Jessica DiGirolamo leads Syracuse in 3-2 win over RIT

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Jessica DiGirolamo sat on top of Syracuse’s offensive formation watching as the puck exchanged hands toward the net line. It finally circled to her on a pass from her right side by Lauren Bellefontaine. Prior to that possession midway through the second period, DiGirolamo said she was leaving shots up toward the top of the net, allowing them to be easily blocked by Rochester Institute of Technology goalie Sarah Coe. She wanted to get it through and saw an opening.

Freshman Madison Primeau was distracting the goalie, setting a screen to take her eyes away from DiGirolamo. The fifth-year defender jumped on the opportunity, and her slapshot rifled through the back of the net to put Syracuse back on top of RIT, 2-1.

After a “flat” start to her fifth year with the Orange, DiGirolamo has settled into her usual dominant play to help Syracuse (3-5-2, 2-1 College Hockey America). Friday night was no different, as she scored in her third straight game during SU’s 3-2 overtime win against RIT (0-11, 0-1 CHA).

“Her offensive prowess has been impressive,” head coach Paul Flanagan said. “(She’s) so dynamic with the puck. We’re deriving a lot of our offense from (DiGirolamo) bringing it up.”

DiGirolamo already has the most points by a defenseman in Syracuse’s 22-year history, adding to her record-breaking total each game. Friday night marked the third straight game DiGirolamo notched a goal. She only recorded two shots in Syracuse’s first game of the season. But since then, she’s compiled 52 shots, three goals and two assists.

Flanagan said the conversation of bringing the now defenseman back was easy. Once the NCAA came down with the decision to grant student-athletes an extra year of eligibility, DiGirolamo wanted to come back. “It’s kind of like a star for a team that’s going to give it one more year,” Flanagan said. The team quickly found her a certificate program that she’s currently in and allocated enough scholarship money to allow her to continue at Syracuse.

The decision allowed DiGirolamo to make plays like the ones she did Friday night. It allowed her to record seven shots in two straight games against Lindenwood. It allowed her to grab a puck out of the air early against RIT and bolt down the ice. While the eventual shot was unsuccessful, the play allowed her to show off her skills as an “offensive defenseman.”

Later in the first period, DiGirolamo collected another loose puck from the ice. She shifted to her right and juked around the only RIT jersey in front of her. Coe stood on her head to block the 10th shot on goal in the first period, but the misfired high shot from DiGirolamo notified her to shoot lower, as she did on her goal Friday night.

Midway through the third period with the game tied, Syracuse tried to pass the puck around in hopes of finding an open lane to the net. The puck once again found its way to DiGirolamo, standing crouched over in her usual perch atop the Orange’s formation. Sometimes when she skates and shoots, Flanagan said, DiGirolamo looks “effortless.” He said she knows she can challenge anybody and get a step on them.

The puck bounced off Coe, prompting a scrum in front of the net. One Syracuse player got it away from everyone and back to DiGirolamo, who tried, and failed, this time from the top right faceoff circle. Syracuse finished with 55 shots on goal, just nine shy of the program’s all-time record set in 2016. DiGirolamo contributed to nearly 20% to that.

Bellefontaine said DiGirolamo continues to lead the team as a player that freshmen, like Primeau and Terryn Mozes, look up to. DiGirolamo is the one that starts plays. Flanagan said Syracuse wouldn’t have had the same success over the last few games without her. DiGirolamo tied her career high in shots on goal Friday night with 10, something she did twice last year and once the year before.

To begin the third period, DiGirolamo once again found herself with possession from the right wing of the RIT net. She had Primeau crashing up the lane and shoveled a pass across to her. The freshman didn’t have a clear shot, so she gave the puck back to DiGirolamo for an attempt at net.

“We kind of look to her to set the tone for us and we bounce off her energy,” Bellefontaine said.

DiGirolamo was able to fire three more shots in the final half of the third period. Like last year, Flanagan sent her out on the first line in overtime to create the same opportunities that she had in the first 60 minutes. But the eventual goal went to freshman Sarah Marchand, one of the four whom the fifth-year set the tone for. And DiGirolamo rushed the ice with the rest of her teammates to embrace her. The CHA Defenseman of the Month and two-time CHA Defenseman of the Week pumped her right fist, just as she did after her last 29 goals.