By RICK WHEELER
Maybe it was the new coach, or the new faces in the lineup. Or it Could have been the new wooden floor at the War Memorial. How about some new home uniforms, or some orange instead of white lacrosse balls?
Whatever it was, or whatever the combinations might have been, they added up to break the Syracuse Stingers eight-game National Lacrosse League losing streak last night and the Stingers did it the hard way, battling Rochester to a 15-15 overtime tie, the first in the league’s history.
Coach Medo Martinello, Rick Palla and forward Jim Miller—all in the Syracuse lineup for the first time this season – made the key contributions that the Stingers have been lacking.
Martinello fired up his squad for the 10-minute overtime after Syracuse had once again out of gas in the third period this time watching a five goal lead vanish. Palla, just acquired from Toronto, faced 60 Rochester shots and also doled out four beautiful assists with long lead passes.
Miller supplied muscle on defense, speed and a strong shot on offense and will be an invaluable addition.
The Griffins, who lost 22-18 Tuesday night in Toronto, didn’t weary from two games in two nights as much as they looked lackadaisical. Coach Morley Kells even had in mind alternating goalten- ders, though first-stringer Merv Marshall has almost exclusively.
Rochester a 4-3 bulge after the first 20 minutes, but the Stingers then a six-goal unanswered string, three by Ken Alexander, and led 11-7 after two periods. The league leading Griffins came back by unrolling a six-goal string of their own in the third as the Stinger stamina, or lack of, began to show.
It took a goal by Syracuse’s Joe Timpson with 5 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime at 13—13 before the frenzied 1,100 on hand.
After a goal by Miller sent the Stingers ahead, Rochester retaliated with two, including an open net goal by burly and bearded Rick Dudley. who doubles as a forward for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League during the winter.
Al Herrington’s goal with 1:45 to go earned Syracuse its lone point of the season.
Fourteen Stingers got into the scoring act. Alexander. who specializes in keeping the “other guy” from scoring, paced the attack. Robbie Patten, Travis Cook and Pat Differ matched Millers two goals. Panl Cioci, Jerry Kustaski, Timpson and Herrington filled in the scorebook.
Big Kevin Parsons went 3-2 for Rochester, Dave Johnston 3-2 and Dudley 2-1. Dudley now has 27 goals and 18 assists for 45 points in 10 games as he took over the league scoring leadership from Syracuse’s Gaylord Powless, who went scoreless last night as he only duty because of a bruised thigh.
Dudley played like he was more interested in fighting than scoring, as he swatted at everyone that went by, and once had to be restrained from going after the Syracuse bench.
Syracuse rained 70 shots at the Rochester net, but a lack of third-period punch and losing most of the faceoffs put them couldn’t climb out of.
NET RE-MIND-ERS—Syracuse was for six minor five…The 0-8-1 Stingers play in Montreal tonight, and return home to face Toronto Sunday.
Martinello, who looks to be a determined coach, had a practice session yesterday, and his team “out of shape. He’s installed a curfew, and removed jukebox from the dressing room. In a word, he wants discipline.
The Stingers scored two shorthanded goals, the Griffins an one and Rochester had the game’s only power-play goal. Rochester was killed by the shot clock 11 times, Syracuse just four.
Kells’ goalie juggling act ended abruptly at the start of the second stanza when backup goalie Gary Van Schagen yielded two scored in the first 49 seconds