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With less than 1:30 left in regulation, Syracuse trailed Merrimack 1-0. Out of necessity, the Orange pulled goalie Arielle DeSmet in favor of putting a skilled position player on the ice in hopes of tying the game. But just a few seconds later, Celine Tedenby wrapped the game up by scoring an empty net goal to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead and the win.

The Orange (1-2-0, 0-0 College Hockey America) fell to the Warriors (1-1-0, 0-0 Hockey East) one night after defeating them 3-2 to split the weekend series. Like Friday night’s game, SU heavily outshot Merrimack, but it couldn’t convert any of its opportunities into goals.

The Orange had 40 shots on goal, but Merrimack’s freshman goalie Callie Hogarth recorded a career-high 40 saves. Mae Batherson (5), Rayla Clemons (5), Madison Primeau (5) and Hannah Johnson (6) led the Orange’s offense and combined for more shots than the entire Warriors’ team (16). But Merrimack made the most of its opportunities with Katie Kaufman scoring a go-ahead goal with eight seconds left in the second period and Tedenby’s last-minute empty net goal.

In addition to getting shots near the goal, the Orange had six power plays compared to the Warriors’ three. Eight of the Orange’s 40 shots came during their power plays, but the pucks just couldn’t find the back of the net.

The Orange also played strong defense, limiting the Warriors to a season-low 16 shots against them. Additionally, the Orange blocked a season-high nine shots, led by Kambel Beacom’s three. Still, SU still committed four penalties with captain Lauren Bellefontaine committing two.

One bright spot for the Orange was junior forward Tatum White winning 16-of-20 faceoffs to lead all players Saturday night. She currently leads the team with 34 faceoff wins. Bellefontaine won nine faceoffs, but she also lost 10. Sarah Marchand and Sarah Thompson were the only other Orange players to win more than 50% of their faceoffs as they each won 3-of-4 of their opportunities.

After splitting the series against the Warriors, the Orange will travel back home for head coach Britni Smith’s home debut against St. Lawrence. Smith played her college hockey for the Saints from 2006-2010, scoring 20 goals with 54 assists while earning Second Team All-ECAC Hockey honors in her junior and senior seasons.

Published on October 2, 2022 at 11:35 am

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon