March 21, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL) Syracuse Crunch SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Hunter Shinkaruk scored the game-winning goal for the Utica Comets (38-19-6-1) 4:01 into the third period in a 4-2 victory over the Syracuse Crunch (37-18-8-0) Saturday at the War Memorial Arena.

Heading into the final frame tied at one, Utica scored two goals in a two minute span to pull ahead of Syracuse for good. Former Crunch forward Cory Conacher tallied the first goal, two minutes into the period, his first since being traded from the New York Islanders organization at the NHL trade deadline. Peter Andersson and Alex Friesen notched the assists. Conacher played 36 games with the Crunch in 2012-13 and recorded 28 points.

Shinkaruk floated the game-winning backhander past Crunch goalie Allen York two minutes after Conacher's marker to put the Comets up 3-1. York stopped 33 shots in his first regulation loss for Syracuse in six appearances this season.

"We gave ourselves an opportunity because [York] played well, but we gave up way too much, especially versus the rush," head coach Rob Zettler said about the two goals allowed early in the third period. "It ended up hurting us because we weren't aggressive with the puck."

Jonathan Marchessault closed the Crunch deficit to one with a power-play goal 15:27 into the third period, his 18th of the season, to extend his team-leading points total to 51. Tanner Richard and Dylan Blujus tallied the assists, the second point for each in the game.

Richard opened the scoring with a power-play marker at 5:41 of the second period when he poked at a rebound off of a Jake Dotchin right-point shot until it slid past Comets goaltender Joe Cannata. Richard's 12th goal of the season came with 26 seconds left on a power-play following an Alexandre Grenier hooking minor. Blujus's two assists move his season total to 15. Dotchin's assist is his 11th of the season and third point in March (1g, 2a).

Sven Baertschi tied the game 1:10 after Syracuse took the lead with a left-circle snap into the back of the net. Baertschi added an empty-net goal for his 12th goal of the season and fifth against the Crunch. He netted a hat trick with the Adirondack Flames on Feb. 10 before being traded to the Canucks organization at the NHL trade deadline.

The Crunch went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and extended their season-long streak to 18. Richard's second-period power-play marker broke a streak of 11-straight penalty kills for the Comets. Syracuse finished 2-for-3 on the power play.

Syracuse plays its final game of its second-consecutive three-in-three Sunday at Springfield. The Crunch have split six contests with the Falcons, but have points in five meetings (3-1-2-0).

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Comets Strike Quickly in Third to Blast Crunch