Down one goal with the seconds ticking off the clock, Syracuse forward Savannah Rennie tried to find a teammate with a pass. Instead, the puck was intercepted by Princeton’s Sylvie Wallin. She slid down the ice and found an open Carly Bullock, scoring in a empty net. That goal — Princeton’s third of the period — sealed the Tigers’ come-from-behind 3-1 win over Syracuse.

Syracuse (0-8) found itself on the wrong side of a comeback as No. 6 Princeton (1-0) scored three goals in the third period to win 3-1. It was Syracuse’s first road trip of the season as they travelled to Hobey Baker Rink for Princeton’s season-opener. The Tigers notched their first win of the season while the Orange were overwhelmed in the third period and eventually succumbed to the Tigers offense.

“They’re (Princeton) loaded, they’re loaded, like they’re really good,” head coach Paul Flanagan said last week.

Syracuse took a one-goal lead halfway through the first period on the power play with a goal from Rennie. It was her first goal of the season after seeing an increase in power play time the past few games. Rennie took the initial shot from the side of the goal. It to trickle through the goalie’s five-hole, and Rennie followed it up into the open goal.

In the second, neither team managed to find a breakthrough. It was a chance for both goalies to shine as Syracuse’s Allison Small and Rachel McQuigge went back-and-forth with acrobatic saves. First, it was McQuigge with multiple stops on the penalty kill. Then, it was Small with game saving stops on multiple Princeton breakaways to maintain SU’s lead going into the third period. 

In the third period, Princeton shook off its rustiness to open up its scoring. The Tigers outshot the Orange 23-3 in the third period and took advantage multiple times on the power play. Even though SU took only three penalties, it was punished on the power play as Princeton scored its game-tying and game-winning goal on the advantage.

“I think discipline’s huge, we gotta stay out of the box,” Lindsay Eastwood said after a loss to Colgate. “I think we play better when it is five on five, we’re a totally different team and it hurts us when we have to kill penalties.”

First, it was Princeton’s Carly Bullock using a defender as a screen to roof a shot on Small. Then, it was Mariah Keopple using traffic in front of the net to score and win the game for Princeton, handing Syracuse its eighth straight loss.

Published on October 25, 2019 at 9:08 pm

Contact Gaurav: gshetty@syr.edu