Syracuse ice hockey survives a slow start on the road in a 4-1 win over Lindenwood.
By: Carter Masterson | @cwmasterson16
Maryland Heights, Mo. – Syracuse (8-3, 6-3 AHA) came into Friday night aiming to get its weekend off on the right track when it visited Lindenwood (5-10, 2-7 AHA). Last weekend the ‘Cuse struggled to get going and the trip down to Missouri was the longest SU will make all season long. In the end the Orange conquered the distance and defeated the Lions 4-1.
Early on in the game the ‘Cuse looked like the 900 mile road trip took a toll, and the Lions started fast. Lindenwood controlled the offensive zone early and continuously turned chances on Ava Drabyk before getting one past her after a lucky bounce off a blocked shot fell right to a Lions stick half way through the first period. The one goal deficit did not deter SU and it closed the period strong with heavy pressure on the LU defense. It was a clean period for both squads with no penalties on either side, and both offenses got going early, however neither got too much success in the first 20 minutes.
The middle frame told a much different tale for Syracuse. An early penalty put SU in the box but it made the best of a bad situation. Emma Gnade buried on the break off a feed from Jackson Kinsler to tied up the game at one a piece. Each team took another penalty after that but nothing came for either team’s advantage. Late into the period, almost ten minutes later after momentum had swung back to neutral the ‘Cuse found its second goal on the day, this time from Rylee McLeod. Heading into the break it was all SU.
The final frame followed suit, with an early Syracuse goal. Stella Costabile scooped up a rebound from Emma Gnade’s shot and the Orange lead grew to two. After that the ‘Cuse continued to put the pressure on and controlled the pace of play the rest of the way. With just under four minutes left Lindenwood pulled its goalie, and SU instantly capitalized with Emma Gnade’s second goal of the day. After a three point day Gnade leads the team in points with 13, and also now totals four goals on the campaign.
That was all she wrote from Lindenwood for the first game, but both teams get a chance to rest, reset, and get back to battle tomorrow. Puck drop between the AHA foes is at 3 p.m. and I will have all the coverage on my X @cwmasterson16.
