Syracuse shouldn’t have outplayed the No. 7 team in the nation like it did. It outshot Boston College by 14. Dominated on face-offs. Even managed to draw more penalties than it took.

It should’ve been enough to break the seal on Syracuse’s winless streak to start its season. Even still, Syracuse lost 4-3.

In a game where the Orange improved in almost every area they had struggled in over their opening weekend, they still fell short. Syracuse (0-3) continued its tough opening schedule at Tennity Ice Pavilion against No. 7 Boston College (4-0, 3-0 Hockey East), but its across-the-board improvements were still not enough to beat the Golden Eagles.

After a good week of practice, SU head coach Paul Flanagan felt that his team was ready to bounce back following the team’s losses last weekend. Despite the end result, the Orange’s improvements give positives to build off of as they continue their early season slate of nationally ranked opponents. Despite falling behind two goals at the start of the second period, Flanagan identified it as a standout moment for his team.

“We started really carrying the play,” Flanagan said. “As evidenced by the shots and the puck possession in the second.”

Boston College has consistently been ranked over the last couple of seasons. Syracuse, on the other hand, has struggled to win out of its conference. The year prior, the Golden Eagles commanded the Orange in a 5-1 win. But on Friday, that domination wouldn’t last.

With 20 shots in the second period alone, the Orange showed significant improvement from the 24 shots they posted in the last game. In the opening frame, defender Lindsay Eastwood picked off a Boston College pass in the neutral zone and took the puck into the opponent’s end. With the Orange bench urging her to shoot, Eastwood leaned into a shot that beat the Eagles’ goaltender but not the crossbar.

 “I obviously wish I could have that one back,” Eastwood said. “Place it a little better.”

The team’s ability to generate shots on net was “the first step,” Flanagan said, but simply peppering the opposing goalie was not the most efficient way of generating scoring chances. Eastwood said that the team was focused on driving the net, getting traffic in front, and looking for rebounds. 

“Obviously, we want good scoring opportunities,” Eastwood said. “But also, just if there’s no other option, put the puck to the net and go to work.”

On top of an increase in shots, the Orange managed to improve on the penalty troubles that plagued them through their first two games. After 24 penalty minutes in their opening weekend, Syracuse took only four penalties in Saturday’s game. Captain Lindsay Eastwood said that discipline was something the team was working towards as one of their core values.

“We play our best five-on five,” Eastwood said. “And when we can get those opportunities to go up a man, we can actually use them.”

Against a Boston College team that relied largely on speed and finesse, the Orange managed the walk the line between playing a physical game and staying out of the penalty box. After the Eagles came out fast in the first period, Syracuse upped the physicality in an attempt to “get (Boston College) mad and to draw penalties,” Eastwood said.

In a game where improvement was obvious, but the final result still favored the Orange’s competitor, it is important to look at what can be built off of, said goalkeeper Ady Cohen.

“It’s just about taking away the positives,” Cohen said. 

Published on October 5, 2019 at 8:07 pm

Contact Mitchell: mbannon@syr.edu