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When Jackson Kinsler transferred to Syracuse from Boston University this summer, she had appeared in just 17 games in one season with the Terriers, totaling one goal and one assist as a rotation piece.

However, when she arrived at SU as a sophomore, her role immediately increased. Kinsler started and scored in the season opener, as the Orange took down Stonehill 4-0. She’s since been one of Syracuse’s most productive offensive players but hadn’t reached the heights she knew she was capable of.

“Her game was not struggling necessarily, but it hadn’t been finding the points that I think that she expects for herself,” SU head coach Britni Smith said.

Friday night, however, Kinsler showed her best. The sophomore forward tallied two goals and two assists as the Orange (9-20-0, 7-8-0 Atlantic Hockey America) took down Lindenwood (3-22-2, 2-12-1 AHA) 5-2. Kinsler’s career-high four points helped fuel Syracuse’s highest-scoring game of the season.

“(Friday’s performance) just shows her ability to stick with it, continue to play her game and battle through some of those tough bounces she was getting,” Smith said postgame. “It was nice to see her find the back of the net a couple times.”

Kinsler’s big night started just one minute into the game. Positioned on the boards behind the net, she received a pass from Nea Tervonen and dumped it off to Stella Costabile, who was moving right-to-left behind the goal. The freshman scored on a wraparound, slotting the puck into the near post before goaltender Anna LaRose could recover. Sixty-one seconds in, the Orange had the lead.

Kinsler was at the center of SU’s two second-period goals. First, she tallied another assist before scoring herself.

Three-and-a-half minutes after conceding an equalizer, she led SU’s efforts on the power play.
Kinsler skated down the right wing and played a pass to Sami Gendron, who dumped it off to Tatum White at the top of the left circle. She uncorked a wrister into the top left corner to regain Syracuse’s one-goal advantage.

“We were able to stack shifts on top of each other,” Smith said. “I thought our offense was just generated from simple hockey. Get pucks deep, get possession and then let the offense come.”

As SU looked for more insurance, Kinsler took the scoring efforts into her own hands. After gaining another power play four minutes after White’s goal, she found a goal of her own on a textbook tip-in. As Kinsler acted as a screen on LaRose, Gendron ripped a pass her way from just inside the blue line. With her back to the net, Kinsler redirected the puck between both her and her defender’s legs into the bottom corner. The power play again led the charge for Syracuse, as it ended the second period up 3-2.

“With (Kinsler) being on our top power play, she gets a lot of time, and it’s great to see her get the reward in front with the tip-in,” Smith said.

In the third period, Lindenwood began to claw closer to level the game, but SU’s potent attack left nothing to chance in the final minutes. A goal from Gendron with five minutes remaining put the Orange in the clear, but again, it was Kinsler adding the finishing touch.

Seconds after going up 4-2, Jocelyn Fiala recovered the puck in her own defensive zone and worked across the right-wing boards. With Kinsler to her left in a two-on-two chance, Fiala played the puck to the left circle. Kinsler found space and ripped a wrister into the top right corner, securing a crucial conference win for SU.

“As much as I was excited that I got my second goal of the game, I was just really happy to win it for our seniors,” Kinsler said. “That was going through my head. Just get the win for the team and the win for them.”

The win is an important one for the Orange. It brings them three points ahead of the Rochester Institute of Technology for third place in the AHA. With five games remaining in conference play, Syracuse will look to leaders like Kinsler, now second on the team with 18 total points, to propel it forward.

Being a primary option may have seemed like a distant reality when she sparingly played at BU last season, but Syracuse has relied on Kinsler heavily in her sophomore year. It’s an opportunity she cherishes, and she made the most of it Friday night.

“I can’t express how grateful I am to this program,” Kinsler said. “Especially to this coaching staff, the returners, all of the newcomers as well. Everyone has made me feel like a part of this team.”

Published on January 31, 2025 at 8:55 pm

harrispemberton@gmail.com | @HarrisPemb6