ATHENS, O.H. - Syracuse Men's Hockey began its 2026-27 regular season schedule with likely the toughest test it will face all year. The Orange traveled to Athens, Ohio, to face the defending national champion Ohio Bobcats, who showed why they held that title throughout the two-game series. Although the Orange showed fight during both contests, they failed to find the back of the net the entire weekend as they fell 9-0 Friday and 6-0 Saturday. 

Syracuse came out strong, earning a power play in the opening minute against the defending national champions. With 10 seconds left on the advantage, senior Captain Kade Cook generated one of the Orange's best scoring chances of the night.
Ohio got the scoring started at 3:33 into the first period as Will Cohenn made the score 1-0 Ohio University. Alex Thomas doubled the Ohio lead at 5:47 as he found open space above the right shoulder of the Syracuse goalie. Both sides played a physical game, but the Bobcats kept the pressure up.

A missed Syracuse line change gave Ohio an opening, and a backhand shot found the right corner of the net at 9:22 to put the Bobcats ahead 3-0. However, Syracuse had a chance to get one back when an Ohio cross-check gave the Orange their second power play of the night. Instead, the Bobcats scored short-handed at 14:48 to take a 4-0 lead. 

The second period saw more offensive pressure from the Bobcats, as an unlucky ricochet led to an opening in the Syracuse net, allowing the Bobcats to extend their lead to 5-0 two minutes into the second period. The Orange's goalie sophomore Cash Lawrence made two incredible stops before being unable to stop the third, making it 6-0 Ohio at 8:28. 

Midway through the second period, Syracuse went to their second powerplay of the night. Much like the first, it would end in heartbreak for the Orange as the Bobcats once again found the back of the net down a man. A 2-on-1 breakaway gave Ohio their seventh goal of the night at 10:45. The Bobcats went on the power play with 7:45 to go in the second period but were unable to make anything of it. 

The third period started off strong for the Orange, but quickly turned around. An untimely double penalty for the Orange led to a 5-3 citation that Ohio was able to capitalize on. The Bobcats made it 8-0 only 1:51 into the third period. 

The last goal of the game came midway through the period for Ohio, making the final score 9-0 in favor of the Bobcats. However, lost in that scoreline was an amazing performance by Lawrence who made 49 saves on 58 shots. 

"Game 2's message was pretty clear, we needed to play for each other no matter what is thrown at us and keep it fast and simple," SU head coach Chris Timmons said.

The Orange took that message to heart. Despite surrendering a pair of goals within the first two minutes of the opening period, Syracuse responded by playing arguably its best period of the series from that point on. After taking eight penalties the day before, the Orange showed discipline at both ends of the ice and stayed out of the box through the first 20 minutes. And while SU failed to find the back of the net in the frame, it came close on multiple occasions as it racked up 11 shots on target to Ohio's 16.

Only trailing by two at the start of the second, Syracuse remained aggressive on the puck out of the break. Both the Orange and Bobcats were assessed two penalties over the course of the first 10 minutes of the frame, but each side came up empty on the power play. Faced with one of the nation's best man-advantage units, Lawrence spearheaded his team's penalty-killing efforts with multiple clutch saves.

Not long after their second power play chance expired, the Bobcats were finally rewarded with their third goal of the night, which was sparked by a Syracuse turnover at its own blue line. But besides that one hiccup, Lawrence and Syracuse's back end held down the fort for the remainder of the frame despite facing 21 total shots on goal in the period.

Now down 3-0 with 20 minutes left to play, the Orange went into the final 20 minutes still with a chance to at least push the reigning champions back on their heals. Instead, SU fell back into the habits that plagued it during Game 1. Outshooting SU 17-8, the Bobcats put the game all but out of reach by potting two goals just eight seconds apart. 

SU generated some offensive chances in the final moments of the frame, but Ohio goalie Garrett Alderman stood tall between the pipes. One last late Ohio tally by Thomas boosted its lead to 6-0, which proved to be the final score. Yet again, that margin overshadowed another solid outing from Lawrence, who stopped 48 of the 54 pucks that came his way.

"Going into the first game, especially playing against Ohio, you just go into the game thinking that they're the better team, but I think it was just about making a mental shift and just realizing that they're on the same sheet of ice as we are," Lawrence said. "Also, just seeing all the boys battling just makes you want that next save even more. I definitely think the biggest thing was just making that mental shift and playing like it's another hockey game."

Although his squad struggled to match the speed and skill of the Bobcats throughout much of the weekend, Timmons said there were still positives for Syracuse to take away from the two shutout losses.

"In terms of positives, I think it was the ability to handle adversity and keep moving forward. This weekend was a stress test to see how we can handle being up against it going to battle with the #1 team in the country, and I feel we learned a lot," Timmons said. "You could see the shift in game 2 where guys played with more confidence and we came together more as a team for a full 60 minutes. Even though the result doesn't show it, the process moved in the right direction."

Syracuse will take the ice next weekend for its first home series of the year against #22 West Chester on Friday and Saturday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 6PM on Friday and 2PM Saturday. Opening Night will include a jersey raffle, merch sales, and plenty of excitement at Tennity. Saturday's contest at the T.I.P. is presented by OttoTHON. 

All home games are held 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.