By: Jacob Erlbaum
Photo Credit: David Herman (Instagram: dhermsphoto)
SYRACUSE, NY – Head coach Chris Timmons wasn’t impressed even though his team picked up a two-game sweep over Drexel before the Thanksgiving break.
“It was kind of a sloppy two wins in my opinion, but you know I think the big thing for us is sticking to our systems, moving the puck quick, getting it deep and getting to work from there. I think a lot of our goals were generated just when we kept things simple so we just got to stick with that in order to have success going forward this weekend,” Timmons said.
Timmons called his team’s play “sloppy,” and although his team has won two straight, the product on the ice is not up to par for the head coach. Syracuse took down Drexel 4-0 in the front end of the two-game set, but fell behind 2-0 early in game two. A dominant third period for the Orange helped them prevail and pull off an important win.
While the first two periods were poor for Syracuse, Timmons says his team needs to build off its strong third period this weekend against William Patterson.
“The third period we woke up and realized it doesn’t have to take a one man effort, that it can be a simple five man effort. We showed it scoring three goals in that two minute span…that third period we woke up so we’re hoping to continue off that third period,” Timmons said.
The chance to build off that third period will come Friday night in Wayne, New Jersey, against William Patterson University. William Patterson enters the game sporting a 10-8 record, although they are 5-7 in their last 12 games after a strong 5-1 start to the year.
In his fourth year with William Patterson, Adam Marvin leads the ECHA conference in points with 33 in 14 games this season. He has been a massive factor in propelling William Patterson to 10 wins so far, and Syracuse will have to shut him down this weekend if it wants to come out victorious. Additionally, Marvin is a player with whom Syracuse head coach Chris Timmons is familiar.
“I think they are more of an offensive team when they got the chance. They got one of the top scorers in the ACHA right now with Adam Marvin, who I actually coached when I was back at Oswego [State] so I got a little familiarity with him, but for the most part they are more of an offensive team, but they are more of a run and gun team so we got to take advantage with our systems, hem them in their zone and I think we’ll find success if we do so,” Timmons said.
For Timmons, he’s seen Marvin play and will certainly know what to expect from the star forward going into the game. Also, for Timmons, he has his own star forward at his disposal in Sam Hutchinson who’s coming off of an incredible performance against Drexel.
Hutchinson tallied four goals and an assist in the comeback win in game two against Drexel. Three of Hutchinson’s goals came in the third period as he powered the Orange to a weekend sweep against the Dragons. Hutchinson is happy with his performance but his focus remains dead on winning.
“I’m confident that we’re winning games. That’s the real issue. I’m not gonna score another four goals like every time it’s just not gonna happen but I’m glad that it did once at least. I feel good about our team and that we’re going in the right direction,” Hutchinson said.
The senior forward is happy with where the Orange are headed. They just picked up two big conference wins and have two important games coming up against William Patterson. For Syracuse to continue winning, it's gonna take a consistent effort and tenacity focused on doing the little things and making simple plays.
“Consistency. In our league, it’s anybody’s game if you show up and play hard, you got a good chance. It’s who wants it more, so I think we’re just practicing wanting it more this week,” Hutchinson said.
Syracuse has a chance to head into the winter break on a high note with two big wins this week. It’ll take a strong five-on-five effort over a full three periods if the ‘Cuse want to finish out 2023 with a sweet taste in their mouths. The non-conference matchup against William Patterson starts Friday night at 8 p.m.; a radio broadcast will be available on the SU Hockey Network. Game two is Saturday at 8 p.m. and can also be heard on the SU Hockey Network.
Contact me:
X: @ErlbaumJacob
Email: jerlbaum@syr.edu
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