Kevin Rice ensured Canisius never had a chance to climb back into the game.

Rice finished with a career-high three goals and tied a season-high with three assists, propelling No. 9 Syracuse (6-2, 2-1 Big East) to a 17-5 win over outmatched Canisius (1-7, 1-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic). The game was lopsided from the get-go, and Rice was the catalyst in Syracuse’s dominant performance. He found Derek Maltz twice and Derek DeJoe once, aiding the Orange to its 200th all-time win in the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse blazed out to an early 3-1 lead and punished the Golden Griffins early and often. Two unassisted goals by Scott Loy and one by JoJo Marasco set the tone early on. There was no way Canisius could stage the upset.

“Obviously we did a good job of that today,” Rice said.

Rice got involved in the action with 2:42 left in the first quarter. He toyed with freshman defender Rich Stapleton, waiting for the perfect moment to make his move. Suddenly, Rice twisted his body toward the goal, swiveled outward and then burst back toward the net, finishing past a helpless Alex Govenettio in goal.

Rice tacked on two more goals in the second frame, the latter giving Syracuse an 11-1 advantage with 1:40 to go in the half.  All three goals featured lightning-quick spin moves and were near the crease.

“We wanted to be aggressive early, especially in one-on-one situations, and force some slides,” Rice said. “I think we started to do that and that opened up cutters.”

Three goals marked a career-high for Rice, his previous best coming in two-goal outings against Providence and Villanova. Rice has scored seven goals in Syracuse’s last three games, emerging as one of the team’s most reliable scoring threats.

Last season he only played in six games and netted just one goal. This year, though, the Skaneateles, N.Y., native is a premier playmaker for one of the most explosive offenses in the country. He now has 23 points on the season, placing him second on the Orange, just three behind Marasco.

Maltz said Rice worked diligently in the offseason to get to where he is now. He saw Rice’s talent right away last season and knew he had a chance to dominate opponents.

“He went to work over the summer basically, and I knew he was going to come back and make an impact right away,” Maltz said. “It was only a matter of time until he did that.”

He didn’t just get involved in the scoring. He also served as a distributor Friday night, tallying three assists and making it look easy in the process.

The sophomore attack Rice set up Maltz twice on the day, the first connection between the pair coming at the 11:43 mark in the second quarter.

On the previous possession, Canisius’ Joe Rautenstrauch attacked Syracuse goalie Dominic Lamolinara one-on-one. Rautenstrauch thought he scored, but the goal was waved off because he stepped in the crease.

Maltz’ goal came on a similar play. Rice dangled with the ball behind the net and found Maltz, who stood just outside the crease when he plopped a shot past the goalie. Canisius’ miscues continued to damage its chances, while Rice continued to carry the streaking Orange as SU maximized its opportunities.

Rice and Maltz teamed up once more early in the second half, extending Syracuse’s lead to 14-1. Canisius wasn’t stopping Syracuse’s attack Friday night. Not the way Rice was passing the ball.

“If Kevin can just keep beating his guy that’s just going to give Derek more rolls and it’s just going to keep our offense going,” SU midfielder Chris Daddio said.

In a game where Syracuse’s offense came from a plethora of sources, Rice was the most consistent. He dodged smoothly, facilitated for his teammates and converted around the crease, carrying the Orange to the win.

Said Maltz: “When we have a guy like that who can see the field very well and dish the ball out to cutters and whoever’s open, that really helps.”

Published on March 29, 2013 at 11:50 pm

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass