Ice Hockey Skates Into Its First Weekend
By John Boccio || @JohnBoccio23
The offense dominated Syracuse Ice Hockey’s 6-0 exhibition win over Windsor. The Orange scored five of their six in the opening two periods and outshot the Lancers 38-11 in those frames. SU had multiple standout skaters in the practice contest. Junior Heidi Knoll registered a pair of goals and an assist. Last season, the forward tended to sit behind upperclassmen. Now in an experienced spot herself, the Ontario native could make big strides this season. Speaking of experience, grad student Tatum White showed hers tremendously in the scrimmage. The attacker posted a goal and a blocked shot. In the faceoff circle, White won nearly 20 and only lost four which marked an 83% win rate. Sticking with forwards, Boston University transfer Jackson Kinsler lit the lamp once and recorded a trio of apples. The sophomore was the only player on the Orange who was on the ice for five or more goals. With the Terriers, Kinsler made just 17 appearances and put up two points. In high school though, the Wisconsin native showed off her playmaking abilities with 22 assists in 50 games.
The defense was also impressive throughout the matchup. Specifically, goaltender Bella Gould was promising in her time in front of the net. The sophomore only made one appearance last season for SU, but in this exhibition game, she racked up 26 saves to secure the shutout. However, Gould may not see the ice much when the regular season begins Saturday. That’s because netminder Allie Kelly will be good to go for her sixth year of collegiate hockey. Yes, you read that correctly. This season is the grad student’s sixth season of eligibility due to her redshirt freshman and sophomore years at Quinnipiac. Last season for the Orange, Kelley was outstanding. The capital district homer etched her name in SU history with her 65 saves against St. Lawrence. That’s the most single-game stops in Syracuse’s program history.
The ‘Cuse hope Kelley can have more performances like that against 7th-ranked Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday. Last weekend, UMD swept Ohio State in a two-game set. The Buckeyes have won the national championship two of the previous three years. The campaign OSU didn’t win, it was the runner-up. After the Bulldogs beat the Buckeyes, they jumped four spots in the rankings. All this to say, Minnesota-Duluth is a legit squad that could give Syracuse a lot of trouble. Especially since the two squads have never matched up before. UMD has played teams in the AHA, but never SU. Against AHA opponents, the Bulldogs are 13-3-1. The last time they played a team in the conference was in 2022 when UMD mauled Penn State 4-0. For context, the Orange dueled the Nittany Lions four times that season. SU lost all four of those games by north of 20 combined goals. That included an 11-3 loss in University Park and a 7-0 defeat at the Tennity Ice Pavilion.
Follow my Twitter @JohnBoccio23 for all the live in-game updates of the two tilts in Minnesota.
