Freshmen Takeover Leads Syracuse Ice Hockey Past Lindenwood 2-1 on the Road in Overtime
By Jared Valentin | @JaredValentin_
CHARLES, M.O. — It took an extra period of action, but with help from their freshmen, Syracuse ice hockey (6-6, 4-1 Atlantic Hockey America) narrowly beat Lindenwood (2-11, 1-4 AHA) on the road in overtime. The Orange have won four out of their first five matchups in conference play and improved to 6-1 away from Tennity Ice Pavilion.
SU and LWU both totaled nine shots on net in the first 20 minutes, but failed to get any to sneak through. After another scoreless period in the second, Lions forward Michaela Paulinyova finally ended the drought with an unassisted goal to get Lindenwood on the board.
That was the spark Syracuse needed.
17 seconds later, Orange forward Emma Gnade found the back of the net assisted by forward Stella Costabile and defender Sami Gendron to tie things up. It was the freshman’s fourth goal of the season, which put Gnade as the sole team leader in that category at the time.
After SU couldn’t capitalize on a power play late in the third period, the contest was sent into overtime, where another freshman stepped up to the occasion. 13 seconds into overtime, a tripping penalty was called on Paulinyova, putting the Orange on the power play again. This time, Syracuse made the most of it. One minute into overtime, SU forward Jordan Blouin scored unassisted, clinching the victory for Syracuse. The freshman notched her fourth goal of the 2025-26 campaign, tying Gnade for the most on the squad.
While Gnade and Blouin shined offensively, Syracuse goalie Ava Drabyk anchored the defense. The freshman racked up 22 saves and a .957 save rate, extending her streak to nine straight starts with at least 20 saves.
SU eyes the sweep when it wraps up the two-game series against Lindenwood Saturday. Puck drop is at 2 p.m. EST from Lindenwood Ice Arena in St. Charles, MO. For coverage of the second matchup and the entire first-half of Syracuse’s 2025-26 season, follow @JaredValentin_ and @CitrusTVSports on X/Twitter!
