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Having just surrendered four straight shot attempts to Merrimack, including two saves by goalie Arielle DeSmet, Lauren Bellefontaine won a faceoff against Madison Oelkers to take possession with three minutes remaining in overtime. Playing 3-on-3, Bellefontaine received a risky pass in the middle of the ice from Tatum White. She took it wide right to get around Teghan Inglis and sent it through the legs of Emma Gorski as she tried to make a split save. SU rallied around her to celebrate its first victory of the season. 

Syracuse (1-1-0, 0-0 College Hockey America) defeated Merrimack (0-1-0, 0-0 Hockey East) 3-2 in overtime, giving head coach Britni Smith her first win at SU. It came back from a 2-0 deficit in the game’s first five minutes, shifting the momentum in the second period to win its first game of the season. Meanwhile, SU went 0-4 on power plays for the second-straight game, making them 0-8 on the season. 

After shooting 0-of-20 in the first period, the Orange picked it up in the second period. Seven minutes in, White scored the team’s first goal, maneuvering through traffic on the right side to get a shot she liked. She flicked the puck into the top corner of the net to get SU on the board. From that moment on, SU dominated the second period, outshooting Merrimack 12-8 and forcing seven saves. 

SU dominated in shots (45-31) and controlled the puck significantly more than the Warriors. SU had trouble penetrating Merrimack’s back line, sending countless shots from beyond the penalty circles. And when they did get in close, their shot attempts were mostly thwarted by Gorski, who finished with 24 saves on the afternoon. 

Gorski made multiple athletic saves, including some on power plays that kept the Warriors alive. She saved three shots on the Orange’s third power play and also stopped Rhea Hicks’ breakaway shot with 10 seconds remaining to force overtime. The senior finished with the same save percentage as DeSmet (.875), despite saving eight more shots.

In overtime, Merrimack fired off four shots in just over a minute, but DeSmet snatched the puck with her glove on the final attempt, giving SU the possession that it used to win the game with Bellefontaine’s goal 28 seconds later.

Bellefontaine is a defensive-minded forward, setting a single-season record for faceoff wins last season and winning CHA Best Defensive Forward award. The graduate student showed that she can be an offensive threat as well, securing the victory for the Orange.

Merrimack outshot Syracuse in the final period and overtime combined and came out with an urgency that wasn’t seen when they had the lead. Merrimack’s forwards were much more aggressive with breakaway opportunities, but DeSmet held her own in net.

By winning 30 of 54 faceoffs and committing zero penalties, Syracuse was more stringent with its defense and faceoff technique against Merrimack. Eventually, SU used its momentum to exploit the Warriors defense in the second period, despite two squandered power plays including one that yielded zero shot attempts.

Down 2-1 with four minutes remaining in the period, Kambel Beacom collected a rebound and kicked the puck to Mae Batherson on the left side. She surveyed the ice and found Anna Leschyshyn in the middle, where she was draped by two defenders but still managed to score from a knee, sending a sliding shot past Gorski. SU scored for the last time in regulation to tie the game at two.

Published on September 30, 2022 at 7:03 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu