Syracuse drops 3rd straight in 4-1 loss to RIT
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Four minutes into the second period, RIT’s Lexi Sung raced up the ice to collect the puck in Syracuse’s defensive zone. Sung skated toward the goal and crossed a pass to the crease causing Syracuse goaltender Allie Kelley to leave the cage. The puck deflected off of Kelley and bounced to a waiting Chloe McNeil right outside the crease. The RIT forward stuck the puck past Kelley to tie the game 1-1 at the 16:40 mark of the second period.
The goal was part of a two-score second period for the Tigers. In the middle frame, RIT outscored the Orange 2-0 and the Tigers had 13 shots on goal compared to SU’s six.
Following a dominant second period, RIT (8-6-2, 4-3 College Hockey America) did not concede its lead, defeating Syracuse (3-13-2, 0-6-1 CHA) 4-1. The Orange scored the game’s first goal in the opening period, but their offense was silenced in the ensuing two frames. The loss extended SU’s losing streak to three games. The Orange extended their winless streak to 12 straight games, with their last win a 3-2 victory against RPI on Oct. 14.
SU got off to an aggressive start, tallying the game’s first five shots. Darci Johal fired the first shot two minutes into the game, but RIT goaltender Sophia Bellina bodied it up. Forty seconds later, Jocelyn Fiala fired from the blue line but it was gloved by Bellina.
RIT then applied pressure getting into the Syracuse defensive zone with three shots. Kelley stopped all three giving Syracuse the momentum back. SU fired six straight shots, including two from Rachel Teslak and Alexandria Weiss, but none found the back of the net.
At the 13:40 mark, Heidi Knoll was called for tripping, putting Syracuse down a player for the first time in the contest. SU kept the Tigers to no shots in the first 1:55 of the power play before Linda Rulle got a chance with five seconds remaining on the advantage. Kelley answered by bodying the puck to keep RIT off the board and kill off the power play.
Both teams struggled for possession until the 17:19 mark of the first period when RIT forward Lindsay Maloney was called for a faceoff violation. On a 5-on-4 advantage, Teslak slid a pass from the left side toward the crease for Johal. Johal fired a shot off the leg guard of Bellina and settled in front of a darting Kate Holmes. Holmes one-timed the puck past Bellina, giving SU a 1-0 lead at the 17:48 mark.
The Orange kept their advantage heading into the first intermission. Syracuse led in shots on goal 12-7 after 20 minutes.
Four minutes into the second period, McNeil tied the game at 1-1 with the tip-in score. Four minutes later Syracuse got into RIT’s defensive zone, firing six straight shots but all were contained by the Tigers.
“We got opportunities, we had the shorthanded crossbar, we had a couple battles at the top of the crease that we weren’t able to bury,” SU head coach Britni Smith said. “Against a team like that that really battles hard and pushes you outside the dots, you just got to find ways to get those in.”
At the 10:46 mark, Maya D’Arcy was called for cross-checking. Down a player again, the Orange remained strong, limiting the Tigers to just two shots on RIT’s power play. Kelley stopped the first and Johal put her body in front on the second attempt by Jaidan Fahrny.
A minute later, Sarah Thompson got the puck into RIT’s defensive zone and fired the puck on cage, but it bounced off the crossbar, inches from giving SU the lead. The Orange were held to just one shot the remainder of the second period.
Meanwhile, RIT maintained its pressure. After taking four shots in 50 seconds, Charlotte Hallett was penalized for interference, SU’s third penalty. This time, the Tigers capitalized on the player-up opportunity as Kylie Aquaro tipped in the deflected puck from the left side to give RIT a 2-1 lead. The score marked RIT’s second of the period, a lead the Tigers never relinquished.
SU started the third period on a power play for 50 seconds. On the advantage, Johal and Weiss fired shots but both were gloved by Bellina. Three minutes into the period, Haley Trudeau was looking to lead a break with Marielle McHale but RIT’s Jodyn Bear intercepted the pass.
Beginning at the 13:22 mark, SU fired three consecutive shots but all were contained by Bellina.
“(RIT) was aggressive all over the ice,” Tatum White said. “They didn’t let us have much time with the puck even around the perimeter of the ice.”
Syracuse could not convert on its opportunities. The Orange outshot the Tigers 15-9 in shots on goal in the period, but Bellina and the RIT defense remained strong.
With 2:22 remaining, Smith removed Kelley from the net. After 30 seconds, the Tigers killed all hopes of an SU comeback as Athena Vasdani fired the puck past two diving Orange defenders, giving RIT a 3-1 lead.
With the Orange trailing by two, Smith put Kelley back in the game but pulled her again with 1:07 remaining. RIT capitalized again, with Maloney capitalizing on the empty net.
“It was a pretty physical game from both teams,” White said. “When we were doing well, we were keeping our speed and staying in our systems. We got away from that in the last couple periods and allowed them to be physical on us.”
