At the center of the blue line, Allie Munroe shielded the puck from a converging defender, spun and backhanded a pass across to Allie Olnowich. Still recovering from an unanswered three-goal barrage from Colgate in the first period, Syracuse trailed 3-1 early in the third.

Olnowich fielded Munroe’s pass and wristed a shot on net, which bounced around and found freshman Lauren Bellefontaine’s stick. Bellefontaine’s goal put Syracuse within striking distance, a rare feat for Syracuse during its seven-game losing streak.

Heading into Thursday, the Orange scored two goals in their previous four games. Syracuse (4-13-1, 4-3 College Hockey America) opened its matchup against No. 10 Colgate (10-5-2, 5-2-1 ECAC) on a month-long winless streak spanning back to Nov. 4. But in its 5-2 loss, SU played within one-score late in the game behind line adjustments that sparked its stagnant offense.

“We’re making some strides,” Flanagan said. “…You’re never happy when you lose, but it’s better. Because we didn’t have anything the last four games. It’s an improvement.”

On the ice for Bellefontaine’s third period goal were Munroe, Olnowich, Victoria Klimek and Kelli Rowswell, a notable shakeup from the traditional Bellefontaine, Abby Moloughney and Anonda Hoppner line.

“I think coach is trying to see what works and what doesn’t work,” defenseman Shelby Calof said. “Eventually, we’re probably going to get some lines that stick and stay the same.”

On Thursday, Syracuse’s offense struck first for the first time since Nov. 4. Four minutes into the game, Moloughney won a faceoff deep in Colgate’s zone. The puck squirted out to the blue line, where Calof lined up a wrist shot. Julia Vandyk, Colgate’s goalie was getting screened by players from both teams. By the time Vandyk found the puck, she was taking Calof’s first career goal out of the net.

“I kind of got the monkey off my back a little bit,” Calof said. “I’ve been really waiting to get that first goal, so it definitely feels nice to get that.”

Calof noted that the goal probably earned her more playing time than usual for the rest of the game. She and Olnowich, whose minutes have increased since Dakota Derrer’s season-ending injury, were both involved in goals. Olnowich and Calof typically play either on the second or third line defense.

SU’s lead, the first its had since Nov. 16 against RIT, would last for one minute and 15 seconds. The Orange surrendered three consecutive goals in 15 minutes to end the first period. One came off a defensive breakdown in which two players committed to the point. Forward Nemo Neubauerova later scored twice in a minute later in the period, leaving head coach Paul Flanagan in disbelief.

“That first period was as bad as I’ve seen one of my teams play since I’ve been here,” Flanagan said, citing mental mistakes and defensive breakdowns.

Even with the poor first period showing, Syracuse rebounded and accumulated more shots on Vandyk. Two minutes into the second period, Calof juked through the attacking zone and wristed a shot on net. Brooke Avery found the rebound, slid the puck underneath Vandyk and celebrated by raising her stick in the air. However, the referees made no signal. After a review, the play was dead before Avery would’ve scored.

“I think we got robbed, to be honest with you,” Flanagan said.

When SU opened the third period with a Bellefontaine goal, its comeback hopes were revived. But Colgate had an answer. Less than two minutes later, Colgate forward Jessie Eldridge scored her second goal of the game to extend Colgate’s lead to 4-2. An empty-netter would punctuate the Syracuse loss.

Prior to Thursday’s loss, Syracuse had been outscored 38-9 by ranked opponents, including a 15-2 two-game stretch last week. It felt much more comfortable against Colgate than versus the other ranked teams, Olnowich and goalie Maddi Welch said. But against Colgate, Syracuse recorded 22 shots to the Raiders’ 29, a reasonable disparity.

“I think we’re trying to get out of a funk, and right now, we’re stressing the little things,” Olnowich said. “Today was a huge step up from this past weekend at Wisconsin.”

Published on December 6, 2018 at 11:56 pm

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