Down one goal with the game in the last two minutes, Clarkson gifted Syracuse a power play. 

Clarkson’s star player, Elizabeth Giguere, was sent to the box for hooking. With the Orange’s goalie pulled, Syracuse had a six-on-four and an opportunity to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Five shots later, the horn sounded and Syracuse went to the dressing room without ever finding the equalizer.

Syracuse (0-1) struggled on special teams all evening, taking seven penalties in its season-opening loss to Clarkson on Friday night at Tennity Ice Pavillion. SU head coach Paul Flanagan admitted that staying out of the box must be better going forward, after penalties helped Clarkson score a power-play goal and wear out the Orange. Consecutive penalties in the second period left the Orange defending down a player for around two minutes. 

“It’s typical in early season hockey,” Flanagan said. “The kids haven’t played in a long time and their feet stop and start pulling.”

With Syracuse playing short-handed so frequently, goaltender Ady Cohen stepped up and bailed out the Orange. Cohen finished with 20 saves after being peppered with shots all game. Many of Syracuse’s penalties created four-on-four situations. With the extra space on the ice, Clarkson’s speed wore out Syracuse’s defense and created two third-period goals.

“It’s tough,” said Cohen. “It definitely messes with the flow of the game a lot, especially when you go on a power play and then 10 seconds later it’s four-on-four.”

Lindsay Eastwood, one of the top penalty killers, scored a goal to tie the game heading into the first intermission. With Syracuse taking three penalties in the first period and then four more in the second, Clarkson ramped up the pressure.

“We just got to make sure we’re keeping our feet moving,” Eastwood said. “It’s vocalized in the locker by everyone, so everyone knows what we gotta do.”

It wasn’t just the penalty kill that hurt Syracuse. The power play was ineffective as well. Clarkson was penalized six times, giving Syracuse multiple opportunities to put points on the board. The Orange failed to get a shot off in four out of the six power plays. The Orange allowed a shorthanded goal after a giveaway. Flanagan was critical of his team’s lack of urgency on the man advantage.

“Digi (Jessica DiGirolamo) was on the offensive line and I think she was a little lackadaisical,” said Flanagan.

Taking too much time to set up on the power play allows the opponent to nullify shots and clear the puck out of the zone. Flanagan pointed out that when they’re playing one of the best teams in the country, mistakes are punished.

On Friday night, despite leading in the third period against the No. 3 team in the nation, the Orange paid for their unforced errors. 

“You look at the positives and there’s certainly a lot of bright spots,” Flanagan said.

Published on September 27, 2019 at 11:55 pm

Contact Gaurav: gshetty@syr.edu