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Syracuse had every reason to lack confidence entering its matchup against Boston University. The Orange had never beaten the Terriers before and fell 6-1 when the two teams met last season.

Despite this, Syracuse got off to the fast start it sorely missed during its recent losing streak. Off a faceoff win by Tatum White, the Orange worked the puck to the front of the net. Receiving a pass from White, Charli Kettyle found herself alone with the goalie and slipped the puck in the five-hole for her second goal of the season.

“Wearing a letter, she’s (Kettyle) someone who leads in a variety of ways,” SU head coach Britni Smith said of Kettyle. “She’s doing a lot for our team in a number of areas.”

In its fourth all-time matchup with Boston University (5-3-0, 4-1-0 Hockey East Association), Syracuse (2-6-0, 0-0-0) started strong in the first period by jumping ahead with the opening goal. However, special teams blunders from the Orange allowed the Terriers to rattle off four unanswered goals for a 4-1 victory.

Looking to avoid a sixth straight loss, the Orange were urgent for a fast start after scoring just two goals in their last three outings.

SU’s forecheck, which had stalled out in its recent stretch of games, caused chaos early. The relentless pressure by the Orange forced them into multiple turnovers, allowing them to use their defense to set up an attack.

SU’s aggressive start paid off. Kettyle scored for her team-leading fifth point of the season, and the Orange continued to use their defenders on the points to generate shots on net. By the end of the opening frame, Syracuse led in shots on goal 8-4 with half of its shots coming from the defense.

But SU’s wheels began to fall off in the second.

White was assessed a holding penalty 46 seconds into play, giving the Terriers their first crack on the power play. This would become just the first of 11 penalties taken between the two sides in a gritty, physical remainder of the game.

Before Friday’s contest, the Orange boasted the sixth-best player advantage unit in the country. Placing three players along the blue line, SU’s powerplay prided itself on building its attack from defenders as its forwards tried to create a screen in front of the goalie. The strategy had worked well so far for the unit, which posted a nearly 30% conversion rate entering Friday.

But Boston’s penalty kill was dominant the entire night. The Terriers effectively shut down SU’s usually potent attack by using sticks to clog up shooting lanes and blocking any shooting attempts from the blue line by its defenders. As a result, Syracuse’s player advantage went 0-for-2 in the second period and eventually finished the game at a lowly 0-for-4.

“BU did a great job on their kill,” Smith said. “(They) really put pressure on us and didn’t allow us to get set up and utilize the number of power plays we had tonight.”

At the other end of the ice, SU’s penalty killers had their hands full in the middle frame. The Orange had surrendered four power play goals in their last three games, and their shorthanded struggles continued against Boston.

On their second chance of the night following an interference call on Charlotte Hallett, the Terriers converted on the player advantage. At the top of the right circle, Clara Yuhn beat Allie Kelley glove side with a snapshot to tie the game at one. Just over two minutes later, a failed clearance by the Orange led to a scramble in Kelley’s crease. Boston’s Lola Reid found the loose puck at the left side of the crease and buried the rebound to make it 2-1.

By the end of the period, the momentum completely shifted to the Terriers’ bench. They outshot the Orange 11-6, who now desperately needed a tying goal after possessing the lead for the first 16 minutes of the frame.

But just like in its loss against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Syracuse was silenced in the third period when it needed to score the most.

Bringing their momentum into the third period, the Terriers wasted no time getting back on the attack. As the Orange struggled to break out of their zone, it wasn’t long until something gave for Boston. Just 2:01 in, Reid fired home a wrist shot off a feed from behind the goal line from Luisa Welcke for her second-straight tally of the game.

For the rest of the period, the Orange began to find their stride again on offense, but Terriers’ goalie Callie Shanahan stood tall in goal. She finished the period with 15 saves, mostly routine, as the Orange were again shut down on the power play on both of their chances in the third period.

Midway through the period, Christina Vote put the game all but out of reach with an innocent-looking shot from distance that got past Kelley. The tally brought SU’s deficit to 4-1 as it went on to suffer its second come-from-behind loss in as many games.

“That’s something that we’ve been working a lot on, is generating that offense,” Smith said. “That next step (scoring), it’s a process for us, but it’ll come.”

Published on October 25, 2024 at 10:48 pm

Contact Matthew: mgray06@syr.edu