By: Bella Cucci, Chloe Martinez and Linc Zdancewicz
SYRACUSE, NY — After splitting last weekend's series with Robert Morris, Syracuse looked to take revenge on its in-state rivals, the Niagara Purple Eagles. NU came into the weekend ranked 15th in the ACHA pre-season poll coming off a sweep of Oswego State. The Orange fell 4-1 on the road on Friday evening. Hoping to make a comeback at home, Syracuse ultimately ended up losing 6-3 at home on Saturday night, as Niagara took the series and improved their perfect record to 5-0.
Friday night, the Purple Eagles took control in the first period. Niagara's Alex Little released a wrist shot that trickled in behind AJ Finta. Forward Jakob Kalin scored a rebound goal, setting the score at 2-0. Although the Orange went scoreless, they entered the second period with renewed determination, focusing on tightening their strategy and capitalizing on any opportunities that came their way.
SU responded early in the second period to the deficit when junior Issac Arnold scored, making the game 2-1. After the Orange received a slashing penalty, Purple Eagles were given a penalty shot which AJ Finta stood like a wall against. The ‘Cuse could not capitalize on this momentum, receiving two penalties and wrapping up the second period down 2-1.
As the third period progressed, Little scored his second goal against the ‘Cuse. In an attempt to gain control, head coach Chris Timmons pulled AJ Finta out of the game, putting SU at a man advantage. Niagara then sealed the win with an open net goal, finishing off the game with a final score of 4-1.
Looking to split the series, Syracuse returned to the Tennity Ice Pavilion for game 2 of the series on Saturday night.
Once again, the Orange struggles in the first period, falling behind 3-0 to the Eagles. Niagara masterfully created traffic in front of the net which gave them momentum, resulting in the deficit.
The second period was much more exciting for home fans as the Orange returned with three goals, cutting the NU lead to 4-3 through 40 minutes. Freshman Cam Gaffney got Syracuse on the board early in the second but NU’s Tristian Taillefer answered at the 6 minute mark of the middle frame. Sophomore forward Brendan Duffy notched his third of the year with AJ Finta out of the net during a delayed penalty call to cut the lead to 4-2. Connor Chesner added a power play goal with just under 3 minutes left in the second to bring the Orange within 1.
The assistant captain, who had a goal and an assist on Saturday evening, commented on his performance, “I think we were just finding lanes and getting shots through. I was just trying to get a one-timer on the net and it hit one of their players and went into the net. So I got lucky on that one” referring to his goal.
“I think we were just finding lanes and getting shots through,” the assistant captain said. “I was just trying to get a one-timer on the net and it hit one of the players…and went into the net. I got lucky on that one.”
Emotions ran high into the third period, waking up the Orange as they controlled possession for nearly the entire period. As Syracuse began to find their momentum, what turned into a mostly defensive zone game quickly transitioned into more offensive opportunities, doubling their shots from 16 to 32.
The high quantity of shots unfortunately did not culminate into any goals for SU, as Niagara scored twice; once on an empty net, to wrap up the game and series at large. SU was two out of four on the penalty kill, which hurt itsmid-period comeback heroics. The Orange also went one out of six on the power play, two of which came within the last eight minutes. They showed heart and determination in trying to get that next tally at the end of the game.
“Our mentality this year is a lot better than last year, I feel like last year we would have wilted and lost this game 9-1,” Chesner said. “Whereas instead, we got to the locker room, we reset, and we brought a little bit better energy, and we brought a lot more fight.”
Syracuse looks to next week for their home series against Kent State. All home games are free to attend for students and the general public. Home games are also broadcast live for free on the SU Hockey Network.
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