Chase Scanlan sure looked comfortable in that No. 22 jersey and in the friendly confines of the Carrier Dome, scoring seven goals in his Syracuse debut, as the Orange defeated Colgate 21-14 in their season opener Friday.

Scanlan, a second-team All-American as a freshman at Loyola, transferred to Syracuse over the summer. Part of the Orange’s sales pitch was the allure of the No. 22, previously worn by the likes of Gary Gait and all three Powell brothers.

Scanlan wore it well. His seven goals were the most ever by a player in his Syracuse debut.

In addition to Scanlan’s exploits, Stephen Rehfuss doled out seven assists. The Orange offense was humming under new coordinator Pat March, whom coach John Desko hired away from Princeton.

Syracuse, which was stunned by Colgate in last year’s opener, led 4-3 after the first quarter, then widened the margin with five unanswered goals to start the second.

The Raiders battled back, pulling within two goals early in the second half before Scanlan and Rehfuss really took over. Four of Scanlan’s seven goals and five of Rehfuss’ seven assists came during the third quarter.

It wasn’t all roses for the Orange. All-American defenseman Nick Mellen left the game in the third quarter. Desko said afterward that Mellen had suffered a “muscular” injury, according to the Post Standard, and that he should be available for Syracuse’s next game Feb. 8 against Binghamton.

PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER

Navy Wins in Amplo’s Debut

Navy inaugurated its new defensive-minded coach with an impressive showing on that side of the ball Friday, defeating Manhattan 9-4 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in the teams’ 2020 season opener.

The Midshipmen jumped out to a 6-1 lead and rode a 14-save effort from goalie Ryan Kern.

Christian Daniel led Navy with two goals and two assists.

Amplo, the defensive coordinator for the U.S. national team and former head coach at Marquette, was named Navy’s head coach last June.