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On Syracuse’s third power play, Mae Batherson took a quick shot off a swing pass from the left side with less than a minute remaining in the first period. The puck sailed through a mass of bodies to the back end of the goal, where Sarah Marchand was waiting to tap in the rebound behind St. Lawrence goalie Lucy Morgan. Batherson and Tatum White collected assists, as White tipped Batherson’s shot near the goal. SU tied the game and scored its second power play goal of the game after entering the matchup with zero on the season.

Despite these improvements on special teams, Syracuse (1-4, 0-0 College Hockey America) fell to St. Lawrence (3-3 Eastern College Athletic) 5-3 on Saturday. The Orange scored on three separate power plays, including a short-handed goal to start the second period. Syracuse came into the afternoon 0-for-14 on power plays, while its opponents were 2-for-11. Today, SU came out with an aggression on special teams that hasn’t been seen yet this season, going 2-for-4 on power plays while SLU went 2-for-5.

Five of the eight goals scored in this game, and all three for SU, came on power plays. The Orange also trailed in shots 40-to-60 while shooting less than 50% on goal (19). SLU shot 63% on goal and won the faceoff discrepancy 30-27. Goalie Arielle DeSmet also struggled, letting in five goals on 33 shots to earn a .848 save percentage, decrease from her .938 season average. So, while Syracuse improved significantly on offense and special teams, its defense showed major holes in the two-goal loss.

Lauren Bellefontaine started off the game with a faceoff violation, giving the Saints a power play out of the gate. After a few missed opportunities, Kristina Bahl rebounded and passed to Julia Gosling beyond the right circle, who swung to Abby Hustler. Hustler took a deep slap shot from the middle of the ice, finding a lane to the net over the right shoulder of DeSmet. St. Lawrence took a 1-0 lead just 58 seconds into the game. After Syracuse let in two goals in the game’s first four minutes, the Orange didn’t allow the first period to slip away, with extra-man goals from Anna Leschyshyn and Marchand. 

SU took their first lead of the series on a Rayla Clemons short-handed goal in the opening minutes of the second period. Taylor Lum won the faceoff against Thompson to open the possession, but Clemons stole it moments later and took off up the left side. On a two-on-one, Clemons outskated her backside defender before flicking the puck to Thompson, who was set up next to the right goal post. 

After the pass, Clemons got tripped up by the defender in front of her, penguin-sliding across the ice as Thompson tapped into an open net 21 seconds into the power play. SU gathered Clemons to celebrate its first lead since overtime against Merrimack on Sept. 30th. 

In the third period, White got a holding penalty to give SLU an aggressive power play that resulted in a goal in just 35 seconds on a shot from Rachel Bjorgan. With the Saints in again in control of the lead, Gosling won the faceoff against Thompson to get the puck to Anna Segedi, who was then blocked by Thompson. Then, Bahl got the rebound and took it horizontally behind the net, finding Gosling in front of a disoriented DeSmet. Gosling was ready to strike it home quickly and SU squandered the only lead it would hold in this game.

Published on October 8, 2022 at 6:34 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu