By Ryan Nelson
The Syracuse Orange (1-6-1) will finally enjoy the warmth (or lack thereof) of the Tennity Ice Pavilion this coming weekend as they host the Drexel Dragons in their first homestand of the season. All-time, the Orange have a slight advantage in the series as they have won three of five contests.
The two-game series can be seen at the Tennity Ice Pavilion and through our first broadcast of the season on our YouTube channel.
Syracuse is strapping on the skates to try and snap a six-game losing skid that they have accumulated over the last three weekends. The main culprit for the Orange’s lack of success recently can be attributed to their trouble staying out of the penalty box. They have averaged just under 17 penalty minutes-per-game so far this season. The penalty kill has seen varied success even with the substantial ice-time that they are being forced to play.
Syracuse can look at their defense as a great source of energy and hope for a more promising continuation of the season. Ford Hatchett, an alternate captain, leads the team in points as well as off the ice. You can read more about Hatchett’s story in this recent article: https://www.suhockey.com/post/ford-hatchett-syracuse-s-resident-storm-surge. If he continues on his current pace, he will finish over a point-per-game on the season, surpassing his outstanding performance last year.
The Orange defensive group has been back-lined by netminder Eric Parker who has started every game so far this season. His 1-7 record does not reflect the job that he has done so far accurately. He has held Syracuse in many tough games and held some of the best teams in the conference and nation to reasonable totals.
The last time Syracuse played Drexel was in the 2015-16 season when the split the two-game series at Tennity.
The Dragons are coming into these matchups on the other side of the coin from Syracuse. They are currently on a four-game win streak and coming off a 6-2 blowout against Villanova last Sunday. They are led by Aaron Carmichael and Nick Urbani who both have 17 points in 12 games.
Fans can tune in to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgh_0GA1RxNM8z0tXPRFiiw
to catch all of the Orange action, or they can watch live at Tennity Ice Pavilion at 6:30 on Friday, November 8.
Contact Me:
By Email : rtnelson@syr.edu
By Twitter : r_nelson18