The Syracuse Smash almost found themselves without an opponent in their season opener Saturday night, as the Philadelphia Wings' afternoon flight to Syracuse was cancelled due to weather conditions. Arriving ten minutes after the scheduled start time after busing to Syracuse, the Wings were ripe for the picking.
And picked they were. On a night where plenty off the field went wrong, where the game started over ninety minutes late and didn't finish until it was Sunday, things on the field went very right for the new and improved "homegrown" Smash. Led by nine goals by franchise player Paul Gait, on a night when brother Gary scored ten goals in Baltimore, the Smash were able to feed on the weary Wings, winning 19-12 before 5,213 at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Philadelphia scored first, with a little less than a minute off of the clock, but the Smash answered quickly when Chris Prat scored on the power play. The Wings' quick, penetrating offense had Syracuse's defense looking sadly familiar, with a goal at 3:20 by Greg Traynor and another at 4:43 scored by Kevin Finneran. Syracuse's Tony Millon scored at 5:08 to keep Syracuse within one. Smash starting goalie Derek Collins bailed out the Smash's occasional sloppy defense by fending off more than one breakaway shot. Philadelphia's Jake Bergey finally broke through with a goal at 8:29. When Syracuse's Paul Gait scored off a feed from Prat, sparking a three goal run by the Smash to end the first period, momentum was definitely starting to shift towards the Smash.
The second period, without question, belonged to the Smash. Only thirty-four seconds after the face-off, Paul Gait scored off a pass from Todd Oudemool. Philadelphia's Tom Marechek answered at 3:27, but then Ed Fay scored shorthanded for Syracuse. From that point, the Smash's offense found its groove and went on a five-goal run. Frustration also took a toll on the Wings, as penalties left them a man down and the Smash took advantage. Syracuse discovered a transition game that put the weary Wings deep in a hole that, the night after a loss at home, the Wings didn't have the strength to get out of. The Smash's determined hussle for ground balls and quick clears more than compensated for some confusion on defense and Collins remained solid in goal. Todd Katanchik put goal number seven on the board for the Wings at 14:22, decreasing the Syracuse lead to six at the half.
Déjà vu filled the War Memorial in third period, as the ghosts of 1998 threatened to return. The Smash came out flat, which resulted in some frustration penalties of their own. Philadelphia replaced starting goalie Dallas Eliuk with Andy Piazza, who held to the Smash to one goal this period, scored by Gait. Fred Jenner, Bergey, and Finneran combined for four goals, pulling the Wings back to within three goals. The game was then further delayed when the lights, on an automatic timer, turned off at 11:00 p.m.
With the lights back on and lurking demons banished, the Smash claimed the fourth quarter as their own as well. Scoring with only eight seconds off the clock, Fay this time rallied the Smash. With new purpose, the Smash scored four unanswered goals, by Jeff Klodzen, Mike Benedict, and Gait respectively. Philadelphia was held to one goal courtesy of Finneran. What the quarter lacked in scoring, it made up for in penalties. In the fashion of pro wrestling, the last eight minutes were filled with a variety of calls, from holding to roughing, slashing to fighting, with an unsportsmanlike conduct call thrown in for good measure.
Philadelphia was coming off a defeat the night before and a long bus ride, but the Smash demonstrated huge signs of improvement. Judging from the season opener, their offense appears equipped to handle a shootout, they have found the wonders of transition, they have mastered clears and loose balls, and they have a very solid goaltender in Collins. Among the weaknesses the coaches should address is discipline, as stupid penalties could have lost this game. Also, was Syracuse made aware that there are four quarters? They seem to have lost the third somewhere. Questions aside, this was a very successful first step in a difficult season for the Smash.