By Brooke Killgore and Nurielle Auguste
SYRACUSE, NY — A game-winning goal with a second left on the clock and a demonstration of resiliency defined Syracuse’s weekend, earning a weekend series sweep over Kent State. The Orange thrillingly ended Saturday night 6-5 and held up against a scrappy Golden Flashes offense in a 5-4 bout on Sunday afternoon.
SU returned to Tennity Ice Pavilion following a home and home loss to Niagara University the weekend before. While the Orange found some momentum late into the second game of that series, they couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities against the eleventh-ranked team in the country.
This weekend proved to be an opportunity for new and experienced players to demonstrate their abilities on the ice.
Saturday marked junior goaltender John Angelino’s first start of the regular season. Angelino played for the first time at the collegiate level last year against Oswego State, where he defended 31 of 32 shots and recorded a .969 SV% in a 3-1 win over the Lakers. Overall, the Massachusetts native finished 2-1 after three games with 10 goals allowed and saved 74 of 84 shots alongside a .881 SV%.
Angelino held the Golden Flashes scoreless throughout the opening period, giving up the first notch to forward Cole Bianchin in the second — his first of the season. The junior would go on to stop 28 of 33 shots at the crease, recording a .848 SV% on the night.
“It’s the same old stuff, it’s hockey. I made sure my body felt good,” Angelino said. “It definitely felt solid…some things I have to work on as always but I’m happy that we won.”
On the offensive end, the Orange led 3-0 with goals from senior Brock Alvers, junior Jack Alecia, and freshman Cam Gaffney. However, SU began to let up in the second period, allowing two Kent State goals.
In the third, the Golden Flashes scored three unanswered goals to take the lead 5-4. With just over two minutes left in regulation, both teams received two-minute roughing penalties but Kent State was given an extra, sending SU on the power play. With 24 seconds left to play, junior defenseman Connor Chesner notched in his fourth goal of the season to knot the game at 5.
All tied up with seconds remaining on the clock Jack Alecia stole the puck from a Kent State Player in the offensive end. He then slid a pass across the net mouth to sophomore defenseman Carter Rugg who put the puck past a sliding Nick Beck with one second left to secure a 6-5 Syracuse victory.
“Big props to Chesner for tying it up at the point there…[Our team] never gave up even when we were down a goal,” Rugg said. “That just speaks to the resiliency of this team.”
Resiliency would be the name of the game for Syracuse headed into Sunday’s matchup. With senior goaltender Chris Spano defending the crease, the Orange looked to secure their first 2-0 weekend of the season.
Scoring two goals right out the gate, Alecia cemented himself as a star of Sunday’s game. The junior would go on to score his first hat-trick since December 1 of last year against William Patterson.
Last season, the forward sat at third overall with 25 points for the Orange (14G, 11A). Alecia sits three points behind Gaffney for the most this season.
“It means a lot to be one of the team leaders. I try to come into the rink and work everyday and the results come,” Alecia said. “My linemates [Sam Hutchinson and Brendan Duffy] helped me out. Everyone on the ice gives me good feeds and I just put them in the back of the net, so we just have to keep doing that.”
The Golden Flashes and the Orange would both add two goals following Alecia’s dominant start in the first period; the score 4-2. Junior forward Jack Wren recorded his first goal of the season off the assists of Vassilovski and freshman Eli Pendergrass.
After a scoreless second period and Alecia’s third goal at the start of the final 20 minutes, Kent State turned on the gas. Bianchin and forward Gabriel Lucchsi notched in two last minute attempts but Spano held off the remaining shots to give SU a 5-4 victory.
“It felt good to finish out a third and not have it be as stressful as last night," head coach Chris Timmons said. “We played a lot better this game in terms of keeping it simple, but we made some mistakes outside of our system. We [have to] stick to what we know and stay committed to the system.”
Syracuse currently sits with an even record of 3 wins and 3 losses. SU welcomes the University of Delaware to Tennity Ice Pavilion for Hall of Fame Alumni Weekend on Friday and Saturday.
You can catch the Orange with puck drops on Saturday at 7 p.m., and Hall of Fame festivities kick off before and after puck drop on Sunday at 2 p.m. Syracuse will wear unique Alumni Weekend Jerseys during both games. You can place a bid to own a jersey until October 19 at 9 p.m. The Hall of Fame Banquet will be held at Dineen Hall at 6 p.m.
All home games are played at the Tennity Ice Pavilion on Syracuse University’s campus and are free to attend for students and the general public. Home games are also broadcast live for free on the SU Hockey Network.
Contact me:
X: @BKillgore13
Email: bnkillgo@syr.edu
X: @ReporterNuri
Email: nsaugust@syr.edu
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