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After two periods of stout defense, Syracuse caved in the third. The College Hockey America rivals took a 0-0 tie into the final period less than 24 hours after a 7-0 blow out by Penn State.

A minute-and-a-half into the third, PSU’s Courtney Correia took the loose puck into enemy territory and circled the goal. She then swung to Rene Gangarosa who immediately passed to Mallory Uihlein open at the back of the right circle – she fired a slap shot off Mae Batherson near the crease and it spiraled lamely into the net past goalie Arielle DeSmet. 

That goal sparked another in less than five minutes, which led to a third not two minutes after that. The Orange, like they have so often this season, failed to halt the opposition’s offensive momentum once it got going. Three goals in a seven-minute period dropped Syracuse chances significantly.

Despite the late surge from the Nittany Lions, when asked what changed in the third period, head coach Britni Smith said “nothing.”

“I think that was our most consistent 60 minutes of the season,” Smith said. 

For the second day in a row, Syracuse (9-20-2, 6-7-1 CHA) lost to No. 10 Penn State (22-8-2, 12-1-1 CHA) after allowing four goals in the third period. SU let up three goals in the span of seven minutes in the 4-1 loss, as the Nittany Lions’ collected their second sweep of the Orange this season. After remaining diligent on defense throughout the first two periods, the Orange couldn’t finish. But this time, unlike last night, SU had a chance to win and let it slip away. 

Syracuse didn’t allow Penn State to score in the opening period for the first time in its four matchups. When SU’s opponents score in the first, it has a 3-17-1 record. 

Although Penn State scored all four of its goals in the final period, the Orange allowed the same amount of shots (13) as it did in the second period. The difference was, some of the later shots went uncontested or on the fast break. 

Penn State’s second goal occurred less than five minutes after that thanks to a double penalty. Gangarosa picked up a cross-checking penalty 6:08 into the period, but Rhea Hicks bailed her out just four seconds later by committing a hooking penalty.

Tessa Janecke won the faceoff against Sarah Marchand, giving PSU possession of the puck in Syracuse territory. Kendall Butze bided her time at middle ice before drifting left and driving baseline – off the drive, she found Janecke standing next to the net for a one-timer and Penn State took a 2-0 lead just nine seconds into PSU’s power play. 

“I think trying to get the first goal will bring even more momentum,” Lauren Bellefontaine said. “We kind of struggle when the other team gets the first goal.”

Syracuse has continuously struggled with halting opposing momentum in both a single-game and season-long context. Penn State has controlled the momentum throughout each game this season, aided by the first score in all four of those matchups. 

Sarah Thompson showed her high motor during the Nittany Lions’ only first-period power play. Janecke crossed the ice to the middle and rifled a shot off Thompson, who followed the puck back out to Izzy Heminger on the right circle – she blocked her pass as. Still 28 seconds left on the PSU power play, it had to reset, and DeSmet’s block on the ensuing shot would run the clock out. 

Despite ranking last in the CHA in blocked shots per game, averaging just under 10 on the season, SU blocked seven shots in the first period. So, despite being outshot 16-9, it only trailed by two shots on goal at that time. 

As the teams went back-and-forth in the second, Hicks saw an opportunity to give SU the advantage. She hustled cross-court to swipe the puck from a Penn State skater at mid-ice, sliding to the ground in the process. Although SU didn’t score on the ensuing possession, it gave the offense some energy, as it moved the ball more swiftly, and gave the crowd something to cheer about. 

In the second, Syracuse still held its ground on defense with 13 saves from DeSmet. SU remained tied with the nation’s tenth-best squad after winning 10-of-18 faceoffs in the period, which it used to push in transition with great effect.

The Orange applied consistent pressure on both ends before they “lost it in the third,” Hannah Johnson said. 

“Two things we were focusing on today was being stronger in front of their net and being stronger in front of our net,” Johnson said.

She said the team did a much better job defending against Penn State’s speed and strong rebounding ability. There was only one real possession before the third period where Penn State got a fast break.

As the second quarter came to a close, Penn State started to control the pace. During an SU possession, the puck spurted out of PSU’s defensive zone and into the open ice. Batherson saw Janecke out in front and sprinted to get even with her. Batherson put pressure on her left side, forcing her off-balance and the puck escaped her stick without a shot.

Smith said that SU will go back to the film and see what worked for them tonight in the early going, and SU will take that into a potential rematch in the CHA Tournament.

“There’s a bunch of positives to take,” Smith said. “We cleaned up a couple areas that I thought really helped us, but what we are going to have to figure out is how to bury more, how to find opportunities, whether it’s creating second opportunities for ourselves or just finding ways in that dirty area.”

Published on February 4, 2023 at 7:44 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu