Quint's Top 20: Don't Stop Improving in April

[OrangeXtreme]

2. Syracuse — Every time I watch the Orange, they have seemingly improved. And for the first time this year, they looked like an NCAA title contender. They have a strong sense of identity, relying on a sturdy defense and churning possessions past 90 seconds with no conscience regarding a shot clock. No Syracuse team has played this slow. Scoring starts and ends with Sergio Salcido and Nick Mariano. After that, it's anyone's guess. Mariano wasn't respected by Notre Dame, and he dusted the shortstick matchup three times for unassisted goals. Salcido was terrific drawing doubles and creating offense. The Orange have played in eight consecutive one-goal games, winning seven of them. EMO is above .500 and sharp. Face-off man Ben Williams’ numbers are historically low. SU opponents are 42-33 (56%).

Quint's Top 20: Don't Stop Improving in April

 

[Delmar]

"Seemingly." Damned by faint praise.

Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer,
And without sneering, teach the rest to sneer;
Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,
Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.

— "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot" by Alexander Pope

 

[orangefog]

I can't help but feel that if JH had the same resume, he would have them at #1.

 

[PhatOrange]

The team is really clicking and playing with supreme confidence. That will carry them far and they shouldn't get rattled or panicked at this point when it matters.

I think right now Albany is one of the best teams in the country and very underrated, I go back to our game with them that we've all forgotten about. Albany had a 6-1 lead against us and we won the game. Looking back on it now it seems to have maybe set the tone on the season and the resilience of this team.

Desko and staff have done a great job. The defense looked lost and now it’s one of the nation’s best and Desko has tinkered with the offensive lineups, even benching/demoting starters. He’s done a great job finding what works and certain kids have stepped up and grabbed the opportunities.

Lets not forget this beauty from Quint after our loss to Army:

15. Syracuse Without face-off man Ben Williams, SU looks like everybody else ranked between Nos. 11 and 30, quite frankly. With him they appear to me as a team that could be ranked No. 5 to No. 11. Take a second and think about this — Who are their future stars in the freshman or sophomore class? Where would they be without transfers? This team is on a slippery slope; it's hard to see them winning more than eight or nine games. Virginia is in the Dome on Sunday.

 

[SkyTopBus44]

The team is really clicking and playing with supreme confidence. That will carry them far and they shouldn't get rattled or panicked at this point when it matters.

I think right now Albany is one of the best teams in the country and very underrated, I go back to our game with them that we've all forgotten about. Albany had a 6-1 lead against us and we won the game. Looking back on it now it seems to have maybe set the tone on the season and the resilience of this team.

Desko and staff have done a great job. The defense looked lost and now it’s one of the nation’s best and Desko has tinkered with the offensive lineups, even benching/demoting starters. He’s done a great job finding what works and certain kids have stepped up and grabbed the opportunities.

Lets not forget this beauty from Quint after our loss to Army:

15. Syracuse Without face-off man Ben Williams, SU looks like everybody else ranked between Nos. 11 and 30, quite frankly. With him they appear to me as a team that could be ranked No. 5 to No. 11. Take a second and think about this — Who are their future stars in the freshman or sophomore class? Where would they be without transfers? This team is on a slippery slope; it's hard to see them winning more than eight or nine games. Virginia is in the Dome on Sunday.

Great post. Desko had repeatedly said during the preseason that Nick Mellen was doing better and after the Siena game even indicated that Mellen might be OK for the game against Albany. He ended up not playing as we know and subsequently was out for the season. That is a significant loss and required the defense to make some big changes. Have to give him and the staff a lot of credit for the changes.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Great post. Desko had repeatedly said during the preseason that Nick Mellen was doing better and after the Siena game even indicated that Mellen might be OK for the game against Albany. He ended up not playing as we know and subsequently was out for the season. That is a significant loss and required the defense to make some big changes. Have to give him and the staff a lot of credit for the changes.

Mellen being out for the fall and pretty much the entire winter/spring pre-season camp ended up being a blessing in disguise as it forced the staff and players to practice/gameplan without him. It also helps that Cunnigham an Bomberry have both taken that next step forward and still have plenty of room to grow which is really scary. The SSDM depth right now on this team is absolutely ridiculous, Ciferri and Gillis have been the best combo we have seen since 2013 and Hutchings, Schwansick and Sullivan have all looked good in extended minutes. Add that to a LSM team in Fusco and Helmer that has had one bad game the entire year and you have a dame good defense.

 

[WickedOrange]

Would love to see the line on a PSU-SU game. That would be the true decider on who's #1.

 

[Delmar]

Would love to see the line on a PSU-SU game. That would be the true decider on who's #1.

I have no desire to play Penn State in anything.

 

[Orangello]

We need to keep it going with no letdowns starting Wed. at Boswell. We should beat the Hobos handily as they are just 4-5 with several bad losses, but they will surely be up for this one.