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Anna Leschyshyn skated down the center of the ice with the puck with less than a minute remaining in the game. Syracuse was still looking for its first goal of the night as Mercyhurst goalkeeper Jenna Silvonen surpassed the 40th save mark. Leschyshyn fired an initial chance that went over the left side of the net. The puck bounced off the boards back in front of the net, however, giving Leschyshyn and the Orange another chance. The forward had a wide-open look at the net, but Silvonen slid over from the other side of the crease and got a glove on the puck.

It was Silvonen’s final stop of the night — finishing the game with a season-best 41 saves. The performance from the Co-National Goaltender of the Month kept Syracuse (5-8-3, 4-3 College Hockey America) scoreless for only the second time this year. The Orange have been suffering from recent offensive woes, both at even strength and on the power play. And against the Mercyhurst (13-5-2, 4-1 CHA) defense, a team that has averaged the lowest goals allowed per game in the conference, the slump continued.

“I didn’t think we really generated any tic-tac-toe plays or any really nice, open looks,” SU head coach Paul Flanagan said. “We just weren’t getting rebound chances.”

After scoring six goals in a victory against Penn State on Nov. 20, the Orange have only scored a combined two goals over two games since then. Madison Primeau and Rayla Clemons were the only players to score in the tie and loss to Vermont last weekend.

Associate head coach Brandon Knight said on Tuesday he wasn’t worried about the lack of chances, as the Orange registered a combined 59 shots on goal in the two games. Knight said he and the rest of the coaching staff have been stressing the need to get more players right at the net.

“To be honest, we haven’t done a great job of (getting bodies to the net) all year,” Knight said. “So we’re struggling offensively and you just need an ugly (goal) to get the ball rolling.”

In the first ten minutes of the game, SU succeeded in getting players toward the net. The Orange outshot the Lakers 12-10 but were still down a goal after the first ten minutes.

Just over two minutes into the game, Leschyshyn faced pressure on the boards and sent a long pass back near the right side of the blue line to Jessica DiGirolamo. The defenseman fired the puck toward a wall of Syracuse and Mercyhurst players standing in front of Silvonen. The shot was blocked by K.K. Thiessen and any rebound chance was cleared by the Lakers. Less than a minute later, both Lauren Bellefontaine and Clemons had shots that were blocked by Mercyhurst defenders, too.

The Lakers took advantage of these missed opportunities and went on attack. Mercyhurst forward Kristy Pidgeon skated down into the left side of SU’s zone with the puck with teammate Chantal Ste-Croix flanking her on the right side. Pidgeon neared the net and fired a shot that Ste-Croix tipped in to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead.

The Orange had a chance four minutes after the goal to tie the game on the power play. But SU only took two shots on the man advantage as Merychurst held control of the puck for most of the power play. Syracuse couldn’t find any open looks or put any bodies on the net, so Flanagan said there had to be an adjustment.

“When you’re not getting really good open looks, whether it’s five on five on the power-play you just got to try to get ugly goals and just get in there,” he said.

But even playing for ugly goals wasn’t working as well. Four minutes left in the first, Mae Batherson took a shot near the right side of the net. The initial shot was stopped, but a scrum ensued and two awkward bounces of the puck toward the net were both stopped by Silvonen.

This style of play continued throughout the rest of the game. Just under seven minutes into the period, the Orange went on their second man advantage of the night after Alexane Rheaume was called for tripping. But the second power play proved to be more disastrous than the first. Bellefontaine won the opening faceoff, but none of her teammates were there to get puck and so it slid back into SU’s zone.

After two shots a minute into the power play, the Orange made a line change. But this line changed caused the Lakers to go on a three-on-one, where Alexa Vasko took a pass from Sydney Petersen for an open look at the net. SU goalie Arielle DeSmet did get partially tip the puck, but the rebound chance for Vasko went in.

Now down 2-0 going into the third period, the Orange now were looking for any opportunity, much less an ugly one. The final period saw SU outshoot Mercyhurst 24-18. But like the first period, the Lakers were the ones who found the back of the net.

Victoria Klimek and Abby Moloughney had a breakaway at the beginning of the final period. Moloughney fired a shot but again Silvonen made the stop with her pad. Moloughney got another chance a few minutes, firing a wrister that just went over the glove of Silvonen. Hannah Johnson and Primeau both also got shots from the right side. But those too were stopped by the Norwegian native.

After, Vanessa Upson zoomed past the SU defense and scored the Lakers’ third goal of the game with over six minutes left, the Orange were only able to get nine more shots on goal. Moloughney on Tuesday said they needed to drive harder toward the net. But, tonight, she felt the Orange could’ve done much better.

“We need to be better at doing that,” Moloughney said. “Despite practicing it all week, I don’t think we brought it today.”

Published on December 3, 2021 at 11:29 pm

Contact Henry: henrywobrien1123@gmail.com