Keogh's game-winner ended what was a tight-knight, physical contest throughout. The game featured 10 combined penalties and several hard hits. Syracuse never trailed the Hoyas, but never led by more than two the entire game. The Orange had leads of 2-0, 4-2, 5-3, 6-4 and 8-6 before finally emerging with a one-goal victory.
For Keogh, it was the second time in two years he's won a game for Syracuse in overtime. He tallied the OT winner at Hobart back on March 23, 2010 to secure a 9-8 triumph over the Statesmen.
On Saturday, Keogh's OT heroics were necessary after a late Georgetown charge to force the extra session. Down 8-6, Davey Emala's fifth goal of the game brought the Hoyas within one with 2:19 to go. Then, with senior Jovan Miller (Syracuse, N.Y.) attempting to waste the game's final 45 seconds following an SU timeout, Georgetown's Barney Ehrmann jarred the ball free. It was picked up by Chris Nourse resulting in a transition goal by Gerry Reilly with five seconds left to send the game to overtime.
After Reilly's goal, the Georgetown bench exploded. The Hoyas clearly had the momentum, but Reilly's goal proved to be the last time they touched the ball. Rookie Chris Daddio (Purcellville, Va.) won the faceoff in overtime, and after a timeout, Syracuse probed the Georgetown zone until Keogh beat Hoyas' keeper Jack Davis from 10 yards for the winner.
Senior goalie John Galloway (Syracuse, N.Y.) made a season-high 13 saves, including six in the third quarter, to anchor a Syracuse defense that held Georgetown to almost six goals below its season average (14.25 gpg). It was another standout performance for the West Genesee High School product, who earned his 48th career victory Saturday to become the Orange's all-time winningest goaltender. Galloway surpassed Jay's Pfeifer's previous school record of 47 career victories and moved into sole possession of third place on the NCAA Division I career wins list. Galloway's all-time record stands at 48-6 in 54 starts.
Offensively, senior Jeremy Thompson (Nedrow, N.Y.) contributed three points for Syracuse, including tying his career high for the second straight game with two assists. Besides Keogh, sophomore JoJo Marasco (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) was the only other Syracuse player to record multiple goals. He finished with two in his Face-Off Classic debut.
Emala was Georgetown's main offensive weapon. His five goals were a game-high and matched his personal best. No other Hoya scored more than once. Davis finished the game with nine saves in the cage. Brian Tabb took every faceoff for Georgetown and was 11 for 20 at the X.
Georgetown dominated possession time in the first quarter with Tabb winning four of the period's five faceoffs. However, the Orange made the most of its opportunities, getting goals from Miller and Marasco to take an early 2-0 lead. Georgetown responded with a pair of Emala goals, including a man-up tally at the 2:39 mark, to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the second quarter.
Following Emala's extra-man goal, the Orange defense held Georgetown scoreless for the next 20:53, but only scored twice during that time. A goal by Rickey Mirabito ended the Hoyas' scoring drought and made the score 4-3 with 11:46 remaining in the third quarter. For the remainder of the contest, every Syracuse goal was answered by the Hoyas until Keogh sealed the deal in overtime.