Syracuse concedes 3 goals in 4 minutes in 5-2 loss to Mercyhurst

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When Abby Moloughney bore down on Ena Nystrøm and fired a wrist shot above the sophomore’s outreached glove, a cheer from Syracuse’s bench was quickly followed by eerie silence. The automated horn that normally sounds through Tennity Ice Pavilion when a goal’s scored was delayed. 

Friday night, everything for the Orange seemed to be slightly off kilter. Moloughney’s goal — her 60th career point at SU — brought the score to 5-1. It was merely a consolation.

Allison Small allowed four goals, the most since Dec. 11 against Penn State, and freshman goalie Amelia Van Vliet saw her first game action of the season. Multiple Orange players got into shoving matches in front of Nystrøm, and the typically mild-mannered Paul Flanagan was constantly exacerbated with the lack of Mercyhurst penalties from referees.

Syracuse’s early momentum did not last, as the Orange (3-7-1, 3-5-1 College Hockey America) fell to Mercyhurst (5-4-1, 5-4-1) 5-2 after the Lakers found the net three times in four minutes at the start of the third period. After beating RIT in its first home game since Jan. 23 on Wednesday, SU was unable to repeat its success against Mercyhurst.

A fast start against RIT on Wednesday led to a 3-0 victory, its first of 2021. But Flanagan warned that taking the last 20 minutes slow like the Orange did in their win could lead to bad losses moving forward. Mercyhurst’s three third-period goals were exactly what he wanted to prevent.

Despite 11 more shots on goal in the first period for Syracuse, the first goal on the night came from Mercyhurst forward Chantal Ste-Croix. Jersey Phillips’ backhand shot was saved by Small, her second consecutive save of the possession. The senior let the puck fall to her blind side, however, which allowed Ste-Croix to gather the rebound and put the Lakers up 1-0 2:11 into the game.

Mercyhurst, who sat two points ahead of the Orange in the standings heading into Friday’s game, found itself defending frequently throughout the first period. Beginning with a wrist shot from the blue line by Shelby Calof, the Orange pressured the Lakers defenders and sophomore goalie.

SU won 13 of 20 first-period face-offs, including one that led to a Moloughney shot that sailed right of the goal. And although the Orange finished with nine more victorious face-offs than Mercyhurst, momentum shifted late, and they only won three of 10 in the third period.

Jessica DiGirolamo, a defenseman, led the team with 17 shots, 10 of which were on goal. After Wednesday’s two-goal performance against RIT, Flanagan said she’s consistently created more offensive opportunities for the Orange.

Gathering the puck after an SU face-off win, DiGirolamo circled deep in Orange territory, looked down the ice and began to break away from her defender. She was able to stay ahead of the Laker until she fired a shot that bounced off the helmet of Nystrøm. With 1:30 left in the first period, DiGirolamo found another face-off-winning puck in her possession and forced Nystrøm to make another diving save.

By the third period, however, the Orange’s hot offensive start had cooled. Postgame, Flanagan said that “nothing changed” on multiple occasions. He highlighted SU’s need to “accentuate the positives,” because “our kids did a lot of good things.” 

“Other than those goals going in, our kids kept playing the same. There wasn’t any change in my opinion,” Flanagan said.

The Lakers came out of the break looking to put SU away and secure a winning record in CHA play. Freshman Sara Boucher scored a minute after the third period began, putting Mercyhurst up 3-0 with her fifth goal of the season. In the next four minutes, Syracuse’s manageable two-goal deficit grew to five, halting any chance at an Orange comeback.

Calista Rowbottom collected the loose puck near Small’s crease. Small had already been peppered with two shots from the Lakers and had left the gloveside area behind her open. Rowbottom nudged the puck behind Small. Within seconds, Flanagan pulled Small for the backup goalie, the first time that’s happened this season. 

Small began the evening just as hot as the rest of Syracuse, with five saves in the first period, but she finished the game on the end of the bench, watching. Flanagan said Small would be starting tomorrow’s 3 p.m. rematch against Mercyhurst, adding that he told her to “just get your head up and put this behind you.”

“When you’re the last line of defense, there’s a lot of questions about play and playing behind the net,” Flanagan said. “She knows it, and she’s responsible for it.”

During the second period, SU’s lengthy offensive possessions were stifled by fast-break skates from Mercyhurst. With seconds left in their second of three five-on-three power plays, Syracuse’s play was halted when Nystrøm trapped the puck. The Orange lost the ensuing face off, and the penalty was killed.

Earlier that period, freshman Rayla Clemons moved right and looked to have a clear shot on Nystrøm’s weak side. As she slid the puck side to side, a Laker defender moved her out of position and allowed Nystrøm to gobble up the shot.