SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Byron Froese had the eventual winner late in the second period as the Syracuse Crunch topped the St. John's IceCaps 3-2 on Wednesday in American Hockey League playoff action.

The Crunch lead the best-of-five series 2-1. Game 4 will be in Syracuse on Friday.

Joel Vermin and Erik Condra scored in the first period as Syracuse built a 2-0 lead. Mike McKenna made 26 saves for the win.

Zach Redmond and Stefan Matteau had back-to-back goals for St. John's, the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, in the second to tie it 2-2. Charlie Lindgren stopped 22 shots in net.

The Crunch went 0 for 5 on the power play and the IceCaps were 1 for 3 with the man advantage.