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Knotted at zero and 2:39 into the final period, Syracuse got another power play, its third of the game. Tatum White took the first shot, but Makayla Javier blocked her. Fourteen seconds later, Lauren Bellefontaine was blocked by another defender, and then Lakers goalkeeper Ena Nystrom saved back-to-back shots from Sarah Marchand. 

But after 30 seconds, SU got a faceoff with 22 seconds remaining. White won the puck and it was passed around the perimeter before reaching Sarah Marchand on the right side, who found the back of the net just as the power-play clock hit zero. SU took a 1-0 lead with 15:38 left in the contest. 

Syracuse (9-18-2, 6-5-1 College Hockey America) tied with Mercyhurst (14-13-1, 6-3-1 CHA) 1-1. The two teams stayed knotted at zero heading into the final period before either team could capitalize. However, Mercyhurst threw shot after shot at Arielle DeSmet all game, while Syracuse’s offense stayed largely stagnant. The Lakers finished with a monumental 51 shots including overtime, which dwarfs the previous season-high of 45 taken in SU’s very first game of the season by St. Lawrence. 

Mercyhurst got up in shots early, many of which were off-target, but Syracuse held strong and it came back with a run of its own on a power play. SU had two power-play opportunities in the game’s first 12 minutes – Syracuse even had a five-on-three for 33 seconds – but it couldn’t cash in. Neither team capitalized on early possessions, as Mercyhurst sent puck after puck into defenders or wide of the net, managing to put just five of its first 13 shots on goal.

Despite ranking last in the CHA in blocks – averaging just over nine on the season – Syracuse blocked five shots in the opening period. 

Syracuse goalkeeper DeSmet was under constant fire from the Lakers, who outshot the Orange 15-8 in the opening period. DeSmet recorded 15 saves to keep the game scoreless in the first after allowing a whopping six goals to the Lakers yesterday.

In the second period, Mercyhurst fired off even more shots than in the first to the tune of 22 shot attempts. By the end of the period, it led SU in shots 37-14 with the scoreboard still empty. DeSmet had an incredible 37 saves, one for each shot on goal. 

Neither team got a power-play opportunity in the second, and with faceoff wins tied at 13, neither squad had any real momentum going.

The third period saw SU’s best start of the day, as it jumped out to an early 6-1 faceoff lead and 7-5 shots lead in the first five minutes. 

But shortly after the power-play goal by Marchand, Mercyhurst retorted with a goal of their own four-and-a-half minutes later. Kylee Mahoney beat Sarah Thompson for the faceoff and swung immediately to Liliane Perreault, who scored in a hurry to tie the game. After 41 saves, DeSmet had finally failed to keep the puck out.

After that, the two teams got more aggressive, sending a combined nine shots in the next four minutes. At that point, Mercyhurst had reached over 45 shots on the night. 

But in the final period, the two teams were truly neck-and-neck. They were within one shot and two saves of each other at the end of it, as the two went to overtime knotted at one. 

MU won the opening tip of the 3v3 overtime period but turned it over, and Marchand got a quick shot off that Nystrom saved. With two shots each and nothing to show for it, the two teams tied 1-1.

Published on January 29, 2023 at 4:51 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu