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Nine shots were taken within the first five minutes of Syracuse’s matchup against St. Lawrence. The Saints came out aggressive, attempting six of the nine. Still, the scoreboard remained blank.

In those five minutes, Syracuse’s goaltender Allie Kelley racked up three saves, while all of SU’s shot attempts were either blocked by St. Lawrence defenders or missed wide. However, those first five minutes didn’t foreshadow St. Lawrence’s offensive dominance over Syracuse throughout the game.

Syracuse (2-1-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Hockey America) fell 4-2 to No. 8 St. Lawrence (2-2-0, 0-0-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) in its first defeat of the season. The Orange were outshot 88-30 following two straight wins over Stonehill to begin the season. Throughout St. Lawrence’s relentless effort on goal, it scored three goals within two minutes of each other in the second period to propel its win.

SU’s defensive unit held firm in the Saints’ early shot attempts early on, but one of St. Lawrence’s 32 first-period shots was bound to go in. Sixteen minutes into the period, Claire Tyo scored her first goal in a Saints jersey. The graduate student was assisted by Aly McLeod and Anna Segedi.

While the Orange rallied together nine shots in the period, none of them were converted. Syracuse won just three fewer faceoffs than the Saints, but St. Lawrence’s backline forced turnovers and maintained constant possession.

The Saints found another scoring opportunity late in the first, as an attacker fired a shot from their red line. However, SU’s Charlotte Hallett got in the way, keeping its deficit from expanding. As the second period kicked off, not much changed. Syracuse was outshot by St. Lawrence 30-6 in the 20 minutes of play while the Saints tripled their lead.

Though the Orange scored first in the period. St. Lawrence’s Kristina Bahl was penalized for slashing, leading to a Syracuse power play. Just two minutes later, with the Saints’ shorthanded defense, Tatum White scored to tie the game at 1-1. Positioned between both offensive zones, White was assisted by Bryn Saarela and Charlie Kettyle.

But the deadlock was short-lived. Just four minutes after White’s goal, the Saints responded. McLeod was assisted by Segedi to return St. Lawrence to its one-goal lead. That wasn’t all, though.

Within the next minute and a half, the Saints tacked on two more goals. Following a Kennedy Wilson score, SU’s Heidi Knoll was called for cross-checking. Syracuse was down a skater, and St. Lawrence continued its pursuit.

On the power play, Bahl finally converted her sixth shot of the day to extend the lead to 4-1 going into the third period.

For Syracuse to mount a comeback, its backline needed to hold firm with St. Lawrence’s excessive shot attempts. It was successful. The Orange defense limited the Saints to no goals on their 26 shots in the third period. Kelley also made seven saves for SU in that span.

Syracuse’s offense came out with more aggression, outshooting St. Lawrence 10-7 through seven minutes. Finally, on its ninth shot, SU scored. Saarela tallied her first goal for the Orange. The Holy Cross transfer redirected a Maya D’Arcy slap shot to trim SU’s deficit to two goals.

As the Orange attempted to claw back following Saarela’s goal, they were outshot by the Saints 19 to six. While Kelley posted a season-high 41 saves, the offense and defense alike couldn’t support her.

In SU’s first two games against Stonehill, its defense was consistent with its plan of attack, but tonight, SU’s defense floundered. It was the first time Syracuse allowed more than 50 shots since Jan. 20, when it allowed 53 to Penn State.

Though the Orange won 31 faceoffs while the Saints won just one more, SU’s 10 penalty minutes and net of 58 shots allowed came back to bite it in its 4-2 loss.

Published on October 8, 2024 at 10:06 pm

Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_