Syracuse captain Nicole Ferrara found herself on the right hip of Cornell goalie Marlene Boissonnault midway through the second period, with the puck a few inches away. Ferrara tried to poke the puck toward goal but was instantly swarmed by Big Red defenders.

Boissonnault ended up with the puck in her glove, while Ferrara ended up in a shoving match with defenders that had to be broken up by the officials.

“We have to find a way to get the puck to the net,” sophomore Stephanie Grossi said. “Find a way to get (a good) quality of shots regardless of if they’re going to be physical or not.”

The frustration showed by Ferrara encapsulated the feeling of the entire offense after Syracuse (5-7-1, 3-1-1 College Hockey America) was unable to execute well in its 5-2 loss to Cornell (2-4-1, 1-2-1 Ivy) at the War Memorial Arena.

Syracuse started off slowly. After averaging over 10 shots per game in the first period this season, the Orange only managed to get off five shots on target in the opening stanza.

Head coach Paul Flanagan cited a lack of energy and team readiness for the overall struggles. He couldn’t pinpoint why exactly his team came out as flat as it did.

“I thought that we hadn’t played a home a game in awhile (so) we’d have more energy,” Flanagan said. “… Lack of energy, lack of mental focus, we just weren’t ready, and that falls on my shoulders.”

Opportunities picked up for Syracuse a bit in the second period.

At one point, junior forward Morgan Blank got the puck on the left side of the ice close to the goal with no defender in front of her. But her shot was promptly snatched out of midair by Boissonnault’s glove.

Later in the period, seniors Melissa Piacentini and Ferrara were weaving passes to each other through the Cornell defense. Ferrara ended up with the puck down the right sideline but fired a shot wide right.

For the most part, Flanagan thought his offense wasn’t executing as well as it could have. The SU head coach said that in the last two games — including Tuesday’s loss to Clarkson — his team has been shooting too many shots directly into the chest of the opposing goalie which results in easy saves for the other team.

“To me, that’s players, you’re not finishing your play,” Flanagan said. “ … Goalies in today’s world are dropping to their knees, (then) you gotta pick a corner.”

The Orange offense managed to break through twice in the third period. Sophomore Stephanie Grossi jetted down the right side and kept the puck low as she poked it toward the back left corner to cut the Cornell lead down to 3-1.

Later on in the third — after Cornell took a 4-1 lead — the Orange capitalized on a power play when junior Alysha Burriss slapped a shot to the top left corner of the goal.

Still, neither goal-scorer was happy with the team’s performance. The bench — which in past games has erupted whenever the Orange scores a goal — congratulated its teammates in a much more halfhearted manner.

“I think we just need more energy … that killer instinct and having that fire in your eyes … and I think that’s just something we all need to work on,” Burriss said.

Published on November 14, 2015 at 7:47 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer