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During Syracuse’s first power play of the game, Maya D’Arcy controlled the puck, passing to the center of the ice for Hannah Johnson. Johnson whipped the puck straight back to D’Arcy, who skated into the open ice ahead of her. With no defender challenging her, D’Arcy sent a slap shot towards the net, which deflected off the post and in to give Syracuse a 1-0 lead. It was only SU’s second shot on goal, despite it being more than 12 minutes into the game. 

Despite holding an early lead, Syracuse (1-6, 0-0 College Hockey America) fell 3-2 to Clarkson (6-1-1, 0-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey) for the second consecutive game after losing to the Golden Knights on Thursday. The Orange kept pace with the No. 11 team in the country, taking advantage when opportunities presented themselves. A goal early in the third period was the difference between the two teams as the Orange dropped their fifth straight game.

Syracuse’s lead didn’t last long as Clarkson responded with a goal 27 seconds later. With the puck in SU’s zone, Clarkson broke quickly up the center of the ice. Anne Cherkowski burst through the neutral zone, leaving the puck for Gabrielle David, who was flanking to her right. David lasered a cross-ice pass to Darcie Lappan, who fired a pass right in front of the net for Cherkowski, tapping the puck past goaltender Arielle DeSmet. Cherkowski recorded her third goal in two games against the Orange. 

Later in the first period, Syracuse survived a power play after Sarah Thompson was penalized for tripping.

For much of the second period, Clarkson dominated play, firing shot after shot at DeSmet. DeSmet denied the Golden Knights on each of their opportunities until late in the period. Lappan skated behind the Syracuse net, picked her head up and used the back of her stick to flick the ball right to the front of the crease. David was unmarked and put the puck past DeSmet for a 2-1 lead. 

The Orange responded a couple minutes later on the power play when Gretchen Branton was called for tripping. Rhéa Hicks controlled the puck along the boards as Madison Primeau flashed to the middle of the ice. Hicks found Primeau who tied the game up at two with just 45 seconds remaining in the period.

SU battled in the third period until the buzzer sounded, but two minutes into the period, David angled toward the net, passing the puck toward attackers. But it deflected off the Johnson’s skate and David scored again, putting Clarkson back in the lead. The Golden Knights wouldn’t surrender the lead, despite late pushes from SU. Arielle DeSmet was pulled out of her net late, but Syracuse couldn’t find an equalizer. 

After being shut out in three of their first four games, Syracuse’s offense has scored seven goals in the past three games. Despite the offensive boost, SU has struggled to keep the puck out of the net, conceding 13 in its last three games.

Published on October 14, 2022 at 8:52 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon