The Key Takeaways From Syracuse Women’s Ice Hockey Over the Past Weekend.
By Gino Antimarino | @ginoantimarino
Syracuse (6-20-2, 3-10-1 CHA) split the second series of the season versus Robert Morris (10-16-0, 7-7-0 CHA) over the past weekend. The Orange fell in the first contest, despite a valiant comeback to force overtime. SU fell 4-3 against RMU on Friday, but then bounced back in game two to secure the victory, 2-1. The home ice win marked the first one since October 14th, when the Orange beat RPI, 3-2. Over 100 minutes of hockey was played between the Orange and the Colonials so let’s break down the takeaways from the last regular season matchups against Robert Morris.
Key Takeaways:
Perseverance
First things first, Syracuse played two solid games over the weekend and, even though it split the series, SU could have easily swept. On Friday, Syracuse gave up three straight goals in the middle period and made the hopes of securing a win in front of the home crowd dwindle. However, Head Coach Britni Smith rallied her troops for the final frame and the Orange came out flying. SU piled on nearly 20 shots in the final 20 minutes and generated good scoring chances. Coach Smith used a different word to describe her team’s effort on Friday.
“For us, it’s all about the process,” Smith explained at media ops on Monday. “So getting to these wins is taking a little longer than I think we would have liked, but we’ve just stuck with it and (we) got a resilient group in the locker room that’s very tight knit so it’s easy to come to the rink and work hard.”
The Orange struck twice in that third period to bring the packed Tennity crowd to life. Freshman Nea Tervonen found the back of the net for her second goal of the season. The SU forward was also named CHA rookie of the week for her performances from the weekend. Kambel Beacom, senior forward for Syracuse, tallied her first career goal to tie the game up with the goalie pulled. Unfortunately for the Orange, they could not fully complete the comeback in overtime, but nonetheless, an effort that Syracuse should be proud of.
Special Teams
The special teams for the Orange was a bit puzzling. Syracuse scored more times on the penalty kill than it did on the powerplay… With that being said, SU scored twice on the penalty kill in the series which gives the Orange three short-handed goals in the last four games. The penalty kill also shut down five of six power plays for the Colonials over the weekend. The powerplay, though, was a different story. The Orange converted once out of 10 tries on the PP and struggled to set up their offense in both games. RMU did a good job of causing havoc for SU and not allowing them to find clear passing lanes.
“The power plays have really been up and down through the season,” Coach Smith said. “I think it was just going back to the basics and what had found us success. In the past, I think we’ve gotten away from it a little bit.”
Allie Kelley
Can’t say her name enough. The SU netminder has continued to dominate between the pipes and this past weekend was no exception. Kelley stopped 45/49 shots on Friday and then 26/27 on Saturday. The second contest also saw the grad student reach another milestone: Setting the record for most saves in a single season at Syracuse. When asked about it after the game, Syracuse’s goaltender didn’t think too much about the accomplishment.
“I’m just happy we got the win on home ice,” Kelley responded. “It’s been a while.”
Kelley notched her 947th save (and then some) of the campaign which broke the previous record set by Lucy Schoedel in 2009-10. What’s crazy is that Kelley still has six games left in the regular season. The old save record could be absolutely smashed by the time the final game comes rolling around.
Overall
Syracuse won one out of the four games against Robert Morris this season. The Orange currently sit five points out of a playoff spot and take on a team this weekend that could give them a great opportunity to cut that point deficit by a substantial amount. Syracuse hits the road to take on Lindenwood (10-15-1, 5-8-1 CHA) on Friday and Saturday. The Lions have four more points than the Orange in the standings. Game times are at 7 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively.
