The Crunch were the stronger team out of the gate and generated some quality chances for Nico Daws, who was severely tested early. Syracuse would strike first at the 6:40 mark when Ethan Samson fired a shot from the point that was blocked, but it bounced right to Mitchell Chaffee in the left circle, who smacked it home to give the Crunch a 1-0 lead on his 10th goal of the year. The Comets were rated bench minor a little later in the period for too many men, and the ensuing power play allowed the Crunch to take a 2-0 lead. Conor Geekie hit a shot from the top of the left circle that leaked through Daws and Ethan Gauthier was there at 11:19 to tap in the rebound for his fourth goal of the season. The Comets picked it up later in the period and made a good showing in the attacking zone, registering a total of nine shots on target but trailing 2–0 after 20 minutes.
The Comets got their first power play of the game when Crunch forward Wojciech Stachowiak was called for hooking at 3:46 of the second period. After Ryan Schmelzer’s shot was initially stopped by Syracuse netminder Brandon Halverson, Shane Lachance jammed in to make it 2-1 at 5:02 in his seventh of the year. Officials underwent a lengthy video review, but the call on the ice stood. Just over two minutes later, however, the Crunch regained their two-goal lead when Matteo Pietroniro received a pass from Jarred Tinordi, walked into the left circle and fired a shot past Daws’ glove to make it 3-1 at the 7:14 mark. for his fifth of the year. The Crunch weren’t done yet and would make it 4-1 when Dylan Duke whipped in a centering pass from Gabriel Szturc at the top of the crease at 9:54 on his team-leading 19 of the season. The Comets scored a big goal later in the period when Ryan Schmelzer broke into the offensive zone and fed Brian Halonen in the left circle, whose shot dribbled through Brandon Halverson’s pads and over the goal line to make it 4-2 at 14:41 on Halonen’s team-leading 12th tally of the year.
The Comets had barely begun the third period they were looking for when Seamus Casey tracked down a loose puck behind the Crunch net and set up Brian Halonen, who tapped one home at the near post to make it 4-3 just 20 seconds into the third. It was Halonen’s second of the match and 13th of the year. The teams traded chances in a spirited third period, with a battle between Seamus Casey and Dylan Duke at 10:41. The Comets signed Nico Daws as an extra attacker later in the third, but it was Brendan Furry who won a race with a loose puck in the Comets zone and scored an empty-net goal to make it 5-3 at Syracuse at 6:20 p.m. for his eighth of the year. Furry added another empty-netter at 7:42 to make it 6-3, which was the final.
The Comets defeated the Crunch 37-36, while going 1-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.
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