By Owen Sienko
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Orange (1-4-1) will pay a visit to the Fred Rust Arena this weekend to take on the University of Delaware Blue Hens (6-6-0) in the last leg of their long beginning-of-season road trip. With an all-time record of 7-5-1 against the Blue Hens, the Orange hope to add another tally to the win category and break their four-game losing streak.
The first game of the final series in Syracuse’s eight-game away streak will be broadcast live on Friday, November 1, from Delaware’s Facebook page at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHjvSsWdimS_emftDV4lK5Q
When Syracuse last clashed with Delaware on Friday, January 18, the Orange shut out the Blue Hens 6-0 in a physical game. Senior captain Peter Owen Hayward put up a three-point performance with a goal and two assists, while junior alternate captain Ford Hatchett put up a goal and an assist himself. Since-graduated goaltender Jake Kahler manned the net for the Orange, turning aside all 29 Delaware shots to earn himself a shutout.
This weekend’s matchup is shaping up to be a battle between the pipes. Senior goaltenders Christopher Ponticello of Delaware and Eric Parker of Syracuse are both riding hot performances into Friday night.
Parker has been a bright spot for this Syracuse team early this season. He put on a solid performance in net two weeks ago against the red-hot Liberty University Flames, turning aside 71 of 78 shots for a .910 save percentage. The team in front of him, however, struggled on the man-advantage, converting on only two of 16 power-play opportunities during the double-header.
“Repetition and continuing to develop chemistry on each unit has been a goal in practice this week,” senior alternate captain Luke Caddo said of the power play. “We’ve got five good players on each of them, so once we really settle in as a group I think you’ll be seeing a lot more goals.”
Last weekend, Ponticello posted a combined .944 save percentage in two games against Drexel University, allowing only six goals on a whopping total of 90 shots. Shots against totals like that signify that the Orange should have no problems getting the puck to the net, but they are going to have to beat Ponticello to beat the Blue Hens.
Syracuse hopes to secure a couple of wins in Delaware this weekend before finally returning home to the Tennity Ice Pavilion on Friday, November 8.
“Obviously the primary focus is on Delaware this weekend, but for sure, it’s tough being on the road for such a long stretch, so we’re looking forward to getting back to Tennity,” Caddo said.
Fans can tune in to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHjvSsWdimS_emftDV4lK5Q to catch the action live from Fred Rust Arena at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, November 1.
Contact me:
By email: oasienko@syr.edu
On Twitter: @OsienkO