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Message: [QUOTE="OrangeXtreme, post: 2471754, member: 41"] [MEDIA=twitter]958369139365695489[/MEDIA] [SIZE=3][B][I]1. How does Syracuse respond to graduating its three best scorers?[/I][/B][/SIZE] [I]The Orange haven’t missed the NCAA tournament since 2007. That’s quite a way to start talking about Syracuse this season, but it’s a conversation at least worth entertaining. The Orange (ranked No. 10 in the USILA preseason poll) should still be a very good team and make plenty of noise in the ACC, but after graduation their top three point-getters from 2017 (Sergio Salcido, Nick Mariano, and Jordan Evans), as well as a very good mid and primary faceoff man in Ben Williams (29th in the country in faceoff percentage), the Orange are going to need to find big names to fill big shoes. The good news: Brendan Bomberry and Nate Solomon, a pair of 28-goal scorers, return. Bomberry was staggeringly accurate last season, ranking third in the nation in shot percentage at .509. The question, of course, becomes: can that efficiency remain when his shot numbers hew closer to 100 attempts than his 2017 total of 55? The fact that he put 80 percent of his shots on goal is certainly reassuring. Another good sign: defenseman Nick Mellen returns after missing all of 2017 with an injury, to shore up a back line that loses senior defender Sam Firman and senior goalie Evan Molloy. The Orange allowed just over 10 goals per game last year. Mellen will need to team up with Tyson Bomberry and Marcus Cunningham to keep Cuse afloat in case the offense sees a dip in productivity. It might be a tougher slog than usual for the Orange, and it’ll be interesting to see how the young guns respond to increased responsibility. Never doubt John Desko.[/I] [/QUOTE]

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