Last second goal lifts Mercyhurst over Syracuse 2-1

Coming off a 5-2 loss against Mercyhurst on Friday, Syracuse women’s ice hockey had a quick turnaround to face the same tough team in a Saturday matinee game.

Tatum White recorded the first shot for the Orange, taking the puck down the right side off a faceoff and sending the puck from just past the blue line toward Mercyhurst’s Ena Nystrom, who stopped it with her chest pad. Both teams exchanged time in each other’s zones, but no one capitalized.

At 8:46 in the first, Kristen Siermachesky went to the box on the game’s first penalty. Siermachesky was called for interference after her and a Mercyhurst player took down Allison Small in her crease, but the ref kept his arm up and refused to blow the play dead while Small stayed down on the ice. All two minutes of penalty time ticked off the clock without interruption.

The gritty style from Friday night’s game continued into Saturday afternoon, with hard hits and chippy play from basically the first puck drop. With just under five minutes left in the opening period, two Syracuse players sandwiched a Mercyhurst player going after the puck. Lauren Bellefontaine headed to the box for only the second time this season as the 5-foot-6 junior forward was called for a bodycheck late in the period. Mercyhurst kept pressure on Small but she stood tall and the Orange fended off the Lakers to kill another penalty.

At the end of one period of play, both teams remained scoreless, but Mercyhurst edged out Syracuse with 10 shots on goal to Syracuse’s seven.

The Lakers opened the middle frame with four shots against Small before two minutes had even ticked off the clock. When action finally moved to the other side of the rink, the Orange received their first man advantage of the game when Calista Rowbottom was called for holding at 1:58. Like in yesterday’s game, Syracuse played tic-tac-toe with the puck for the majority of the power play and the Lakers sent it down ice to kill off the final 15 seconds.

With 13:50 still on the clock, Small swallowed another shot with her glove, but behind the net a referee caught Mercyhurst’s Sara Boucher on a crosscheck, and it was now the Lakers fighting off back-to-back penalties. Jessica DiGirolamo sent a shot from dead center towards Nystrom, but she stopped the puck and the Lakers briefly headed in Smalls’ direction with speed.

Mercyhurst returned to full strength and immediately charged down toward Small on a two-on-one. It looked like Chantal Ste-Croix would score the first goal of the game, but Syracuse’s senior netminder got a piece of the puck and it bounced off the post. Small and her defense stopped a barrage of stick-pokes before the Orange cleared the zone.

Both teams struggled to control the puck and finish passes, and with Nystrom and Small turning away every shot, the game remained tied at zero as the second period came to a close.

The Orange played a much stronger game in the middle frame, outshooting the Lakers 16-10. At the end of two, Abby Moloughney and Victoria Klimek led the team with three shots on goal apiece. Strong at the faceoff dot was Sarah Thompson, who won nine of 14 head-to-head battles.