Syracuse Men's Hockey (0-3-1) opened conference play on home ice with a two-game series against Stony Brook University (0-1-0). After starting the season winless through four games, SU came into the matchup hungrier than ever to steal a pair of wins from the Seawolves.

In Game One, Syracuse secured its first win of the season with a 3-2 overtime victory after surrendering an early 2-0 lead. However, the Orange couldn't carry that momentum into Game Two, falling 6-3 after spending much of the contest battling from behind.

Breaking a sluggish start to the campaign wasn't the only thing that motivated the Orange heading into the matchup. For Syracuse, the series also represented a chance to exact revenge on the team that spoiled its championship hopes last season. 

"I think there was definitely some added motivation from our returners, and we have had the upper hand in the past couple of seasons during the regular season against them so I think there's always a drive for us to continue that," said SU head coach Chris Timmons.
Both teams struggled to generate offense early in Game One. Syracuse's forecheck forced multiple turnovers, but Stony Brook's defense limited shots reaching goaltender Garrett Simpson. On the other end, Syracuse sophomore goaltender Cash Lawrence and the Orange defense kept the Seawolves off the scoreboard.

Just past the midway point of the period, both teams generated quality scoring chances.

A Syracuse turnover behind the net gave Stony Brook a scoring opportunity, but Lawrence made the save to keep the game scoreless. The Seawolves continued to pressure the Orange, but Lawrence held firm with 13 saves in the opening period.

On the other end, Syracuse struggled to generate offense. Sophomore defenseman Hamilton Nordwind had Syracuse's best opportunity when he received a pass in the slot, but Simpson turned away his shot. Stony Brook's defense continued to limit the Orange, holding them to just six shots in the period and keeping the period scoreless.

Syracuse's offense found its rhythm in the second period, generating more scoring opportunities and odd-man rushes. Junior forward Tanner Cole nearly broke the scoreless tie after forcing a turnover at the blue line and breaking away, but the Seawolves netminder denied his attempt.

Syracuse's power-play struggles continued, as the Orange entered the contest 2-for-18 on the man advantage and failed to convert their lone opportunity. Stony Brook also came up empty on its only power play of the period.

By the midway point of the second period, Syracuse had already surpassed its first-period shot total, putting relentless pressure on the Stony Brook defense. The Orange's offensive efforts finally paid off when senior captain Kade Cook fired a shot from the left faceoff circle that deflected toward the right post, where Hamilton Nordwind redirected it into the back of the net to give SU a 1-0 lead.

After taking 33 minutes to break the scoreless tie, Syracuse needed less than two minutes to extend its lead.
Freshman forward Aidan Wilson received an outlet pass and found himself one-on-two in the offensive zone. Instead of waiting for support, Wilson attacked, splitting the Stony Brook defenders with a dangle and beat Simpson for his first regular season collegiate goal. 

Although Stony Brook's Peter Labos got one back with a snap shot from the slot, Syracuse still left the period with a 2-1 lead after dominating shots 20-8. With West Chester's comeback win from the previous weekend still fresh in their minds, SU's players hoped to hold the lead until the final buzzer this time around. 

The Orange kept the Seawolves hemmed up in their own zone for a sizable chunk of the period, once again outshooting Stony Brook 15-12. Even the Seawolves' power play couldn't sustain offensive zone time as SU went two-for-two on the kill. However, the Orange couldn't get an insurance goal, which came back to bite them. 

After a scramble in front of the net, Labos found the back of the net with the goalie pulled to send the game to overtime tied 2-2. 

"The discussion on the bench was to keep our heads up. We had been here before and we knew what needed to be done," said Wilson.

It seemed like Syracuse was destined for another frustrating overtime loss, but Nathan McLean had other plans. Just 22 seconds into overtime, Syracuse's star forward capitalized on a rebound from a Ben Brant shot, firing the puck past Simpson to secure the Orange's first win of the season.

"(The win) meant a lot for the group. We've faced some tough challenges and adversity, but it showed that we are buying in. It was probably the best 59 minutes we've played this year. It was good to get past that hurdle for us on Saturday even though it didn't come easy," Timmons said.

Coming off its first win of the season, Syracuse looked to carry its momentum into Game Two with an aggressive, physical start. Stony Brook made a change between the pipes, replacing Garrett Simpson with sophomore Michael Foglia, but the Orange wasted no time testing the new netminder.

On the other end, Syracuse's defense limited Stony Brook's offensive opportunities, keeping pressure off Lawrence. The Seawolves generated their first quality chance eight minutes into the period, but Lawrence turned aside a shot from the side of the net. Shortly after, the Orange earned a power-play opportunity but failed to capitalize as Stony Brook blocked multiple shots.

Seconds after killing off SU's chance on the man advantage, the Seawolves went the other way and scored on a tic-tac-toe passing sequence to take a 1-0 lead. From there, Stony Brook remained aggressive on the attack and was rewarded with another tally off the stick of Paul DeSaro.

The Orange fell into two penalties of its own, but killed off both to keep the game 2-0. In the final moments of the frame, Syracuse continued to generate scoring opportunities, but the Stony Brook defense kept the Orange off the scoreboard. Despite holding a 10-9 advantage in shots, SU entered the first intermission trailing 2-0.

The scrappiness in the opening period carried over into the second, as both sides refused to back down from puck battles. Just over three minutes in, a cross checking penalty on Stony Brook put Syracuse back on the power play. This time, Syracuse capitalized on the man advantage as junior defenseman captain Ryan Thomas fired a one-timer from the left faceoff circle past Foglia, cutting Stony Brook's lead to 2-1.

Seconds after the tally, McLean was called for interference. However, instead of serving the penalty, SU's star forward left the game due to injury and did not return. 

"It's one of those injuries that is going to depend on the severity. Will take it day by day, but obviously it's early in our season and we need to be cautious as he's a big part of our team," Timmons said.

Now forced to play without one of its top weapons, the period went from bad to worse for SU as the Seawolves restored their two-goal advantage on the power play. 

Shortly after conceding the goal, Syracuse suffered another setback as Lawrence exited the game due to illness. Freshman goaltender Matthew Angelino took over between the pipes, but Lorenzo Marra quickly beat him five-hole to extend Stony Brook's lead to 4-1.

Despite staring down a three-goal deficit, Syracuse's offense didn't show any signs of giving up. The Orange got back to their game and peppered Foglia with shots, eventually frustrating the Seawolves enough to get them to take their third penalty of the frame. Once again, Thomas came through on the man advantage for SU with a perfectly-placed one timer from almost the exact same spot he'd scored from earlier. 

Syracuse closed the second with a pair of goals, but it could've easily been more based on the 22 shots they had to Stony Brook's five.

"It was a next-man-up mentality for us. I felt like we controlled the majority of the game, but a few costly mistakes allowed Stony Brook to capitalize," Timmons said. "We've consistently outshot opponents but haven't gotten the results we want. We need to be better at converting our chances and making key saves. We're creating plenty of opportunities, but we haven't been finishing."

The third period was the most physical of the afternoon, with neither side able to put the finishing touches on their chances out of the gate. 

Now settled into the game, Angelino made the saves he needed to throughout most of the period for SU to keep it within two goals, but in the end it was some bad puck luck that ultimately doomed Syracuse. 

With the Orange's net empty and the extra attacker on, Stony Brook's Joseph Anastasio launched the puck from the other end of the ice off the post and into the back of the net. DeSaro's third tally of the game made it 6-2, but Wilson responded for Syracuse inside the final minute to bring his team back within three.

"There was a lot of good coming from this weekend. Obviously (we) would have loved a sweep, but a win is a great place to start and we will be chasing that feeling again," Wilson said.

Next weekend, Syracuse will take on #5 Niagara University in a home-and-home series. Game One will be played on Friday night at Dwyer Ice Arena at 7:30pm and Game Two will take place the following evening at the Tennity Ice Pavilion at 5 pm. During Saturday's contest 'Cuse will host their annual "Pink the Rink" event. The team will sport custom pink jerseys while helping to raise awareness for breast cancer. Pink themed Men's Hockey shirts will also be for sale in an effort to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

All home games are played at the Tennity Ice Pavilion on Syracuse University's South Campus and are free for students and the general public. Home games are also streamed live on the SU Hockey Network.