No. 3 Syracuse Captures ESCHL Championship Victory After Defeating No. 1 Liberty March 18, 2019 Owen Sienko- Syracuse, NY On Sunday, March 17, the third-seeded Syracuse Orange (19-10-2) took on the first-seeded Liberty Flames (25-6-3) in the final round of the ESCHL tournament. Syracuse earned the right to play in the finals on Saturday night with a thrilling overtime victory featuring a last-minute penalty shot by junior forward Peter Owen Hayward to tie the game up. Liberty also won in come-from-behind fashion on Saturday in a highly offensive tilt against the University of Delaware in which both teams combined for 94 shots and Liberty senior forward Zechariah Roberts netted two goals. Over the course of the regular season, the Orange hold a 1-2-1 record against the Flames, with their only win coming in overtime. “The plan was simply the plan we had all tournament. We were going to be the hardest working team on the ice, be disciplined and never lose faith despite the scoreboard,” senior captain Connor McNamara explained his team’s approach to the championship game. The teams traded quick rushing opportunities for the majority of the high-energy, fast-paced first period. 5:47 into the game, Liberty forward Jacob Fricks blew a one-time opportunity on an open Syracuse net, resulting in a breakaway opportunity for Syracuse forward Owen Herrington, who also failed to put the puck in the net. After several solid offensive efforts by both teams, Liberty finally opened up the scoring with 7:22 showing on the clock. After sending a shot on goal, three Flames attackers crashed the net in close and jammed away at the puck. Eventually, junior defenseman Chaydan Lauber succeeded in forcing the puck past the pad of SU senior goaltender Mike Cuozzo. The Syracuse bench argued for goaltender interference to be called on the play, but the call on the ice would stand as a good goal. The goal, coupled with a successful penalty kill nine seconds later, would shift the momentum decidedly in favor of the Flames for the remainder of the period. A strong and consistent Liberty forecheck forced several turnovers in the Syracuse zone and threatened another goal, but Cuozzo was up to the task in net. The score at the end of the first period was 1-0 Liberty. Liberty took control early in the slower-paced second period, setting up for an extended stay in the Syracuse zone. Despite this, the Orange were able to make smart defensive plays and alleviate pressure when necessary to hold the Flames to one goal. Then, 3:36 into the period, Syracuse defenseman Ford Hatchett and forward Connor Preston found themselves on an odd-man rush in the offensive zone. Preston slid a pass to Hatchett in close, whose shot glanced off of the crossbar in a bout of bad luck. The opportunity balanced the momentum, resulting in a long back and forth. Eventually, with 6:54 remaining in the period, the Orange broke the scoreless silence in the second period in a similar fashion to Liberty’s goal in the first period. After sending in an initial shot, the Orange forwards swarmed the right side of the Liberty net, where senior goalie Joshua Halpenny tightly hugged the post. Eventually, senior forward Joseph Pucciarelli found a way to jam the puck through a miniscule chink in Halpenny’s armor, tying the game up at one goal apiece. Pucciarelli’s goal shifted the momentum in favor of the Orange, which was multiplied by a late power play opportunity thanks to a Basil Reynolds penalty, but Syracuse would not net another goal in the second period. The score was 1-1 after forty minutes of play. Liberty burst out of the gate in the third period with a quick goal 1:43 in. After forcing a turnover in the Syracuse zone, Liberty junior forward Jordan Bochinski skated into the slot, froze Cuozzo on his belly, and deposited the puck in the open upper portion of the net to put his team back in the lead. Following the Bochinski goal, Syracuse had two opportunities to tie the game up on the power play -- one coming courtesy of Jacob Fricks 5:49 into the period and the other 9:32 in thanks to Garrett Nelson -- but the Orange were unable to convert on either opportunity. In the second half of the final period of regulation, both teams showed tremendous fight with hard-working offensive and defensive efforts made on either side of the ice. With 7:43 left, Joseph Pucciarelli was shut down by the physical play of the Liberty defense after dropping Halpenny to the ground and opening up the net. This resulted in a rush in the opposite direction, which Cuozzo was able to beat with the pad. “I crashed the net hard and got rewarded,” Pucciarelli reflected on his goal. “Some might call It a lucky bounce, but that’s just how our weekend was going.” With 2:45 remaining in the period, SU senior captain Connor McNamara took a bad tripping penalty and was sent to the penalty box for two minutes. After a high-pressure siege by the Flames, the Orange survived the power play and pulled Mike Cuozzo from the net to gain an extra attacker. Then, with 23.5 seconds showing on the clock, SU senior defenseman Stephen Bressi rung around behind the net and sent a pass out front to junior forward Matt Jacobs, who tapped the puck in between Halpenny’s legs to tie the game up and send it into overtime. Mike Cuozzo stood on his head in the overtime period, during which Liberty applied heavy pressure and teed off a flurry of shots against the senior goaltender. Liberty also benefited from three power play opportunities -- one coming 3:38 into the period, another coming with 7:58 left, and the third coming with 1:34 remaining -- but the Syracuse penalty kill came up big with two successful kills. “We made it a priority this weekend to fix our little mistakes and communicate to one another,” penalty killer Joseph Pucciarelli said. “That was the difference against a team with such a dangerous power play.” The game was still tied 2-2 after twenty minutes had expired, sending the Orange into their fifth overtime period of the tournament. The second overtime began taking a physical toll on the players, and the game was played with noticeably less energy than before. 4:29 into the period, Liberty’s Chayden Lauber took an interference penalty. Despite applying solid pressure and generating momentum during the resulting two-minute power play, the Orange were unable to convert. For the majority of the remaining time, the teams went back and forth, trading shot opportunities and rushes. Finally, with 3:59 remaining, SU senior captain Connor McNamara fired a shot from point-blank range, which was stopped and turned aside by Halpenny. The loose puck was retrieved by Syracuse’s Matt Jacobs, who circled behind the net and sent a pass back out front to give McNamara another chance. This time, he buried over Halpenny’s glove for his first goal in 17 games, winning the ESCHL championship for Syracuse in his last game in an Orange uniform. “As crazy as it sounds I was visualizing that goal the entire game and once I got the opportunity it all came together,” McNamara said after the game. “It was emotional but in the best possible way and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my four years at Syracuse.” The victory would not have been possible without an outstanding goaltending performance by senior Mike Cuozzo, who stopped more than seventy shots and allowed only two goals in over ninety minutes of playing time against Liberty, tying his career high in total saves and save percentage. “[It was the] Last game of my career so I thought let’s just have fun and work as hard as possible for the boys,” Cuozzo commented about his performance. “There wasn’t much going through my head I just tried my best to see every puck and hope that the guys could score. I was very happy when it was all over because I was exhausted.” The ESCHL championship win capped off a rollercoaster run in the tournament for the Orange, during which they played through five overtime periods and scored more than fourteen goals.