Though Syracuse was down by two to Mercyhurst with just minutes left, the crowd still hadn’t given up hope.

Five straight shots on goal had the Orange fans on their feet and cheering at every chance, including a whiff by forward Julie Knerr at the doorstep.

But then Mercyhurst gained possession in the offensive zone and forward Jaclyn Arbour fed a pass from the point to defenseman Molly Byrne, waiting back door to stuff it home.

The crowd went silent and the slim hope of a comeback was crushed. Syracuse head coach Paul Flanagan crossed his arms and stared into the distance. Goalie Jenn Gilligan skated out of the crease, hit her stick on the net twice and looked into the now lifeless crowd.

“It wasn’t over,” Flanagan said. “I think that we needed to respond a little bit better and we coughed up a fourth goal.”

After playing close for most of the way, Syracuse (2-4-5, 1-1-1 College Hockey America) let in three goals in the third period, falling to No. 7 Mercyhurst (9-1-1, 3-0-0), 5-1, at Tennity Ice Pavilion on Friday. In the 30th meeting between the rivals, Syracuse lost again, dropping to 0-28-2 all-time against the Lakers.

“We played good for two periods, then the third period we just kind of dropped the ball,” forward Alysha Burriss said. “… It was close. We got a couple unlucky bounces in the third. They got an empty-net (goal). It was closer than that.”

Just two minutes into game, Meryhurst forward Jenna Dingeldein deked around SU defender Akane Hosoyamada, then eluded Gilligan for a goal.

Dingeldein made SU’s fifth-year defender and captain look like a pee-wee player, Flanagan said.

The Orange failed to convert four power-play chances in the first and heading into the second as the game got more physical. Scuffles broke out after saves, defenseman Dakota Derrer slammed an opponent into the boards and forward Allie LaCombe jabbed at an opponent as she skated by.

“I thought it was pretty physical,” Derrer said. “They were a little more physical than us.”

After Hosoyamada went to the box, Derrer’s penalty for checking gave Mercyhurst a five-on-three chance in the second period. Gilligan was able to keep the Lakers from scoring during the advantage, but seconds later Mercyhurst forward Hannah Bale collected a loose puck and smacked it into the net, above Gilligan’s pad.

As the period winded down, Derrer got Syracuse on the board when she sent a puck from the point toward the net that deflected off Burriss and slid five-hole on Mercyhurst’s Amanda Makela.

The players mobbed Derrer on the ice and the team was given new life, until the Lakers scored its three late goals.

With nine minutes left in the third, Mercyhurst netted its first goal of the period and third of the night. SU forward Laurence Porlier had her pass blocked in the defensive zone, which turned into a wrist shot into the back of the net by Mercyhurst center Emily Janiga.

With one hand on his hip and the other on the glass behind him, Flanagan could only shake his head.

“The third goal was a bad turnover,” Flanagan said. “Nobody picked anyone up. We just watched that kid shoot. It wasn’t a great goal from my perspective on the bench. … We didn’t challenge the skaters on the ice. Gilli didn’t challenge at all.”

Byrne scored, then less than a minute later forward Shelby Bram bounced a puck into the cage from center ice during a Syracuse empty net.

Mercyhurst wasn’t at its best, Flanagan said, and SU wasted a chance at playing well and finally beating it.

The Orange will have another opportunity at 3 p.m. in Tennity Ice Pavilion on Saturday.

“We have to figure out what it’s going to take,” Flanagan said. “This has been going on seven years now, trying to beat these guys. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything this bad. It’s ridiculous.”

Published on November 8, 2014 at 12:17 am

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus