Syracuse 9 - Binghamton 8: The Orange skirt past Binghamton on route to the ACC Tournament

Of course. After managing a 9-8 win over the Binghamton Bearcats on Senior Day in the Carrier Dome, the Syracuse Orange have now played in nine one-goal games this year, with a 8-1 record in those matches.

With Binghamton down by one goal and under a minute to go in the game the Bearcats were able to secure the final possession. BU passed the ball around the outside, trying to find a lane to dodge into. Finally, Ryan Winkoff got the ball behind cage. The attack rotated with Griffin Konen coming down towards the crease and was able to get free right off the cage. With SU somewhat ball-watching above goal line extended, Winkoff hit Konen for what appeared like it would be the tying goal, but Evan Molloy found a way to make the point blank save with 11 seconds to go in the game. Syracuse was able to grab the groundball and wait out the final few seconds for the win.

Jordan Evans led Syracuse with three goals today while Brendan Bomberry matched Evans’ three points with a trio of his own. Nick Mariano had a pretty quiet day with only a goal on just three shots.

Ben Williams went 8-20 a the faceoff X while grabbing five groundballs. Following today’s win, Williams is now the all-time faceoff wins leader at Syracuse.

Evan Molloy had some fantastic saves on the day, but none more important than the final stop with just seconds to go in the game to prevent Binghamton from tying the game.

Ultimately, while not a perfect game, there are certainly plenty of things from this game that Syracuse can learn from as it will head to the ACC Tournament next weekend.

At the end of the first quarter, Syracuse was up 4-1 on Binghamton after Brendan Bomberry’s fast-break goal with five seconds to go in the period. It was Bomberry’s only goal of the game but he also tallied two assists on the day. Even with the lead, Syracuse turned the ball over five times in the first and went 3-6 at the faceoff X.

For most of the second period, it was a different story with Binghamton putting up four straight goals to grab a 5-4 lead with 5:10 to go in the half. Binghamton’s offensive stud, Tom Moore had three of BU’s five goals in the first two periods. He had five goals on seven shots on Saturday. Say what you will about how impressive this Binghamton offense is, without Moore, this is a wildly different team. The most disappointing part of today’s performance is that Syracuse knew the offensive game plan for Binghamton and yet still allowed Moore to produce.

With 4:19 to go in the half, Brendan Bomberry got the ball on the crease. He held the ball just long enough for the crease defender to slide towards him, opening up the opposite side where Jordan Evans filled the void. Bomberry hit Evans for the wide open goal to tie the game at five once again. Four minutes later it was Nick Mariano who grabbed a pass in traffic for a mid-range shot that found the back of the net to put Syracuse up by one going into the half.

Out of halftime, Ryan Winkoff behind cage hit Tom Moore on the crease for a quick stick as Moore crossed from far side to near side along the crease. Joe Gillis was just a step too far to prevent the shot. T.J. Tiernan got the next tally for Binghamton, giving BU its final lead of the day up 7-6.

With only seconds remaining in the third period, Evan Molloy knocked a Binghamton pass out of the air and scooped up the groundball. After a long clearing pass, the ball eventually got into the crosse of Evan Molloy who took a few looks at the clock before dodging from the top of the box easily beating his long pole and getting a mid-range goal. Basically, this goal was exactly what we’ve been waiting to see from Evans.

The Orange were able to get two goals to start the final period, a long range shot from Ryan Simmons, his second of the day, and a nifty mid-ranger from Jamie Trimboli who appeared to actually use a check as a leverage to get off a faster shot.

Tom Moore got the final goal of the game on the wing going low to low on a well placed shot to make it 9-8 Syracuse.

Syracuse will travel to Durham, NC next weekend to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in the first round ACC Tournament.