By Owen Sienko
Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Orange (5-9-3) earned their first two points of the decade with a 4-3 victory on the road against the University at Buffalo Bulls (10-11-0) on Saturday, January 11.
Sophomore goaltender Cal Stewart shined in his debut in net for the Orange, turning aside every even-strength shot he faced. He said he was happy to make a positive contribution to the team by securing them a win.
“It’s a great feeling,” Stewart said. “There’s no love lost between us and Buffalo and I feel fortunate that we were able to get the win today.”
Sophomore forward Tim Kalinowski made his return to the ice after sustaining a shoulder injury last season and made an immediate impact with a power-play goal. He said reaggravating his injury was a source of anxiety for him leading up to the game.
“To be honest I was really nervous because a game is so much different than practice,” Kalinowski said. “I just wanted to get that first hit out of the way so then I could just focus on playing a sound hockey game.”
The Orange dominated five-on-five play throughout the game. They spent more time in the offensive zone than Buffalo, and all four of their goals came at even strength as a result. The Bulls’ power play, on the other hand, was on fire all night, converting on three of five chances for all three of their goals.
With 2:23 remaining in the mostly-quiet first period, Syracuse struck first when defenseman Mackenzie Murphy set up forward Matt Jacobs in the slot. Then, with just 17.5 second on the clock, sophomore forward Tim Kalinowski netted a power-play goal for his first goal of the season in his first game back from injury.
Buffalo activated the full potential of their power play in the second period, converting on two of three chances, but Syracuse responded both times at even strength.
5:21 into the second period, Syracuse forward Colin Morrow took an interference penalty that resulted in a Buffalo power-play goal 47 seconds later, courtesy of alternate captain Cole Schiffman.
Just over a minute later, 7:12 into the period, Syracuse got the point right back when Jacobs fed captain Peter-Owen Hayward from behind the net for a one-timer goal.
A little over halfway through the frame, with 9:38 on the clock, Syracuse forward Vincent Barone was sent to the box for tripping. Once again, the Bulls promptly converted 24 seconds later when captain Michael Lask sniped a shot into the top left corner, bringing his team to within one goal.
After dominating possession for a good chunk of time, the Orange struck back with 7:49 left in the period when forward Adam Bedford redirected a point shot from defenseman Luke Caddo into the back of the net, maintaining the two-goal lead into the second intermission.
The narrative from the second period continued into the third. Even-strength possession erred heavily on the side of Syracuse, but Buffalo’s power play continued to prove effective.
With 9:27 left in regulation, Bedford received a game misconduct and a five-minute major penalty for checking from behind, forcing the struggling Syracuse power play to kill off a long penalty. Although they were able to do so for a solid 3:12, Bulls defenseman Michael Napier eventually broke through with 6:15 left in regulation.
The Orange penalty killers managed to keep the puck out of the net for the remaining 1:48 of penalty time. When the final buzzer sounded, Bedford’s second-period goal stood as the game-winner for the 4-3 Syracuse victory.
The Orange and the Bulls will return to the ice on Sunday, January 12, to face off at the Tennity Ice Pavilion for the second half of their home-and-home series. Tim Kalinowski said his team will need to stay dominant at even strength to find success on Sunday.
“Playing five-on-five gives us a chance to get into a rhythm and when that happens everyone gets to play and when everyone plays that’s when we are at are best.
Syracuse will host the Syracuse Blazers AA youth hockey team at the game for the club’s second Youth Hockey Day celebration of the season. Fans can catch the action live from the Tennity Ice Pavilion at the team’s Youtube channel starting at 2:00 p.m.
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