Syracuse falters down the stretch in 4-1 loss to Mercyhurst
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With a two-skater advantage due to penalties, Mercyhurst’s Sydney Pedersen got the puck between the top of the faceoff circles after a scuffle behind the net. Looking to her left, she saw Vanessa Upson. The forward received a feed on the left post from Pederson and a quick shot put the Lakers in front 2-1 with 5:43 left in the second period.
Amidst a hectic second period, the Lakers scored the go-ahead goal and never looked back. Mercyhurst (17-5-1, 13-6 College Hockey America) added two more in the third to spoil the Orange’s senior day in a 4-1 victory over Syracuse (7-23-3, 4-13-2 CHA).
With an all-senior starting lineup, Syracuse tried to establish momentum early on. After quick line changes, Rachel Teslak and Kate Holmes both had shots that got to Mercyhurst goalkeeper Ena Nystrøm.
But after SU’s quick start cooled down, Mercyhurst started to show why it is a top-two seed in the CHA.
Just over four minutes into the game, Kylee Mahoney skated down the right side of the ice and wristed a shot from the right faceoff zone. The puck easily went past Amelia Van Vliet, in her first start of the year, to give the Lakers an early 1-0 lead.
Mercyhurst established an offense off of the early goal. Eight of the first nine shots on goal belonged to the Lakers.
“I think tonight was about our seniors so obviously didn’t want to start slow there,” Syracuse head coach Britni Smith said postgame. “But our focus was really making sure that we played 60 minutes for those who no longer are gonna be wearing the block S.”
SU almost reset the score when Darci Johal, in her last game for the Orange, darted from the right boards to the goal. Fancy stickwork got her past two Mercyhurst defenders, but a leaning save by Nystrøm kept the Orange scoreless.
As the Mercyhurst offense began to establish control in their o-zone, SU fell into its season-long pattern of struggling to find shots.
Syracuse tried spacing out the Lakers when on defense. But skilled Mercyhurst skating tested Van Vliet’s abilities. The senior faced 20 shots in the period, saving 19 of them. This kept the lead at 1-0 for Mercyhurst through 20 minutes.
This set up one of the most aggressive and bizarre periods of the whole season. SU began the second with a burst of energy. Its hectic skating was contrasted with Mercyhurst’s calm, goal-up demeanor.
The antics started five minutes into the period when Mercyhurst’s Henlee Mahoney got called for body checking.
The Orange tried to take advantage with four shots in the two minutes with a skater up. The puck did not leave Syracuse’s o-zone. While Syracuse couldn’t convert a power play goal, the Orange suddenly had momentum. Then, with 11:22 left in the second, they cashed in.
Trapped in the right corner of the o-zone, Johal passed up the right board to Jocelyn Fiala at the blue line. The forward quickly passed to Maya D’Arcy at the center point. The sophomore lauded a wrist shot to even the game.
“The top left corner (was) wide open,” D’Arcy said after the game. “Might as well shoot.”
The Orange were not able to celebrate for long, though. Just over a minute later, Syracuse’s Charlotte Hallett got called for hooking, a hit from behind and a game misconduct. This added up to an ejection for Hallett and a seven-minute Mercyhurst power play.
The teams both played with added aggression after this call. After Syracuse did not get a picking call the bench wanted, the Orange had two clear breakaways. But both Johal and Sarah Thompson were stopped at the net to keep the game tied.
With less than seven minutes in the period, the penalties started back up again. D’Arcy got a double minor for roughing and high sticking while Mercyhurst’s Sara Boucher got booked for roughing on the same play.
With players heading in and out of the penalty box, the Lakers took advantage. After missing a point-blank shot from the right side, Upson scored the go-ahead goal.
The Lakers almost doubled up their lead when Teslak got called for a delay of game near the Mercyhurst goal with 4:36 to go in the period. This led to a penalty shot from Megan McKay. But Van Vliet stuck out her left leg at just the right time to save the shot and keep the game at a manageable 2-1 deficit.
“We’re really working on communicating … Either having the lanes open or going up and blocking the puck, it was really good throughout the game,” Van Vliet said.
After a busy 10 minutes of penalties and scoring, the teams settled down for the last quarter of the period. Both teams traded blows, but no major chances kept the Lakers up one heading into the third.
“Kind of got in some penalty trouble (in the second),” Smith said. “We had a good kill, couldn’t get the five on three done but again, just continue(d) to be positive on the bench and enjoy the last two periods we had with each other.”
The Lakers proceeded to take over in the third.
Olivia Cvar danced with the puck past the red line toward the o-zone for the Lakers. But before she passed the blue line she saw Thea Johansson. A quick pass gave the sophomore plenty of room to skate up the middle, and a few feet out from the goal she fired a goal in. Just under a minute into the period, the Lakers took a 3-1 lead.
Less than five minutes later, Pedersen would score another one to establish a dominant three-goal lead. A strong backline on defense prevented any solid chances for the Orange. And despite three third-period penalties for the Lakers, Syracuse could not take advantage.
