Strong play from Bobby Wardwell in net
Every game Bobby Wardwell starts in goal for Syracuse, he gets a little better. And for Wardwell, that’s a good thing because he’s about to start the biggest and most important game of his young career.
The freshman started off his SU career with a rocky performance in a 10-9 win over Princeton. He allowed three straight goals in the opening eight minutes before settling in to make nine saves the rest of the way.
That was back on April 7, and since then, Wardwell has gone from an experiment to a force in the net.
Wardwell has allowed an average of six goals in his last three starts and is coming off a superb seven-save performance against St. John’s, where he shut out the Red Storm in the first half and allowed a stingy three goals in 54 minutes of action.
On Saturday, he will be starting in a game that will either extend the Orange’s season or send it home. He’ll be relied on for a strong performance in Durham, N.C., against a Duke attack that averages just more than 11 goals per game. The Blue Devils are loaded with offensive weapons. Four different players have scored at least 27 goals this season.
Wardwell needs to step up, and he has to find his comfort zone immediately. Giving up early goals will put Syracuse in a hole that will be tough to climb out of. If he’s able to avoid early blunders, he’ll give the Orange confidence and momentum that could propel it to a win and the quarterfinals.

Win the faceoff battle
All year long, Syracuse head coach John Desko has said his team has a chance to win if it can win 50 percent of a game’s faceoffs. The Orange was demolished in the faceoff X in five of its seven losses this season – going just 66-of-158 (41.8 percent) – and allowed its opponents to dominate possession time. In all, Desko has tried seven different players at the X in search of some consistency.
SU finally seems to have found an answer to its lingering problem late in the season. The Orange edged both Villanova and St. John’s by one in the faceoff battle last weekend at the Big East tournament. With an advantage on draws and ground balls in both games, Syracuse blew away both teams by a combined score of 27-10 to win the conference tournament championship and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Orange will need to stay hot at the X to have a chance to upset No. 3 seed Duke. SU outworked the Blue Devils on draws by three in one of its most impressive performances of the regular season, despite falling 12-10 at the Big City Classic on April 1. Faceoff specialists Ricky Buhr and Chris Daddio combined to go 14-of-25 that day to help the Orange play the Blue Devils down to the wire. And they have played a large part in Syracuse’s turnaround, winning 22-of-39 draws in SU’s run through the Big East tournament. If Buhr and Daddio can hold their own in the faceoff battle Saturday, the Orange has a chance to pull off the upset. But if they revert to their old ways, it will be an uphill battle at Koskinen Stadium.

Stay hot offensively
John Desko could do nothing but praise the Syracuse attack following two must-win victories in the Big East tournament last weekend. The Orange used a balanced offensive effort, featuring 11 different goal scorers, to blow out Villanova and St. John’s to claim the inaugural Big East tournament championship.
Attack Tommy Palasek set the tone for the offensive explosion, notching four goals and six assists, while midfielder Bobby Eilers scored four goals in SU’s 15-6 win more than the Wildcats and another two in the championship game.
The recent success will need to continue if the Orange hopes to upend No. 3 seed Duke when the teams square off in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils yield more than nine goals per game but boast an offense that scores more than 11 goals per contest. Syracuse will need a sound performance from its attack to stay in the game.
When the Orange squared off against Duke on April 7 in MetLife Stadium, two slick saves by Blue Devils goaltender Dan Wigrizer on Palasek and attack Collin Donahue in the final quarter were arguably the difference in a 12-10 SU loss.
In the Big East tournament, the Orange attack had its way. Desko lauded his offense’s near-flawless execution. The two decisive victories were a breath of fresh air for the SU head coach following an up-and-down regular season from the offensive unit.
And if Syracuse maintains that efficiency in the attacking zone against the Blue Devils, it will be in position to battle Duke into the fourth quarter once again.
-Compiled by The Daily Orange Sports staff

Published on May 8, 2012 at 12:00 pm