Syracuse Storms Back From Slow Start
from press release
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Top-ranked Syracuse
improved to 2-0 on Friday, Feb. 20 with a 17-6 victory against No.
18 Army (1-1) at the Carrier Dome. The Orange trailed, 3-1, after
the first quarter, but outscored the Black Knights, 11-1, in the
second and third quarters to cruise to the victory.
Senior Kenny Nims was the Orange’s leading scorer for the
second straight game, tallying three goals and dishing out three
assists for a total of six points. Classmate Dan Hardy tied his
personal-best with five points in the contest, including a
career-high three assists. He now has 99 points (61g, 38a) in his
SU career. Sophomore Stephen Keogh recorded his second straight hat
trick in the game. He also added an assist for a total of four
points.
Syracuse dominated the statistics in the first period, winning four
of the quarter’s five faceoffs and holding an 18-4 advantage
in ground balls and a 16-4 margin in shots. However, Army
goaltender Tom Palesky made five saves in the quarter to keep SU at
bay early. Offensively, the Black Knights scored on two of their
first three shots, getting goals from Anthony Maisano at the 12:21
mark and Baldwinsville native Jeremy Boltus five minutes later to
take a 2-0 advantage. After Nims got SU on the scoreboard with 9:15
to go in the quarter, Rob McCallion scored off a pass from Boltus
with 33 seconds remaining in the period to push the Army lead back
to two, 3-1, at the end of the stanza.
Syracuse righted the ship in the second quarter. After scoring once
on 16 shots in the first period, the Orange found the cage four
times on 10 attempts in the second. Sophomore Josh Amidon, junior
Chis Daniello and Nims each scored unassisted goals in the first
six minutes of the frame; and the Orange outscored Army , 4-0,
overall in the quarter to take a 5-3 lead at the intermission. The
Orange also got a lift from its man-down defense, which killed
three Army extra-man opportunities in the first 30 minutes.
The Orange extended its run to 6-0 as Keogh and Amidon found the
cage at the 11:34 and 9:23 marks of the third quarter,
respectively, to extend the SU advantage to 7-3. Nims assisted on
both goals. He also scored twice in the quarter and had a hand in
four of the Orange’s seven goals in the period.
Army snapped its 23:11 scoring drought when Boltus found Tyler
Oates for a goal with 6:49 to go in the third to cut the lead to
8-4. But it was all Orange the rest of the quarter as SU netted the
final four goals of the period to up 12-4. Included in the run was
a behind-the-back tally by Hardy off a pass from Joel White in
transition that ignited the home crowd.
With the game in hand, Syracuse played its reserves in the fourth
quarter and outscored the Black Knights, 5-2, to produce the final
score.
Boltus led Army with four points, including three assists. Palesky
finished with 11 saves for the Black Knights in 52:37 of
action.
For Syracuse, goaltender John Galloway recorded his 18th win in 20
career starts. He made five saves before being replaced by junior
Al Cavalieri midway through the fourth quarter.
The Orange converted on both of its man-up opportunities Friday
night and is now 8-for-9 (.889) on the extra man this season.
Syracuse also held the edge in shots (51-24), ground balls (43-35)
and was a perfect 22-for-22 on clears.
The Orange will close out a three-game homestand on Friday, Feb 27
against No. 2 Virginia. Faceoff is slated for 7 p.m. on Time Warner
Sports 26.
Game Notes: With his six points, Nims extended his consecutive game
scoring streak to 18 games … The Orange has won 13 of the
last 14 meetings with the Black Knights dating back to 1984
… Senior Scott Kahoe’s had two points (1g, 1a) Friday,
equaling his career high for points … Freshman midfielder
Kevin Drew and sophomore attackman Alex Giocondi each scored the
first goals of their careers in the fourth quarter … Senior
Jake Moulton established personal bests in faceoffs won and
attempted, going 9-for-16 against Army at the faceoff X.
