In the final moments of the third period, Syracuse played desperately. Down one and needing a win, the Orange pulled junior goalie Allison Small to try to tie and send the game to overtime. With 30 seconds left on the clock, Anonda Hoppner handled the puck behind her empty net and sent it up the boards, looking to start an offensive push. However, the puck took an unusual carom off the boards and landed right on the stick of Robert Morris forward Jaycee Gebhard, who promptly sealed the game with an empty-netter.

After losing two-straight games to Mercyhurst last weekend, Syracuse needed a win to have a chance at clinching a first-round bye at next week’s College Hockey America tournament. But the Colonials (19-10-4, 13-4-2 CHA) bested the Orange (12-19-2, 10-7-2) 2-0, handing Syracuse its third-straight loss and securing the third seed for SU.

Friday was a highly physical and fast-paced contest. At several points during the game, fights broke out in front of the nets. With 8:15 left in the first period, Syracuse freshman Brynn Koocher chased the puck behind the Robert Morris goal but unintentionally collided with Colonial forward Kyleigh Hanzlik, sending them both to the ice. As the two of them started to get up, Hanzlik gave Koocher a quick right jab to the cage of her helmet before skating off.

“It was definitely a really physical game tonight,” said Koocher. “But those are honestly my favorite kind of games. It just sort of gets everyone pumped up.”

Later in the game, Koocher would also find herself being checked into the boards with 90 seconds remaining in the second, her arms outstretched as she looked for a penalty call. With seven minutes remaining in the third, Koocher was tripped by Syracuse-native Emilie Harley, sending her careening into the goal, dislodging it.

The only goal of the game before Gebhard’s empty-netter came off the stick of Hanzlik at the halfway point of the game in the second period. Robert Morris managed to keep the puck in the Syracuse zone due to a strong forechecking effort. The Wisconsin transfer then took a pass off the boards and sent the puck past the right ear of Small. 

Despite the deficit on the scoreboard, senior defender Lindsay Eastwood said Syracuse did an effective job neutralizing the Colonials odd-man rush and aggressively backchecking. The Orange defense held Robert Morris to only 19 shots on goal, while the Orange put 38 shots on Raygan Kirk — without results — as the freshman recorded her fourth shutout of the season.

Had Syracuse won both Friday and Saturday’s games, the Orange would have clinched the number two seed in the tournament, giving them an extra rest day once they got to Buffalo.

Syracuse will now have to face last place Lindenwood in their Thursday opener. Lindenwood is the only team in the CHA Syracuse has not lost to, and the Lions only have seven total points in conference play all season. Despite that, Lindenwood is capable of beating teams above their caliber, as they took down conference leader Mercyhurst 3-2 on Feb. 7.

Syracuse will now have to repeat last year’s playoff effort, where the third-ranked Orange beat Lindenwood, Robert Morris and Mercyhurst to win the CHA title. Although the Orange have had trouble coming away with wins lately, head coach Paul Flanagan is confident his team can make another run. 

“Our kids at least know how to prepare because they’ve done it,” Flanagan said. “That’s an advantage for us, knowing how to prepare physically and mentally to play three games in three days next week.”

Published on February 29, 2020 at 12:19 am

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