Every dollar donated during December will go directly toward paying students to produce stories like this one. Give now and ensure a brighter future for The Daily Orange.

The puck flew up in the air, and Lauren Bellefontaine skated underneath it and knocked it down to the ice with her glove. She carried the puck into the Mercyhurst zone, past the right faceoff circle with the goal in her sight.

Bellefontaine, almost even with the right side of the net, launched a wrist shot that sped past Ena Nystrøm and into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1.

Syracuse (6-8-3, 5-3 College Hockey America) defeated Mercyhurst (13-6-2, 4-2 CHA) 3-1 on Saturday and played aggressively on offense to temporarily claim first place in CHA standings.

The first period was similar to Friday night’s game when the Orange struggled to convert on offense. Syracuse had 25 total shots but only managed to get 13 on the frame and consistently took shots from farther away, which was a part of their game plan to get the offense flowing.

“We’ve been harping on getting shots on net,” Bellefontaine said. “It doesn’t matter where you are on the ice, just get pucks on net.” 

Early on, Mercyhurst’s Kristy Pidgeon drew a hooking penalty, giving Syracuse a 5-on-4 advantage. The Orange struggled to connect passes, and although they managed three shots, the Mercyhurst defense blocked one and Nystrøm saved the other two.

When the Lakers got to full strength, they wasted no time scoring a goal. Mercyhurst put pressure on the Syracuse defense and took four shots in a span of a minute. Eventually, the Orange cracked when K.K. Thiessen took the puck down the left wing of Syracuse’s zone. She then dished the puck to an open Liliane Perreault who was unmarked in front of the net. Perreault tapped it past DeSmet to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead.

With four minutes remaining in the opening period, Sarah Marchand had an open long shot from the left wing, but she was unable to get the puck past Nystrøm. Syracuse finished the period with three shots all from different players, but none made it to the net as Anna Leschyshyn and Victoria Klimek both missed, and Shelby Calof had her shot blocked.

Syracuse was aggressive to start the second period when Jessica DiGirolamo took a long shot after Bellefontaine passed it to her off the faceoff. Rayla Clemons drew a hooking penalty, but Syracuse held strong and earned a penalty kill despite three shots from the Lakers. After returning to full strength, Bellefontaine scored the first goal of the night for the Orange, which energized the players and the crowd.

Despite conceding a 5-on-3, Syracuse stayed aggressive and even had a fast break opportunity when Abby Moloughney caught the Lakers attacking too high but missed the shot at the other end.

After Syracuse stopped a counter from Mercyhurst, Klimek again had another opportunity to score. She skated down the middle of the ice and launched a shot but watched as Nystrøm blocked the shot. Leschyshyn flew in and before Nystrøm could get possession of the puck, poked the rebound in to give SU a 2-1 lead.

“Coach really harped on us to drive the net and get those rebounds,” Leschyshyn said. “I think that’s how my goal came about.”

Vanessa Upson won the faceoff for Mercyhurst after the goal, which led to three shots by different Lakers players, but goaltender Arielle DeSmet prevented them from evening the score. As the period closed, Syracuse continued its attack and took three more shots in an attempt to distance itself from Mercyhurst but couldn’t convert.

Syracuse continued its aggressiveness into the third period, which included a stretch when it dominated the offensive end and took consecutive shots on Mercyhurst. Mae Batherson crossed the puck over with her stick past a couple of Mercyhurst defenders and took the shot from the middle of the Lakers’ zone, but Nystrøm gloved it. 

A minute later, Clemons had a chance to put Syracuse up 3-1 when she sped behind the Mercyhurst defense, leading to a one-on-one with Nystrøm. Clemons held the puck for too long and got too close to Nystrøm, who easily blocked the shot.

Klimek made up for her earlier misses when she claimed a loose puck and beat the Mercyhurst players to the center of the rink on the right wing. She launched a long shot and watched it sail into the empty net to secure Syracuse’s fifth conference win of the season.

“We just had to put our weight on our stick and shove them back,” Bellefontaine said. “I think we just let them shove us and we really didn’t shove them (yesterday), and I think that was the difference today.” 

Published on December 4, 2021 at 7:58 pm

Contact Adam: amccaffe@syr.edu