Women’s Ice Hockey Loses to Lindenwood 2-0

By Adam Unger

SYRACUSE, N.Y.— The Orange couldn’t get the sweep on Saturday after beating the Lions on Friday. A new day brought a new game as Lindenwood took down Syracuse, 2-0. The Lions started off the game with renewed energy while Syracuse was a bit behind throughout the action.

“I thought they were a half step to a step quicker than they were last night,” head coach Paul Flanagan said. “They were stronger on their sticks, they were much more determined, and we didn’t respond.”

The College Hockey America foes picked up where they left off on Friday in another gritty matchup. The physicality of the tilt culminated in a boarding call on freshman forward Emma Polaski, who was dealt a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

“I was talking to the defensemen… [Assistant Coach] Brendon [Knight] assured me that it was a bad penalty,” Flanagan said.

While losing Polaski hurt the Orange’s depth at forward, it opened a door for the penalty kill to shine. Syracuse was able to kill all seven penalties that it faced, including a 5-on-3 with five minutes left in the second period.

“I think we did really well on the [penalty kill] today,” senior goalie Abbey Miller said. “We did a good job blocking shots… and clearing the puck when we get a chance.”

But Lindenwood’s penalty kill was just as strong. The Lions were in the sin bin seven times as well throughout the contest.

The game stayed scoreless through the first two frames. But a mess in front of the crease led to a Sierra Burt goal for the Lions with 17:48 to go in the third period. After that, the Orange just couldn’t capitalize.

“Everyone knows that we have to execute when we have the chance,” junior defenseman Allie Munroe said. “On the power play, when we have five on threes and five on fours in the third period when we’re down, we have to execute.”

Even though Syracuse had nothing to show for it, they had plenty of chances to score. The Orange outshot Lindenwood throughout the game; the final shot total was 24-18. But that didn’t stop Lindenwood junior goalie Jolene DeBruyn from picking up her first shutout of the season.

“DeBruyn is a good goalie. She had a tougher night last night, and you could see from… the start of the game, she was really playing well,” Flanagan said.

Syracuse took a timeout with 1:30 left in the third period. Once the Orange got possession of the puck, Abbey Miller went to the bench in exchange for a sixth skater.

Then, with just seconds left, sophomore center Taylor Girard scored an empty net goal to seal the deal for the Lions.

Despite back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, Syracuse has only two days of rest before the Clarkson Golden Knights come to Tennity Ice Pavilion.

“Moving forward, we have little time to feel sorry for ourselves because we have the defending national champions coming in here on Tuesday,” Flanagan said.