Just outside the RPI crease, Syracuse forward Abby Moloughney lifted the stick of an Engineer skater and took the puck from her. Moloughney quickly turned to get a shot off but missed the net.

“It’s all them,” a man in the crowd chuckled. “All them.”

On Saturday afternoon at Tennity Ice Pavilion, it was all Syracuse. The Orange outshot RPI 38-16. They won more faceoffs than RPI, dictated the play, owned the time of possession and played in the Engineers’ end for much of the contest. Most importantly, they won on the scoreboard, 5-1. From puck-drop to final buzzer Syracuse (9-16-1, 7-4-1 College Hockey America) dominated RPI (0-27-1, 0-16 ECAC), the only winless team in Division I women’s college hockey this season. The loss was RPI’s 21st consecutive loss this season.

“I know we get down, you lose a few in a row or whatever and start kicking things around and feeling sorry for yourself,” head coach Paul Flanagan said. “Think about them. I guess that puts it in perspective.”

Almost seven minutes into the contest, Jessica DiGirolamo skated the puck deep into the RPI end and threw a pass in front of the net. Throughout the season, Syracuse has had a habit of throwing the puck towards the net to no one in particular, Flanagan said postgame. But DiGirolamo’s pass slid all the way out to the point and right into the wheelhouse of Anna Leschyshyn who had just stepped on the ice. Leshyshyn glided into the shot and ripped a slapshot just under the Engineer’s outstretched blocker.

For most of the game, RPI used the 1-4 trap— one Engineer forchecker pressured the Orange defense while the other four clogged the neutral zone. Syracuse “fell for it” a few times, Flanagan said, but they utilized stretch passes to back off RPI’s defenders and find holes underneath the trap.

In the second period, defender Lindsay Eastwood threw a pass up the right boards and sent Abby Moloughney into a foot race with an RPI defender. Moloughney, one of Syracuse’s fastest players, chased down the Engineer skater and soon after had the puck on her stick and in a two-on-none with Emma Polaski. She swerved towards the net, slowed her speed and cut across the crease. As the RPI goaltender slid to protect the far side of the net, Moloughney deposited the puck between her pads for a 3-0 lead.

“Her goal tonight was classic,” Flanagan said. “She could have moved it. She had the goalie thinking (she was) gonna pass it, pass it and then she cut in and the goalie opened up.”

Up 3-0, Syracuse didn’t let up, on either end of the ice. Killing an Eastwood penalty, the Orange forced fast and poor shots. With 30 seconds remaining in the kill, Orange skaters set up in their box and pressured the point. RPI’s Kendra Farole sent a weak wrist shot from the point towards the Syracuse net. With no one in front to tip or screen, Cohen slid across her crease and swallowed the shot with ease.

“We’re obviously aware of their record,” forward Savannah Rennie said. “And I mean, the biggest thing that we said coming into this game is that we have to respect our opponent.”

Center Brynn Koocher sat out Saturday afternoon’s game because of a wisdom tooth removal (Syracuse’s second wisdom tooth-related absence of the season) which left only Rennie, Lauren Bellefontaine and Anonda Hoppner, who normally plays on the wing, to man the dot. RPI’s Sabrina Repaci won 15 of her 24 faceoffs while the Orange won 28 of the 53 draws overall—one of the few close statistical categories in the game.

The Engineers scored their only goal of the contest halfway through the third period on a tipped shot from the point. The puck was sailing high, and Cohen stood up to snag it, but Repaci reached up with her stick and connected. The puck bounced almost directly downwards and, with Cohen back on her heels, the tip bounced through her closing legs.

Up 5-1 with mere seconds remaining, Hoppner fought off an RPI defender and was a step ahead of her opponent when she was taken down with a trip. While Orange fans stood up and yelled at the referee, Allie Olnowich stood up on the Syracuse bench and raised her arms in an X above her head—the symbol for a penalty shot. Calls from the stands and bench fell on deaf ears as RPI was called for merely a trip.

“It’s 5-1,” a fan told his neighbor calling for a penalty. “No one got hurt, it’s over, Mom.”

Published on February 1, 2020 at 9:29 pm

Contact Mitchell: [email protected]