Ice Hockey

Syracuse drops physical battle, 2-0, to Lindenwood for first conference loss

Phil Bryant | Staff Photographer

Physical played slowed Syracuse's offense Saturday afternoon.

By Anthony KhelilStaff Writer

Halfway through the first period, freshman Emma Polaski and Lindenwood’s Ally Larson raced to the puck. Converging on the same point, Polaski slammed full force into Larson, sending her barreling headfirst into the corner wall near Lindenwood’s bench. The noise from the collision between Larson and the wall echoed throughout Tennity Ice Pavilion. A 10-minute penalty for game misconduct was assessed to Polaski, who was then ejected from the game.

There was no love lost between Syracuse (5-8-2, 4-1-1 College Hockey America) and Lindenwood (3-10-1, 3-5-0) in SU’s 2-0 defeat, the Orange’s first loss in conference play this season. The physicality from both teams in Friday night’s game carried over into Saturday’s matchup. There were plenty of heated confrontations and shoving matches between SU and the LU, which in turn affected Syracuse’s performance on the ice.

With eight minutes remaining in the second period, senior Allie Munroe and Lindenwood’s Lillian Marchant both flew into the wall after crashing into one another in an effort to control the puck. This physicality lead to 14 penalties being called.

“It ruins the rhythm,” Munroe said, “Constantly penalty killing ruins the rhythm. We need to be more disciplined.”

About 16 minutes into the second period, freshman Jessica DiGirolamo extended her arms, pushing LU’s Kirsten Martin into the wall on a breakaway and potential goal scoring chance for the Lady Lions. Goalie Abbey Miller believes the intensity of the matchup played a role in Saturday night’s loss.



With about five minutes left in the third period, senior Alysha Burriss lost her stick in a battle for the puck and after the whistle was blown, Lindenwood’s Larson kicked the stick further away from Burris. It was clear Syracuse and Lindenwood were not fans of one another.

“It’s harder to play in a game that’s chippy like that,” Miller said. “We have got to stop taking stupid penalties. We know we can’t throw our hands up and hit girls.”

 





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