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Tessa Janecke skated out of pressure behind the Syracuse net before quickly backhanding the puck toward the center of the ice. All five SU defenders were caught puck watching, leaving a gaping hold in the middle for Eleri Mackay to skate into. Janecke found the wide open forward, who shot at Arielle DeSmet. DeSmet kicked out her left leg for a save, deflecting the puck right in front of the net. Two Syracuse defenders failed to mark Olivia Wallin who was quickest to the puck, slamming home the rebound, putting Penn State up 1-0. 

Wallin’s goal came less than 90 seconds after the puck drop and was the first of four goals Syracuse conceded in the first period. Syracuse (7-11-1, 4-2 College Hockey America) struggled defensively throughout the game against Penn State (13-8-1, 5-1 CHA) suffering an 11-3 defeat. SU fell to the Nittany Lions for the second straight time after a 4-1 defeat on Saturday. It was the first time since the 2020-21 season that Syracuse suffered back-to-back defeats against a conference opponent, losing to Mercyhurst. 

Less than a minute after Penn State’s opening goal, Kiara Zanon picked the pocket of Terryn Mozes in the neutral zone, causing a breakaway. One-on-one with DeSmet, Zanon calmly slotted the puck past the reigning CHA Goalie of the Year to put Penn State up 2-0. Syracuse got a goal back from Madison Primeau who scored her team-high ninth of the season to cut the deficit in half. The Nittany Lions responded with back-to-back goals from Julie Gough and Izzy Heminger to give them a 4-1 advantage at the end of the first. 

Penn State outshot Syracuse 15-10, 12-5 and 13-3 in each period and 40-18 overall. Penn State was clinical, scoring over a fourth of its total shots on net. DeSmet had 28 saves, but conceded a career-high nine goals before getting pulled with eight minutes remaining. Backup keeper Amelia Van Vliet made her second appearance of the season, conceding two goals in the third period. 

Facing a three goal deficit, SU needed a quick response and got one, battling back to get within one. Lauren Bellefontaine scored an unassisted goal just 74 seconds into the period before Mae Batherson got her first goal of the year to make it a 4-3 SU lead. 

Bellefontaine led Syracuse with three shots on net followed by seven other SU players who had two. Despite scoring three goals, the Orange defense was cut open allowing a season-high 11 goals, the most goals since letting in ten against Boston College in 2014.  

Penn State killed Syracuse’s momentum with a power-play goal from Zanon, who finished the game with a hat trick. Zanon’s second goal of the game started a run of seven unanswered goals from the Nittany Lions to finish the game. Eleri MacKay scored midway through the second period, giving Penn State a 6-3 advantage going into the final period. 

Syracuse had no answer for Penn State in the third, giving up a season-high five goals in one period for the first time this season.

Published on December 4, 2022 at 5:34 pm

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22