Stony Brook continued its second-half dominance over ESCHL opponents this weekend with a pair of wins against Syracuse.
Both games were closely contested with game-winning goals scored in the third period. Game one on Saturday night got off to a good start, with junior forward Devon Palmieri and junior forward Nick Belger scoring a pair of power play goals to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. The Orange came back with a strong effort in the middle frame, however, and cut the Seawolves’ lead in half in the opening minutes of the second.
Sophomore forward Joseph Slevin deposited a breakaway goal midway through the period, but Syracuse found an answer once again to make it 3-2 entering the third. At the 7:53 mark of the third period, freshman forward Dustin Rinaldo gave the Seawolves an insurance goal with his 15th of the season. Though the Orange cut the lead to 4-3 five minutes later, Belger put the game away with two late tallies to complete the hat trick and secure a 6-3 win.
The Seawolves struck first again in Sunday afternoon’s game two, but the Orange quickly chipped away at the one-goal lead. Senior defenseman Frank Coscia’s 14th of the season was answered 28 seconds later by Syracuse junior forward Matt Jacobs. Jacobs’ day was not over yet as he went on to score another game-tying goal 7:41 into the second, setting up a 2-2 game to start the third period.
The final 20 minutes featured few quality scoring chances on either side, but sophomore defenseman Brendan Pepe capitalized on a shot from the blue line with 6:57 remaining in regulation to break the tie. Syracuse pushed for a late response but ultimately came up short, giving Stony Brook a 3-2 win.
The pair of victories extend the Seawolves’ win streak to six games and move them to an 8-2-0 record in the second half. During the six-game undefeated stretch, the team has never trailed and has outscored opponents by a combined score of 35-16.
Stony Brook will play its final road series of the regular season this weekend with games on Friday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. against the University of Rhode Island Rams.
