Comets Fall to Crunch in Preseason Opener, 3-2
Published on October 2, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release
Utica, NY - The Comets suited up for the first of two preseason games against the Syracuse Crunch and fell by a score of 3-2 on Thursday night at the Adirondack Bank Center.
The Comets controlled the pace of play in the opening frame, outshooting the Crunch 10-4. They also looked solid defensively, holding Syracuse shotless until the 8:51 mark of the first period. The Comets' best chance came later in the period from Jack Malone who made a nice move on a breakaway but was turned aside by Crunch netminder Ryan Fanti to keep the game scoreless.
The Crunch had some more pep in their step in the second period and at the 5:52 mark, Syracuse defenseman Simon Lundmark fired a shot from the right point that was deflected by Brendan Furry, beating Comets' goaltender Jakub Málek low blocker side to give the Crunch a 1-0 advantage.
Syracuse continued to push and executed a nice cycle in the offensive zone when Chris Harpur found Wojciech Stachowiak who walked into the slot and buried a shot over the glove of Málek to make it a 2-0 game at the 12:40 mark of the second.
Just over a minute later at 13:52, Crunch forward Milo Roelens deflected a shot from Spencer Kersten which snuck past Málek to give Syracuse a 3-0 lead.
Comets' defenseman Jackson van de Leest dropped the gloves and emphatically took down Syracuse forward Lucas Mercuri in front of the Utica net to provide a spark shortly after the Crunch made it 3-0, with each combatant being assessed five for fighting.
Utica's first power play of the game came in the third period when Wojciech Stachowiak was called for holding at 5:26. After Ryan Fanti turned aside the first three shots he faced on the Comets' man advantage, Jack Malone hammered a one-timer off the post and in on a nice set up from Matt Salhany, beating Fanti stick side to put the Comets on the board at the 6:46 mark. Luke Reid picked up the secondary assist.
The Comets went on the power play for the second time when Milo Roelens was called for roughing at 14:09. Dylan Wendt walked off the left-wing boards and wired home a wrist shot off the post and in past the glove hand of Fanti to make it a 3-2 game at 15:34. Luke Reid picked up the primary assist for his second of the game and Brian Carrabes was credited with the secondary assist.
Málek was pulled for the extra attacker with just under two minutes to play, but unfortunately the Comets were unable to find the equalizer. Utica outshot Syracuse 10-8 in the third period while the Crunch held a 26-22 shot advantage through 60 minutes.
The two teams will face off at the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton at 7:05 PM tomorrow night in their second and final game of the preseason.
The Comets kick off the regular season next Friday, October 10th at 7 PM against the Cleveland Monsters at the Adirondack Bank Center. For tickets, please visit uticacomets.com/tickets or call 315-790-9070.
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