Syracuse’s five-on-three opportunity was shut down by Lindenwood. The Lions transitioned up the ice and set up a scoring chance after killing SU’s power play. Shannon Morris-Reade unloaded a shot to Orange goalie Abbey Miller’s left side. The puck hit her pad and Miller covered it up.

Lindenwood’s scoring chance was thwarted.

Within the next seven minutes, Syracuse scored twice to take a commanding three-goal lead in the second period. Miller’s save proved to be a key turning point.

Syracuse (2-4-2, 2-0-0 College Hockey America) took down Lindenwood (0-6-0, 0-2-0), 4-0, on Saturday evening at Tennity Ice Pavilion. The Orange allowed only 15 shots on goal, all swallowed up by Miller, who led SU to its second shutout in as many days.

“My team played amazing this weekend defensively,” the junior explained. “They didn’t really give them (Lindenwood) a whole lot of opportunities to score.”

At numerous times during the contest, Lindenwood had opportunities to put points on the board. Unfortunately for the Lions, Miller was impenetrable in goal. Early in the second period, while amid a power play, Lindenwood found a hole in the Orange defense for a potential game-tying goal. But there was Miller, stopping the puck to keep the score at 1-0.

It was not only Miller who carried the Orange on defense though — it was a complete team effort, and SU head coach Paul Flanagan praised his defense for its smart, physical play. After a handful of stops by Miller, Lindenwood looked to have opportunities off the rebound to score. The Syracuse defense came up big, preventing the Lions from garnering any second-chance opportunities.

“We’re doing a good job clearing pucks,” Flanagan said.

He also added that being disciplined on the defensive end has been a point of emphasis in recent days. After the Orange earned three penalties during the contest, he explained that in upcoming weeks he’d like to see his players be smart with stick placement, avoid penalties and disrupt opposing offenses.

With her teammates doing their part defensively, Miller has raised her game to new heights with the back-to-back shutouts of Lindenwood. Miller became the first Orange goalie to secure consecutive shutouts against the same team in the same weekend. She is now averaging just 1.40 goals against per game, and her save percentage has risen to 93.7 percent.

After competing earlier in the season for the starting spot, Miller had a weekend as successful as she could have aimed for: Nothing got by her.

Published on October 29, 2016 at 8:53 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34