Syracuse’s 5 penalty kills not enough in late 2-1 loss to Mercyhurst

The Daily Orange is a nonprofit newsroom that receives no funding from Syracuse University. Consider donating today to support our mission.

When Mercyhurst’s Alexa Vasko grabbed a floating puck with her left hand and threw it down, Lauren Bellefontaine shifted her gaze toward the ice. The Syracuse junior didn’t see Vasko in front of her, and her momentum thrusted the Mercyhurst player to the ground, invoking a two-minute minor for body checking.

The Lakers’ second power play of the afternoon went much like their first and their next three: with Syracuse’s defense holding strong. Mercyhurst’s best look came from a Rachel Marmen wrist shot that goalie Allison Small easily grabbed, stopping play.

In the final 0.8 seconds in a five-on-three situation, Mercyhurst’s Sara Boucher dispatched the game-winning goal and Syracuse’s (3-8-1, 3-6-1 College Hockey America) work was undone in a 2-1 loss. SU prevented Mercyhurst (6-4-1, 6-4-1) from scoring until 8:18 into the final period, killing the first five power plays. The Orange built upon their 94.3% penalty kill rate on the season, good enough for second in the CHA, and kept the Lakers scoreless through the first two periods.

Shortly after Marmen’s wrist shot, the senior regained possession at center ice and prepared to crash into Small’s crease. Seconds remained on Mercyhurst’s power play. Weaving through two defenders, she slid left and fired a shot into the body of Small. 

Head coach Paul Flanagan said postgame that the Orange’s great play during shorthand possessions was partially due to the senior goalie’s 34 saves. 

“It’s about making good reads … and having Allison there when we need her,” Flanagan said of SU’s ability to kill power plays. 

Almost all afternoon, Syracuse went unbothered by Mercyhurst power plays. Flanagan, who noted that the Orange have done a great job all season of killing opponent’s power plays, looked pleasantly surprised on a postgame Zoom while analyzing the stat sheet. SU held Mercyhurst skaters to just 12 shots during their six power-play possessions. 

Syracuse utilized two tactics when shorthanded: keeping the Lakers playing on the perimeter and preventing back-door shots. Trapping the puck against the boards became largely successful in ensuring Mercyhurst didn’t break too far in toward Small. 

Seconds into Mercyhurst’s first power play of the game, Hannah Johnson broke up a Laker pass that would have set up a clear look in front of Small. She sent the puck to the nearside board and gave way to Jessica DiGirolamo and Bellefontaine. The duo pinned Marmen and Vasko against the board, burning through eight seconds of Mercyhurst’s power play.

MU’s first set play came with four seconds left in Kristen Siermachesky’s penalty, but Bellefontaine knocked the loose puck out and whisked it toward center ice. 

Even when the Orange failed to prevent an icing call while clearing the puck, they made up for the mistake by winning the ensuing faceoff and quickly exiting the puck from deep in their defensive zone. After Johnson unnecessarily iced the puck with 8:37 remaining in the second period and SU shorthanded, Sarah Thompson won the faceoff, kicked the puck back to Johnson and allowed the Orange to possess the puck for the remainder of the power play.

In the final two minutes, Emma Polaski was called for a cross check after bumping into Ena Nystrøm. Flanagan said the contact “didn’t have anything to do with anything,” but the referee’s disagreed, placing Mercyhurst in their sixth power play of the afternoon. Mercyhurst once again allowed Syracuse to clear the puck and burn time on the power play. It wasn’t until 21.9 seconds remained in regulation that the Orange found themselves outnumbered five to three.

Bellefontaine committed what Flanagan called a “desperation play,” tripping Summer-Rae Dobson in an unwise attempt to grab the puck. Dobson sprawled out at center ice and on the subsequent five-on-three power play. The penalized dive placed SU, and Small, in a vulnerable position. 

Boucher collected a pass from behind the net and found half of the goal exposed. Small’s outreached stick was unable to deflect the puck. It found the net, the final buzzer sounded 0.8 seconds later and all of SU’s defensive work on the power play was wiped out.