Women’s Ice Hockey Shut Out 5-0 by Clarkson

By Sam Rothman

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse goaltender Abbey Miller hit her stick against the goal post in frustration after giving up three straight goals on ten shots in the first period. Sophomore Ady Cohen started in net for the Orange in the second period.

“I don’t think [Miller] played well at all to be honest with you,” said head coach Paul Flanagan. “I just don’t think it was her night.”

Syracuse women’s ice hockey came out strong against the Clarkson Golden Knights on Tuesday. However, struggles in the neutral zone at the end of the first period led to three straight goals for the reigning National Champions. The Orange found itself in a hole it could not get out of.

“We made some neutral zone mistakes late in the first period, which basically resulted in all three goals,” said Flanagan. “It’s unfortunate because we played really well for the first 16 minutes.”

Before giving up its first goal of the night, the Orange recorded eight shots on goal, and one chance almost trickled in past Golden Knights’ goaltender Shea Tiley. Emma Polaski found a falling Brooke Avery in front of Tiley, but Clarkson’s Savannah Harmon came to the rescue and recovered the puck from the crease just before it crossed the goal line.

At this point in the contest, Syracuse carried the momentum. But when Clarkson gained possession of the puck after that play, the Golden Knights took control of the game. With 3:33 left in the first period, senior Amanda Titus found the back of the net and Clarkson took the 1-0 lead.

Clarkson forward Loren Gabel worked her way around Syracuse defenseman Megan Quinn to record a shot on goal moments later. Gabel was denied by Miller, but Clarkson forward Elizabeth Giguere went top-shelf with the rebound to give her team the two-goal advantage.

Just 26 seconds later, Clarkson recorded another goal as Michaela Pejzlova put the puck past Miller. Syracuse quickly found itself down by three goals in just under four minutes.

But the Golden Knights were not done in the first period. Kristy Piedgeon scored just under a minute into the second period and Michaela Pejzlova tallied her second goal of the contest to make it a five goal game.

Flanagan said he felt the lack of a full effort on the ice from many of the forwards ultimately led to the loss. However, there was one line in particular that stuck out to Flanagan, for the right reasons.

“If there were three stars for us, it was those three…Logan [Hicks], Emma [Polaski], and Sarah [Stuehr],” said Flanagan. “I don’t know how they didn’t score. They played really well.”

Syracuse hopes the rest of the lines can improve as it hits the road to take on Mercyhurst in a weekend series on December 8 and 9. Flanagan said he needs every player to step up in these matchups.

“It’s going to take a consistent effort from our group for 60 minutes on both nights,” said Flanagan.