By Ryan Nelson
Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Orange (1-3-1) remained down in Lynchburg, Virginia, for their second straight matchup with the Liberty Flames (7-0-0) on Saturday, October 19th. The Orange were unsuccessful in their continued search for their first in-division win as they fell to the Flames 4-1.
Physicality was the name of the game for this matinee matchup as the first period saw six penalties between the two sides.
Despite this, the power plays for either side were all unsuccessful as both goaltenders stood tall and strong in their crease throughout the barrage of shots being sent their way.
Liberty broke through first as Brock Thompson, with his new linemates, took the momentum from their recently-killed penalty to propel him on a breakaway that resulted in a backhander past Eric Parker.
Syracuse then responded with a goal from Lucas Prestamo as he placed a shot that ricocheted off the goalie’s glove and into the net to tie the game at 1 apiece.
The Flames were able to light the lamp one more time before the period ended, as Matthew Bartel skated left and shot right to beat an outstretched Parker.
“For us, we’ve just got to keep things simple, get pucks on net, and we’ve just got to work hard.” said Coach Treacy to LFSN’s Olivia Jensen during intermission, “That’s the big thing for our group.”
In the second period, the Orange were able to get pressure on Flames’ goalie, Cedric Lesieur, but their 13 shots resulted in zero goals for the team.
Liberty was able to convert on one of their chances as Quinn Ryan snuck his way beyond the Orange defense and tapped the puck into the back of the net, giving Liberty a 3-1 lead.
In the third period, Liberty began to overwhelm Eric Parker with a total of 19 shots in the period. The Orange goalie proved strong though, as he only allowed one past him in the 20-minute stretch.
The third also saw much physicality from both sides. Eighteen penalty minutes were distributed to either team, including a game misconduct penalty for Liberty. Despite the chances on the powerplay for the Orange, they were unable to solve the enigma of Lesieur.
One of the many Orange players left off of the score sheet was Captain Peter-Owen Hayward.
“We need to work on eliminating mistakes and doing a better job at making a play with the puck when we get time and space,” said the captain after the game.
The Orange will have the chance to do just that when they take on Delaware on November 1st. The game can be streamed using this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHjvSsWdimS_emftDV4lK5Q.
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