Women’s Ice Hockey falls to Bemidji State in Season Opener

By Luke McGrath SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Women’s Ice Hockey team dropped their season opener against the Bemedji State Beavers Friday night at the Tennity Ice Pavilion.

The final score was 2-1 in a game and featured 16 penalties.

It was Syracuse that got on the board first, capitalizing on a 5 on 3 advantage. Senior Jessica Sibley netted the first Orange goal of the season assisted by freshman Savannah Rennie with just under eight minutes to play in the first period.

But that would be it for the Orange, finishing the night with just 12 shots. Head coach Paul Flanagan says that the team just got beat physically.

“I just thought they were so much stronger on their sticks and so much more determined,” Flanagan said about the Beavers.

In the second period, Bemedji State tied the game with a goal from sophomore forward Emily Bergland.

Then in the third period, Bemedji State’s junior forward Reilly Fawcett pounded home a rebound goal to put the Beavers ahead for good.

“So it’s just tough, that’s all,” Flanagan said about the loss. “It was just an ugly game.”

Coach Flanagan went on to explained why the Orange struggled tonight.

“They have to keep their heads up, move the puck quicker, really, use the width of the ice much better,” he said.

The Orange do have a lot of positives to take from Friday nights game. They successfully killed eight Bemidji State power plays and got a great performance from junior goaltender Abbey Miller who had 19 saves while giving up just two goals.

Syracuse battles Bemidji State again Saturday at the Tennity Ice Pavilion, with puck drop set for 3:00 PM.