Defensive Miscues Sting Syracuse in 6-2 Loss
By Andrew Della Piana | @dellie_5
TROY, N.Y. – Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in modern superstition. Syracuse women’s ice hockey (2-3-0, 0-0 CHA) fell victim to that first-hand tonight in a 6-2 loss to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (4-0-3, 0-0 ECAC). The Orange have dropped their third straight contest as the Engineers are off to their best start in program history since the 2005-06 season.
Both teams got off to a slow start in the first frame, as it wasn’t until the 3:11 mark when RPI broke through with the first goal. Riena Jahnke scored on a tip in front of the net on Andrea Trnkova’s point shot to give the Engineers a 1-0 lead. Ellie Kaiser delivered 29 seconds later, putting her team up 2-0 at the end of the first period.
With 4:10 remaining in the second, Mik Todd capitalized on a breakaway to cut the Engineers’ advantage to 2-1. Less than a minute later, Heidi Knoll retrieved a loose puck after a Marielle McHale faceoff win and unleashed a shot from the slot for her third tally of the season.
Before the period was up, the Engineers scored again, with Maddy Papineau slamming home a puck in the crease with 17 seconds remaining to put RPI back ahead 3-2. Within 16 ticks off the clock, Asiah Taylor-Walters raced down the right wing boards into the zone and ripped a shot that reached the top portion of the net to make it 4-2 RPI as the teams went to the locker room.
Syracuse made a few defensive blunders in the third, and RPI added two goals to round out the score. Despite not allowing a power play goal for the third game in a row, the Orange’s power play unit never gained momentum. The team earned eight minutes of five-on-four action after the Engineers committed a total of four penalties. SU went 0-4 on the opportunities while having the woman-advantage.
SU returns to action tomorrow night, traveling back to the 315 to face RPI in the final game of the home-and-home weekend series. Opening faceoff is slated for 4 p.m. Follow @Dellie_5 on X for live in-game updates and coverage for everything Syracuse women’s ice hockey all semester long.
