the last six games.
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