Syracuse Survives Hobart 9-8

It wasn't pretty.  It wasn't fun.  It wasn't the expected way this game was supposed to go.  But in the end Syracuse rallied to beat Hobart 9-8 and keep the Krause-Simmons Trophy where it belongs.

Junior attackman Stephen Keogh, bottled up the entire game by a gritty Hobart defense, took a pass from teammate Chris Daniello in the high slot and rifled a shot past Max Silberlicht with 43 seconds remaining in the first sudden-death overtime period to lift Syracuse to a 9-8 victory on a cold, sleety night here at McCooey Field.

Silberlicht had the game of his career, stopping 23 shots on the night.  The Orange remained relentless all night, and they had to in order to overtake Hobart:

They poured 56 shots toward the Hobart cage and absorbed only 24 in return. They held their own against Bobby Dattilo, the nation’s leading faceoff specialist, winning 11 of 20 draws. They won the ground ball battle 31-25.

Yet, there Syracuse was, locked in an 8-all tie when Silberlicht made his 22nd save – that’s correct, 22nd – on Jeremy Thompson with 3 seconds left in regulation. And get this: Syracuse (5-1) had to rally from deficits of 5-2 at the half and 6-4 after three quarters to even get that far.

For the Orange, a nice lesson in humility and also a great showcase in just how good this team is, to overcome that kind of deficit against a goalie having the game of his life.  It's a win that will serve them well down the road.  CiCitrusTV.net has some more wrap-up from the overtime game and CitrusTV.net's Scott Grodsky put together this highlight package that encompasses the entire SU season so far: