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After Tatum White beat Ella Fesette on a faceoff in the first period, Syracuse looked to continue applying pressure on RIT’s defense. The Orange already attempted eleven shots but had yet to get on the scoreboard.

Battling for the puck near the boards on the right side of the rink, White gained possession and made a cross-ice pass to a wide-open Hannah Johnson. Johnson quickly got a shot off, but it was blocked by Jaymee Nolan. Although Nolan stopped the shot, the puck came right back to Johnson who was able to get an uncontested shot off and capitalized giving the Orange an early 1-0 lead. 

This propelled Syracuse (4-7, 2-0 College Hockey America) to defeat RIT (2-10, 0-2 CHA) in a dominant 4-1 fashion to sweep the weekend series. From start to finish, SU was in control of the game, something it has struggled to do for the majority of their season. Sarah Marchand led the way with a career-high two goals. 

After Sarah Thompson was called for cross-checking with two-and-a-half minutes left in the first period, the Orange were set to be at a disadvantage for the next two minutes. For the majority of their power play, the Tigers did a good job applying pressure. They kept the puck on the Orange’s side for a minute-and-a-half and took four shots, but they couldn’t capitalize. 

The Orange finally broke the Tigers’ momentum when Marchand stole the puck from Karly Kolssak. After gaining control of the puck, Marchand dashed down the left side of the rink scoring a coast-to-coast goal to net the Orange their second goal of the first period and their third shorthanded goal of the season.

Just under a minute into the second period, the Tigers got the puck on the Orange’s side of the ice and cut into their 2-0 lead. After a scramble for the puck with Maya D’Arcy, Emma Roland gained possession and passed the puck to Lexi Sung. Sung was positioned near the right side of the goal and after initially being deflected by Arielle DeSmet, Sung gathered the puck and scored past DeSmet’s diving attempt to cut the deficit in half.

After attempting to score on a fastbreak opportunity with 3:53 remaining in the second period, White was hit from behind by Mia Tsilemos, giving the Orange their first power play of the night. Marchand fought for possession near the boards and passed to an open Lauren Bellefontaine near the blue line. Bellefontaine proceeded to pass the puck across the ice to Mae Batherson who instantly rifled it back to Bellefontaine. Wide open, Bellefontaine fired off a shot that was blocked by Sarah Coe, but Marchand was right there for the rebound scoring her second goal of the night to give Syracuse a 3-1 lead.

Two minutes later, the Orange knocked Coe out of the game after scoring their fourth goal of the night. After breaking free from the RIT defenders near the center of the ice, Madison Primeau received a pass and scored a fastbreak goal giving the Orange a comfortable three-goal lead. 

Published on October 29, 2022 at 10:32 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon