It took less than two minutes for the Syracuse Orange (1-0) to score its first goal of the season, and it came from none other than redshirt senior attack Dylan Donahue [15], who had four goals and a career-high five assists in the tilt, totaling nine points.
Syracuse dominated play in the first period, keeping play in the Saints’ (0-1) zone virtually the entire time, causing havoc and forcing turnovers whenever Siena was in possession.
“It was good to start off with a W," Syracuse head coach John Desko [16] said following the victory. “I think we started off well, we made some mistakes, but I was happy with our execution. In the second period Siena had some opportunities to score, I thought there were three or four one-on-one situations where [senior goaltender Warren Hill [17]] came up big for us. All of a sudden it could’ve been 7-4 and it’s a different situation.”
A scramble play happened early in the second quarter when Syracuse committed a turnover, then Siena gave the ball right back, and redshirt junior midfield Tim Barber [18] made no mistake of the opportunity, potting his first of two goals in the game to make it 5-0 Orange with 12:56 to play in the first half.
Syracuse would add five more goals before Siena sophomore midfield Brian Prunty broke the shutout with 52 seconds left to play in the second quarter. Hill, who gave up two goals on seven shots, was replaced by redshirt junior goaltender Evan Molloy [19], who surrendered three goals on four shots. Redshirt junior Tyler Avallone [20] was also in net for the Orange, however he only played 2:27 and didn’t have to make a save.
Siena committed three penalties that totaled two minutes and 30 seconds; the Orange did not have a penalty and went 3-3 on the man advantage.
The Orange is off until next Sunday, when it faces the Albany Great Danes [21] (0-0; the matchup at Syracuse will be their season opener) at the Carrier Dome at 4 p.m. The Orange, which has never visited Albany, leads the series all-time 12-1.
