The Syracuse Crunch fell 4-2 to the Rochester Americans on Wednesday at Blue Cross Arena.
The Crunch move to 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in the 12-game season series with the Americans.
Crunch goaltender Brandon Halverson turned aside 24-of-28 shots faced. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen earned the win by stopping 21-of-23 shots for the Americans.
Rochester opened scoring two minutes into the first period. Olivier Nadeau fed the puck to Josh Dunne who tapped it in from the right post. The Americans doubled their lead six minutes later as Viktor Neuchev potted a rebound from the low slot while on the man-advantage.
The Crunch scored on a power-play goal in the final minute of the period, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Declan Carlile dished a pass to Conor Geekie who ripped a one-timer from the right circle.
The Americans regained a two-goal lead at 7:19 into the second frame as Trevor Kuntar redirected a pass in front of the crease while on the power play.
Syracuse made the score 3-2 halfway through the period when Nick Abruzzese potted a rebound from the right side of the crease.
Jagger Joshua scored Rochester’s fourth goal of the night on a shorthanded breakaway opportunity with 1:31 remaining in the second period, maintaining the Americans’ lead in the process.
The Crunch return home on Friday to host the Utica Comets at 7 p.m. for the annual Pink in the Rink game.