The anticipation started to build. A three-goal scoring barrage late in the third period gave Syracuse its first lead of the game.

The Orange sideline and Carrier Dome crowd came to life after Ryan Barber’s go-ahead goal. And they erupted when Kevin Drew drove down the right alley for another score 11 seconds later to cap a dominant SU run.

Four goals in 92 seconds. And in the blink of an eye, a two-goal deficit turned into a two-goal lead.

‘We kind of strive off everyone else on the team’s energy, and right when we got that first goal and then we got the next faceoff, it kept going back and forth,’ SU faceoff specialist Chris Daddio said. ‘And Kevin Drew came down with that big goal at the end where he literally just picked it up and ran, sprinted by everyone and scored.

‘It’s just stuff like that. Every time it goes back and forth like that and we can get quick ones, it just really gets our team going.’

Syracuse saw the momentum and energy from the scoring outburst disappear as its two-goal cushion was erased in the final period, but the No. 17 Orange (5-4, 2-1 Big East) regained the lead late and held on for a 10-9 victory over No. 10 Princeton (6-3) in front of 4,629 in the Carrier Dome on Saturday, snapping a two-game losing streak. SU earned quality opportunities on offense all day, but Princeton goaltender Tyler Fiorito kept the attack in check for most of the first three quarters. The senior made 13 saves before the Orange offense exploded in the final two minutes of the third period.

The late charge started at the faceoff X with Daddio, who won the final four draws of the period. Syracuse held possession for the final two minutes of the quarter, and the Princeton offense could only watch as its lead turned into a hole going into the final 15 minutes of play.

‘It’s just momentum. It was all on faceoffs. It was all early offense,’ Princeton head coach Chris Bates said. ‘And when the bright lights went on in that pressure situation, we didn’t rely on each other in terms of team defense where we needed to and they made plays.’

Early on, Princeton made all the plays. The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, beating freshman goaltender Bobby Wardwell with ease in his first career start.

But SU battled back and Wardwell settled in between the pipes from there. Syracuse whittled the lead down to one going into halftime and tied it at 5 early in the second half. Still, the Orange could never pull ahead as Fiorito turned away shot after shot.

‘They’ve got one of the better goalies in the country who, as you saw, stopped us a number of times one-on-one today kicking them out with his feet,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘And (SU) easily could have become frustrated with that.’

But the Syracuse offense stayed aggressive and finally broke Fiorito with the late run in the third period.

Bobby Eilers started it off with a hard shot into the top left corner. Tommy Palasek tied it on the next possession, slinging one into the bottom corner of the net. Then Barber worked down the right alley and fired one between Fiorito’s legs to give SU the lead.

The Princeton goaltender fell to his knees and dropped his head after the miscue as the Orange displayed some excitement on the sideline. Drew’s bullet soon after set off celebrations all across the field.

The offense met Drew around the goal as Brian Megill shared a chest bump with his defensive teammates. And the players on the bench jumped up and down, barely remaining on the sideline.

With a two-goal lead, the defense simply had to keep the Tigers off the board to get the win.

‘When our offense makes runs like that, we got to hold our own down on the defensive end and feed off their energy and hold teams to no goals for two or three possessions,’ Megill said.

The defense faltered, though. Princeton tied the game at 9 with just less than nine minutes remaining.

The energy on the sideline returned when Syracuse went up 10-9 with just more than four minutes left on Palasek’s fourth goal off a 25-yard pass from Tim Desko after a Princeton turnover at midfield.

The goal sparked another roar in the Carrier Dome and became the difference between a thrilling win and a potential third straight loss.

‘The past two games are the first times we put a 60-minute game together as far as effort goes,’ Palasek said. ‘But I’ll tell you what, it feels so much better to win than to lose, that’s for sure.’

rjgery@syr.edu

Published on April 7, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu