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Hannah Johnson took a shot from the blue line that went wide left as RIT had an attack forming in overtime. The puck came back around where Syracuse was able to make a stop. Anna Leschyshyn took control of the puck on a three-on-one with Johnson and Sarah Marchand on offense for the Orange. Leschyshyn skated down the left side and sent the puck down to Marchand. The freshman forward was on the right side of the attack and had a close-range shot next to the faceoff circle against Tiger goalie Sarah Coe. Marchand’s shot looked like it was initially stopped by Coe. But Coe was unable to hold on to it, and the puck found its way to the back of the net.

Marchand’s game-winning goal was the 91st shot and 55th shot on goal on the night for Syracuse (3-5-2, 2-1 College Hockey America) in its 3-2 win over RIT (0-11, 0-1 CHA) on Friday. It was the most shots on goal the Orange had in a single game all season. Going into tonight, RIT had given up the most goals (59) in the CHA and had an average margin of -3.73, also the worst in the conference. But Coe was able to make 52 saves and keep the Tigers in it.

“Honestly, there were probably more than 20 chances that we could’ve capitalized on,” forward Lauren Bellefontaine said. “We just didn’t get our sticks on those ones.”

The first SU shot of the night came a few seconds after the puck dropped. Defenseman Jessica DiGirolamo fired a shot, but it came nowhere near the net as a Tiger defender blocked it. After Rayla Clemons was unable to corral in the puck for an opportunity, Victoria Klimek got the first shot on goal for the Orange. Klimek sent the shot from the right side, but it was deflected and went over the net.

Two minutes later, forward Abby Moloughney intercepted a pass deep in RIT’s zone. The senior took one shot that was saved by Coe. But Moloughney gathered the rebound and her second chance opportunity was also saved by Coe, who this time iced the puck. In the first 10 minutes of the game, the Orange outshot the Tigers 10-3. Still, SU was unable to get the puck past the conference’s worst defense. Syracuse head coach Paul Flanagan described RIT as “sagging” due to the SU defense and goalie Arielle DeSmet getting the puck back to the Tigers’ zone. This, according to Flanagan, helped the Orange get as many chances as they did.

“For the most part we had our feet moving; we were recycling the puck a lot,” Flanagan said. “And we were going D-to-D a lot and getting those pucks through.”

Even after Syracuse’s power play, where it had six shots, it still couldn’t find the back of the net. But that changed on the Orange’s 33rd and final of the period. With less than 90 seconds left in the period, Moloughney skated with the puck at the center of the RIT zone. She sent the puck with the back of her stick toward Coe, and Bellefontaine collected the puck in the scrum. The senior forward got a wobbly shot off from the left side that went past Coe to give the Orange a 1-0 lead. This was Bellefontaine’s fourth goal of the season and only SU’s fourth goal scored in the first period all year.

The start of the second period wasn’t as Syracuse-dominant as the previous one, however. Despite the Orange taking the first two shots of the second period, the Tigers were quick on the attack. RIT’s Megan McCormick stole Johnson’s pass in the neutral zone and now had no one but DeSmet in front of her. McCormick sent the shot between DeSmet’s legs, and the goalie couldn’t stop it, tying the game at one apiece. While the Tigers only finished with 11 shots on goal, Flanagan found that their neutral zone play kept them in the game.

“In the neutral zone, they knew they didn’t have anything, and they sent it deep and made us retreat,” Flanagan said. “We don’t like to do that.”

Despite the game-tying goal from McCormick, SU still had 21 more shots on goal in the period than RIT. Halfway through the period, the Orange were once again on the power play, and this time they capitalized. From the left side of the Tigers’ zone, Bellefontaine sent a pass to DiGirolamo, who was near the top of the zone at the blue line. The defenseman sent a powerful wrist shot that Coe couldn’t stop.

But even with a 2-1 lead, problems in the neutral zone emerged again, and RIT was once again able to score on one of its few chances. With over a minute left in the period, two Orange passes were intercepted by the Tigers. DeSmet was able to save a far shot from Kyla Bear. But the rebound forced her to her left, and Bear crashed in, gathered the loose puck and fired it in to tie game.

The third period saw Syracuse’s fewest shots on goal in a regulation period but still many opportunities squandered. Johnson and Klimek both got early shots, but both missed. A few minutes later, Moloughney made one move to have a shot from the left side. She fired the shot, but Coe made the save.

One of Syracuse’s biggest chances came with a little over seven minutes to go in regulation when RIT’s Bailey Kehl and Mia Tsilemos were unable to control the puck at center ice and Tatum White was able to take it. White skated all alone down the right side, but Coe easily made a glove save, forcing overtime.

The beginning of overtime saw much of the same for SU. Mae Batherson looked to pass but then held on to the puck as she skated toward the goalie. She took a shot that was then deflected and knocked out of play. Bellefontaine said that despite all the missed chances, the team never felt discouraged as they heavily emphasized positivity, eventually leading to a goal.

“We told ourselves that we got (to) keep calm and control the puck,” Bellefontaine said. “But we also got to use our speed because we know we are faster than them, and I think that really helped us.”

Published on November 6, 2021 at 12:05 am

Contact Henry: [email protected]