By Owen Sienko
Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Orange (9-9-3) will kick off a six-game string of ESCHL matchups this weekend with a trip to face off against the University of Rhode Island Rams (14-11-1).
Friday night’s game will be Syracuse’s first divisional tilt since playing the Rams on December 7, when the Rams outscored the Orange in a 6-5 overtime victory. URI goaltender Daniel DeSilva played well in net, making a career-high 46 saves on 52 shots, while Syracuse forward Lucas Prestamo posted a four-point performance.
Despite the injury to starting goaltender Eric Parker, the Orange have won all five of their games in 2020 so far. This is thanks in part to the return of sophomore forward Tim Kalinowski, who has registered five goals and three assists. Senior defenseman Jacob Patalino has also made an immediate impact since returning to the lineup with five assists.
Senior captain Peter Owen Hayward is riding a six-game point streak into Rhode Island after a six-point weekend in Colorado, during which he recorded a hat trick and his 100th career goal.
The Rams’ first line of defense continues to be their offense, which has been forced to outscore the team’s 3.42 GAA night in and night out. They managed to squeeze a shootout win against the Rams last weekend after recording seven goals for and eight goals against. If Syracuse wants to find success this weekend, they will need to exploit the Rams’ shaky defense and bolster their own.
The Orange sit just six points behind the Rams and eight points behind the second-place University of Delaware Blue Hens with games in-hand over both teams. With eight of their remaining ten games coming against ESCHL rivals, every point will count.
Fans can tune in to https://www.livebarn.com/ tonight at 7:00 p.m. to watch the divisional action unfold from Brad Boss Ice Arena.
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On Twitter: @OsienkO
By Email: oasienko@syr.edu