Syracuse (5-11-2, 4-3-1 College Hockey America) fell to Mercyhurst (6-10-2, 5-2-1), 2-1, in overtime at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Pennsylvania on Saturday. It’s the fourth loss in a row and third straight in the CHA for the Orange, which began conference play with four wins in its first five games.

Victoria Klimek’s goal with three seconds left in the first period gave Syracuse an early 1-0 lead for the second straight day. The goal, her sixth on the year, ties the freshman for the team lead in goals. After scoring her first goal of the season yesterday in Mercyhurst’s victory against SU on Friday, Emma Nuutinen poured in two more goals on Saturday to down the Orange.

Klimek’s goal capped off a first period in which Syracuse failed to record a shot on goal in either of its power plays, coming with 11:43 and 6:51 left in the stanza. It continued SU’s trend of success in the opening period in conference play, extending its scoring advantage in the period to 11-4 through eight games.

Neither team had success offensively in the second period, shutting each other out despite putting 20 combined shots on goal. The Orange earned the only power play of the period 1:49 in, but shot just once during the man-up advantage. The Lakers controlled the puck for much of the period, winning 16 of the 26 faceoffs and attempting 13 shots on goal to SU’s seven, but through two periods, the Orange maintained its 1-0 lead.

The teams played to a stalemate through the first five minutes of the third period, but with 14:44 remaining in regulation, Nuutinen’s second goal of the year tied the game at one. Just 27 seconds later, a Lakers penalty gave Syracuse a power-play opportunity, which turned into a five on three chance for the Orange just 15 seconds afterwards. With a two-player advantage for a minute and 45 seconds, SU shot four times, with only one on goal, and the scoring chance was thwarted. Later on, with 4:37 left in the period, Mercyhurst was presented a five on three opportunity of its own, but also failed to score during its power play.

After going scoreless for the remainder of the period, the teams entered overtime, where Nuutinen again delivered for the Lakers. Seventy-one seconds into the extra period, on Mercyhurst’s first shot attempt of overtime, Nuutinen found the back of the net, and the Lakers completed the series sweep.

Syracuse will wait four weeks to get back on the ice, as the next game for the Orange is not until the new year. SU will travel to Moon Township, Pennsylvania for a matchup against reigning conference champion Robert Morris on Friday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m.