Syracuse Women’s Ice Hockey Battles to 2-2 Tie with RIT
By John Dales
Citrus TV Women’s Ice Hockey Beat Reporter
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Syracuse (10-16-2, 8-4-2 College Hockey America) and RIT (9-16-3, 2-11-1 CHA) had a rematch under 24 hours after they played each other the night before. For the second time in as many nights, the Orange put up an ungodly amount of shots on goal. SU finished the game with 63 shots on goal, but it wasn’t enough to earn a victory as the scoreboard read 2-2 after 3 periods of play and an overtime sesion.
Just as was the case yesterday, the Orange got plenty of good looks in the first period. SU fired 24 shots on goal against Tigers’ goalie Tara Lanteigne. Just like last night, Lanteigne turned away every shot she faced through one. RIT couldn’t get much going on the other end in the first, getting only ten shots on goal, which were all saved by SU’s Allison Small. After a defensive first period, the Orange and the Tigers headed into the locker rooms with a scoreless tie.
The 2nd period continued the same storylines as the 1st. Syracuse cycled the puck well to get good looks, but just could not get past Lanteigne. That is, until the final moments of the period. With 18 seconds left to play in the 2nd, Emma Polaski put one in the back of the net off an assist from Mae Batherson. On the other side, RIT had even less success than in the first period. The Tigers had just seven shots on goal in the period, and none of them got past Small. The Orange led 1-0 through two periods thanks to the late goal and tight defense.
The third period is where the Tigers struck back. First, RIT’s Jaymee Nolan scored a goal from the left circle to tie things up with 10:25 left to play. Just over a minute later, Nolan got another one to shockingly put RIT ahead 2-1 with 9:11 left to play. That was not the end of this one though. Syracuse’s Abby Moloughney answered late in the third to tie things back up, and force overtime.
The overtime session came and went without many good chances for either team. Both RIT and SU had two shots on goal, but didn’t score. The horn sounded after five minutes of extra hockey, and the game ended in a tie.
A weekend sweep would have been monumental for the Orange, who now sit at 8-4-2 in CHA play. This furthers the distance in the conference standings between 3rd place SU and Mercyhurst (9-3-2) along with Robert Morris (10-3-1). Syracuse will play both of them twice before the regular season ends though. Up next for the Orange is a weekend doubleheader against Lindenwood (5-19-3, 3-11 CHA). Both those games will be at Tennity Ice Pavilion in Syracuse.
jdales@syr.edu | @JohnDales_
