For many in attendance Saturday night, Jessica Sorensen’s score in the final minutes could be heard but not seen. Recognized but not certified. The ricochet she fired off the right crossbar from about 30 feet out highlighted a very entertaining final period and helped seal Syracuse’s first conference series of the year.

When it was uncertain whether or not SU could keep Wayne State in check, Sorensen delivered a timely strike.

‘I just joined the rush with (Akane Hosoyamada), our defenseman,’ Sorensen said. ‘And I crossed the blind, she dropped the puck to me, and I just took a hard shot toward the net. I heard it go off the post, and I guess it went in. I saw the lights, so it was good.’

The Orange swept its way into conference play this weekend after defeating Wayne State 5-3 on Saturday. For its second consecutive contest, SU broke open the third period to pull away from the Warriors. Jenesica Drinkwater posted her second shutout of the season Friday night, and Kallie Billadeau followed with 19 saves on Saturday, 36 less than she handled in her last start. Syracuse improves to 8-7-2 overall. The players looked healthy and in control and are now ready to finish the first half of their season in stride.

‘And then you get a player for us who is mourning and has been sick,’ head coach Paul Flanagan said. ‘In and out of the lineup. Jess Sorensen comes in the last seven or eight minutes and gets a goal and a real nice assist.’

Sorensen scored what was the game winner Saturday after returning from a three-week absence with the flu. The slap shot goal was her first of the season and occurred during the middle of a frantic six-goal display from both teams during the third period. After earlier finishes from Stefanie Marty and Megan Skelly, the sophomore forward from Taber, Alberta, entered the game for the final stretch to preserve momentum. Doing even better, Sorensen had her hand in two goals, which helped keep Wayne State’s comeback attempts at bay.

‘I thought they were very patient,’ Flanagan said. ‘If you were watching the game, numerous times in the first 40 minutes, we just gave them the puck. They were positionally sound, they didn’t try to do too much and they were just very patient, and we kind of played into that with them.’

Sorensen missed only one game her freshman season. She was a part of SU’s first real recruiting class and came to Syracuse after competing with the London Junior Devilettes and the Waterloo KW Rangers of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League from 2006-09. It is considered to be the highest level of women’s amateur ice hockey in Ontario and is sanctioned by Hockey Canada and the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association.

The Warriors now stand at 7-9 overall and have already played six games in conference play. The two schools will meet again in late January in Detroit.

‘It’s just a matter of putting all three periods together,’ goalkeeper Billadeau said. ‘We were either tired going into the third period, or it was a one-goal game. That’s desperation time, you know? We should be handedly beating these guys more often.’

After playing a rather cautious opening 40 minutes, Sorensen’s role in her team’s late-game push proved to be instrumental. With two games left before Winter Break, Syracuse is happy with its first two conference victories and its first four conference points.

For Flanagan, these are good things to see, whether he can actually see them or not.

‘I didn’t see the goal,’ Flanagan said of the shot. ‘I turned my head and I was talking to someone, but he said it really nice.’

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Published on December 5, 2010 at 12:00 pm