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With 18:25 left in the game, Mary Kromer was called for interference, giving Syracuse a power play. But less than thirty seconds in, Sarah Thompson and Mercyhurst’s Javier Makayla were called for mutual roughing penalties. What followed was 30 seconds of 4-on-3 hockey in Syracuse’s favor, yet, the Orange couldn’t produce a single shot in that time.

When the personnel moved back to 4-on-4, Mercyhurst fired off three shots that were all saved by SU goalie Arielle DeSmet. Three minutes after that Syracuse collected yet another power play, this time Syracuse was able to shoot five times, three on goal, but still couldn’t convert.

Head coach Britni Smith said that it was “obvious right from the start” that the referees would be calling “everything.” She told her team as much between the first and second period so they could adjust their physicality. But, ultimately, she said that neither team did that effectively, leading to Syracuse committing seven penalties and the Lakers fouling eight times.

“We want to play 5-on-5 hockey,” Smith said. “We got to adjust, got to know the way the refs are calling the game.”

As Syracuse (9-21-2, 6-8-1 College Hockey America) and Mercyhurst (16-13-2, 8-3-2 CHA) tipped off the final conference series of the season, both teams were plagued by penalties. The two combined for a season-high fifteen penalties on Friday night, not converting on any power play opportunities. Players from both teams were slewed across the ice by opponents throughout the game, as play got more and more chippy throughout. Despite six penalty kills on defense, the Orange couldn’t capitalize on seven power play opportunities and fell to Mercyhurst for the third time this season.

“They weren’t letting us play super physical tonight,” Hannah Johnson said of the referees. The way Syracuse can keep those calls to a minimum is by “keeping our sticks low, hands on the sticks when we’re going into battle and just being more mindful.”

Tatum White said that Syracuse changed up its power play format, moving some people around to different spots. Against Mercyhurst, both White and Smith said they got more shot opportunities on power plays than they have recently. However, the offensive pressure came in bunches due to a stifling Mercyhurst penalty kill.

On Syracuse’s second power play of the second period, Rhea Hicks had the opportunity to give SU the lead. Rayla Clemons scooped the puck up behind the net and looked up to see Hicks standing to the left of an empty net, but a Mercyhurst defender blocked the pass, sending it spiraling in the air towards Hicks, who made a mid-air swipe at the flailing puck.

She missed, and Syracuse gained possession on the outside. It didn’t put a shot on goal in the penalty. In fact, Syracuse only managed two shots on goal during the entire period, and neither came during a penalty.

Despite both teams averaging less than four penalties per game and an under-.900 penalty kill percentage, both those numbers soared tonight. Both teams killed 100% of the penalties while committing at least seven of their own.

On the positive side, Syracuse killed six power plays on as many tries, swarming the puck before it got to its intended target. In the waning seconds of the first period, Johnson took the penalty defense into her own hands. Having already defended two power plays in the first, SU had seen the Lakers’ attack strategy.

They passed around the perimeter looking to feed someone inside, and when it couldn’t find someone, it sent shots showering in from the outside. Off the faceoff, Johnson trapped the puck in the corner for about 15 seconds before it was wrestled free. But after Sydney Pederson’s shot deflected back into the corner shortly after, Johnson trapped it there for another 10-second block.

When Mercyhurst reset, passing around the defensive zone, Johnson jumped a pass and cleared the puck again. Syracuse was able to run out the quarter’s remaining minute after the power play, escaping the first period without any damage despite three penalties.

Johnson also led the team with five of its 15 blocked shots in an improved defensive effort.

“We just kept it simple in the d-zone,” Johnson said about the penalty. Offensively, “we definitely kept possession longer.”

Smith said that Syracuse has been working on the power play a lot in practice recently, working to gain offensive momentum off of penalty kills, White said. And while it wasn’t able to generate much offense tonight, White said that momentum helps calm the team down and play their best hockey.

Possibly Syracuse’s best offensive opportunity came shorthanded. The loose puck was collected by Mae Batherson in middle ice, who sent it off the boards to Clemons. Clemons sped into enemy territory and fed a lead pass to Thompson near the crease, with position on her defender. The pass went just under her stick as she attempted to net the puck.

Barring something extreme, Syracuse will face Mercyhurst again in the first round of the CHA playoffs in a few weeks. Syracuse will have to monitor their penalty count more if they have similar referees, while capitalizing on the power play.

“Power play is something we’ve been focusing a lot on,” Smith said. “I thought we did better creating opportunities tonight. Creating offense was there, we just got to bury.”

Published on February 10, 2023 at 11:17 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu