Syracuse Sweeps Stony Brook; Coach Timmons Reaches 100 Wins

By: Benjamin Lefkowitz and Natalie Symonowicz

HAUPPAUGE, NY- Syracuse University Men’s Hockey (7-9-2) traveled to Long Island this weekend to face Stony Brook University (7-6-2) to close out the first half of the regular season. In a battle against a top team in the ACC North Conference, SU pulled off the weekend sweep with a 5-4 overtime win in game one and a 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon. Saturday evening's overtime thriller marked a major milestone for Head Coach Chris Timmons as he secured his 100th career win in the ACHA. 

Photo Credit: Maria Kaffes / @mariakaffesimages

In the early going of their season debut against one another, both teams took the first five minutes to settle in. Senior goaltender AJ Finta made several key saves early to keep the Seawolves off the scoresheet.

Syracuse began to pick up its play with extended offensive-zone shifts as the game wore on. Halfway through the first, sophomore forward Cameron Gaffney stripped a Stony Brook defender behind the net to set up junior forward Carter Rugg for the game’s first goal. Rugg, who recently made the transition to forward, notched his second goal in as many weekends with the tally.

However, Stony Brook responded less than three minutes later to tie the game. SU took its first penalty late in the period, and again Finta came up with a huge stop to keep the score tied at 1. After a slow start, the Orange outshot the Seawolves 15–14 to close the first.

Syracuse opened the second period with a fierce pace creating numerous high-danger chances in the first five minutes. The Orange were forced to kill three penalties in the period, but Stony Brook was unable to convert on the power play.

Play continued in the final 10 minutes of the period with few whistles. There was back-and-forth action with both squads generating odd-man rushes. In the last three minutes Stony Brook converted on a 3-on-1 rush to take a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.

The third period was defined by special teams for both squads. Syracuse started on the man advantage with time carrying over from a power play in the closing minutes of the second period. Stony Brook took an early penalty to give Syracuse a 5-on-3, and SU wasted little time. Senior captain Connor Chesner crashed the crease to tie the game at 2 with his fourth goal of the year. 

The Orange remained on the power play, and just over 30 seconds later, senior forward Jack Wren roofed a wrist shot from the left circle for his 5th of the season, giving SU a 3-2 lead.

With under 10 minutes left, Stonybrook converted on the power play of their own to tie the game at 3. A minute later, the Seawolves capitalized on an odd-man rush to take a 4-3 lead.

This game was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams trading chances. Syracuse wouldn’t go down without a fight. Sophomore forward Tanner Cole scored from what looked like an impossible angle to tie the game at 4 for his second goal of the year.  Both teams had prime chances late, but the goaltenders stood strong to force overtime.

Syracuse was methodical with its possession in the sudden-death period. Gaffney forced a turnover in the corner, and Wren found the sophomore down low. Gaffney took the puck to the net and scored on a beautiful backhand to give Syracuse the win. The sophomore's second goal of the year not only secured the win but also a memorable milestone for Head Coach Chris Timmons. The OT comeback victory marked Timmons 100th career coaching win.

“It meant a lot to get it done against a team that had our number early in my career. It really made me reflect on the journey—and look forward to the next 100," Head Coach Timmons said.

Timmons, whose ACHA coaching journey started with Oswego State back in 2016, has accumulated 47 wins since taking over as Head Coach at Syracuse in 2021. His first win with the program was ironically a 4-3 shootout win over his former Lakers team on October 24th, 2021. In Timmons first 4 seasons with ‘Cuse the team has posted more wins than the season prior. A trend that he hope to continue in year #5. 

In the second matchup of the weekend, Syracuse and Stony Brook came out with the expected urgency after the exciting Game 1. The first five minutes were dictated largely by special teams, as both squads traded early power plays. Senior captain Connor Chesner anchored the top unit while AJ Finta continued his strong weekend in net, turning aside multiple grade-A chances during Stony Brook’s first man advantage.

Syracuse generated steady pressure off the rush but couldn’t convert on two first-period power plays, struggling to gain clean entries and taking two offsides in the process. The parade of penalties continued late in the frame, with the Orange forced to kill three more—including a late Stony Brook power play that carried into the second. Despite this, Syracuse’s penalty kill held firm, thanks to strong stick positioning and Finta’s work in the crease. By the end of the first, both teams remained locked at 0–0, with Stony Brook holding a 12–9 shot advantage. 

Syracuse opened the second period much like it did in Game 1—fast, aggressive, and hunting transition. The Orange killed off the remaining 1:50 of the Seawolves’ power play and less than six minutes into the frame, freshman forward Ben Brant broke the deadlock with a wraparound goal, marking the game’s first tally. 

The momentum only grew from there. With just under nine minutes left, Brant struck again—this time on a clean breakaway, freezing the goalie before sliding a smooth backhand to give SU a 2–0 lead. Pushing the Orange into full control of the period. 

After another successful penalty kill in the middle frame, the teams went to 4-on-4 before a major penalty against Syracuse left them shorthanded for five minutes. Brant was ejected on the sequence, forcing the Orange to defend the lead without their top scorer. The penalty killers delivered again, surviving the extended kill with a combination of active sticks, blocked shots, and timely clears. Syracuse escaped the second up 2–0, though another Stony Brook power play would carry over—1:51 into the third. 

The third period mirrored much of the first two: hard-fought, physical, and reliant on special teams. Once again, the Syracuse PK came through, denying Stony Brook on the carry-over penalty to open the frame. But the Seawolves broke through shortly after, capitalizing on a loose puck in front as Stony Brook’s Justin Nakagawa scored with 10:04 left to cut the Syracuse lead to 2–1. 

Stony Brook pressed hard from there, drawing another power play with under four minutes remaining, but the Orange penalty kill came up huge again. Finta made several close-range stops, including a glove save with one second left in regulation to seal the win. 

With the Seawolves pulling their goalie in the final minute, Syracuse held firm through the chaos, using their timeout to settle the group before closing the door defensively. The Orange secured a 2–1 victory, backed by AJ Finta’s 34-save performance and a near-perfect penalty kill in one of their most disciplined defensive efforts of the season. 

The first half of the season is complete, with Syracuse winning three out of the last four games of the semester. With many highs through the first half, Coach Chris Timmons has a lot to be proud of with his group.

“It’s been a rollercoaster—from a tough start to beating [then] No. 2 Adrian to now sweeping No. 13. We’re young, faced adversity, and we’re starting to hit our stride. Hopefully we carry this into January against Delaware," Timmons said after the weekend sweep.

Syracuse currently sits in 4th place in the ACC North standings but does have games in hand on both Oswego St. and Stony Brook.

Syracuse hosts Delaware to open 2026 at Tennity Ice Pavilion on Friday January 9th at 7 p.m. The teams will face off again on the following day at the Upstate Medical Arena in downtown Syracuse. The time for game 2 has yet to be determined. 

All home games are held at the Tennity Ice Pavilion on Syracuse University’s campus and are free for students and the general public. Home games are also streamed live on the SU Hockey Network.