Syracuse Steamrolls Lindenwood, Advance in CHA Tournament
By Ben Spector
CitrusTV’s Ice Hockey Beat Reporter
ERIE, Pa. – Syracuse (11-8-1, 8-6-1 College Hockey America) entered tonight’s game on a seven-game win streak, and that streak extended to eight. SU took down Lindenwood (2-14-1, 2-14-1 CHA) in the first round of the CHA Tournament 6-0. Allison Small started in net and made 21 saves. Amelia Van Vliet came on and made 8 saves in the final 14 minutes.
The first period was all about the Orange. Five minutes into the game, Victoria Klimek redirected a shot from Kristen Siermachesky to make it 1-0. This marks Klimek’s first goal since February 13th against Lindenwood. The forward added an assist later in the period, as she gave Jessica DiGirolamo a beautiful feed through the slot to make it 2-0. DiGirolamo also broke a little scoreless drought. The last time the defender scored a goal was February 14th against Lindenwood. SU entered the first intermission up two goals.
The second period was a lot of the same for Paul Flanagan’s squad. Not even thirty seconds in, forward Abby Moloughney moved the puck into the slot and released a laser of a shot to make the lead three. Moloughney has been on fire recently as she now has a four-game goal streak. This goal put the game away for Syracuse. The Orange went on to score two more goals in the period. Rayla Clemons scored off a beautiful feed from Jessica DiGirolamo and Mae Batherson scored on a two-person powerplay. Syracuse had a five-goal lead going into the second break.
Four minutes into the third period, Brynn Koocher put the puck into the back of the net after a scramble in front. That made it 6-0, and it was smooth sailing from there for Syracuse. Allison Small exited the game shortly after Koocher’s goal, but that was not because of an injury. Syracuse, with the 6-0 win, moves on to the semi-finals where they will play the number one team in the CHA in Penn State (16-2-2, 16-2-2 CHA). The puck is set to drop at 2:00.
@bespector | bespecto@syr.edu
