Melissa Piacentini took a one-time shot and raised her arms in celebration. The players on the Syracuse bench did the same and banged their sticks against the boards.

“It was in,” a few Syracuse fans yelled from the stands.

But the play wasn’t stopped. Forward Allie LaCombe collected the puck and attempted a wraparound that was saved by Allie Morse, the Providence goalie. With the puck sitting between her legs, players crashed the crease, pushing Morse into the net, and Syracuse thought it scored again.

After a lengthy review, the referees ruled no goal. They couldn’t see the play because the replay system wasn’t working correctly, Syracuse head coach Paul Flanagan said.

“It’s very disappointing,” Flanagan said. “We spent $20,000 on a review system that didn’t work. We had somebody here, a parent, that videotaped it. The goal was in, the players all said it was in, so we lose a hockey game because of technology.”

After the controversial play, Providence (0-4-1) and Syracuse (1-1-3) each went on to score two more goals and the Orange tied the Friars, 3-3, at Tennity Ice Pavilion on Saturday. SU finished its third straight game with a tie, despite three goals produced by the first line of Piacentini, LaCombe and forward Jessica Sibley.

“We’re sick of it,” Piacentini said of tying. “We need that win.”

Coming into the game Providence hadn’t scored a goal in any of its four games. But Cassidy Carels scored on the first shot of the game against Syracuse, less than two minutes in.

Syracuse didn’t answer until early in the second period when Piacentini snuck back door and defender Nicole Renault fed her a pass that netted SU’s second power play goal of the year.

With fewer than five minutes remaining in the second period, LaCombe’s shot was saved, but she crashed the net and poked the rebound free to Piacentini, who took a shot from the left side of the net that appeared to hit off the center post in the back of the net and bounce out and led to LaCombe’s wraparound attempt.

Officials spent eight minutes trying to get the replay system on a computer just outside of the Syracuse bench to work, but couldn’t.

“The one screen, it’s supposed to make a movie and it wasn’t making a movie of this one, of the camera on this end,” Flanagan said. “Brendon (Knight), my assistant, it was kind of awkward, he had to come down and show them how to operate it.”

After play resumed, Sibley collected a puck behind the net and passed it to LaCombe, who backhanded one home.

Less than a minute later, Providence tied the game at two goals apiece when Lexi Romanchuk sent a slap shot, from the blue line, off the post and in.

Providence took the lead with power play goal late in the third, but LaCombe put home a rebound for her second goal of the game to knot the game at three.

“It’s nice to actually click again,” LaCombe said of the first line. “The past couple games we’ve been struggling to get our mojo, but I think we really felt it tonight.”

In overtime, during a four-on-four, a puck was centered in front of the net to forward Stephanie Grossi, who was checked from behind as she tried to shoot.

The Orange had a four-on-three opportunity with four seconds left because of the penalty, but Providence won the ensuing faceoff and the game finished in a draw.

Said Piacentini: “We played well at times, but we need to get that win … just finish on all of the opportunities that we have.”

Published on October 18, 2014 at 8:39 pm

Contact Jon: [email protected] | @jmettus