Madison Primeau’s hat trick propels Syracuse ice hockey to 4-1 victory
Madison Primeau’s hat trick propels Syracuse ice hockey to 4-1 victory
Syracuse forward Madison Primeau solidified a hat trick and the Orange’s third straight win on Friday against Lindenwood.
The score was 3-1 Syracuse with three minutes gone by in the final period of play. Both teams played a physical game up until this point, but it soon became clear which team wanted the win more.
Primeau was responsible for two of her team’s goals, and she was hungry for her third. She positioned herself in front of the Lindenwood net as forward, Sarah Thompson, skated with the puck along the boards.
Thompson made a quick cut inside, sending a pass to Primeau at the crease. The puck was welcomed by Primeau with a quick flick of the stick that sent it past Lions goaltender Natalie Ferenc. Primeau’s goal secured a hat trick for herself and a win for her team.
“We gave Maddie the puck in the locker room and her teammates were really excited for her,” Syracuse head coach Britni Smith said. “That’s part of our culture. These individual accolades come from team success.”
As the first period began, it showed no signs that it would become such a blowout. The puck drop was won by Syracuse, but quickly taken away by Lindenwood. A minute later, Lions forward Kaitlin Finnegan stole the puck in Syracuse’s defensive zone, but her shot attempt in front of goaltender Arielle DeSmet went left of the post.
Four minutes into the first period, the Lions had to play with just four skaters on the ice after Lindenwood defender Sarah Waszkielewicz was penalized for a body check on Syracuse’s Tatum White.
The Orange immediately made the most of the advantage in numbers as defender Hannah Johnson quickly put the puck in the back of the Lindenwood net three seconds into the power play. Johnson’s goal allowed Syracuse to grasp an early 1-0 lead.
“We’ve continued to talk about getting quick starts, so when we came out and scored early, it was nice to see,” Coach Smith said.
Let the hats fly for @MadisonPrimeau! pic.twitter.com/6LZ2SDtR1k
— Syracuse Ice Hockey (@CuseIce) November 4, 2022
Lindenwood’s shot accuracy continued to be a problem throughout the first period. At the 8:40 mark, forward Molly Henderson passed the puck into the slot to teammate Thea Jørgensen, but her slap shot went wide of DeSmet’s net.
Then, things got really physical.
With 9:31 on the clock, Thompson found herself in the penalty box after body-checking Lindenwood’s Emma Hoen into the boards. Before the Lions could capitalize on this opportunity, they found themselves dealing with a penalty of their own.
Freshman defender Sarah Davies was forced to make her way to the box after cross-checking Syracuse’s Mae Batherson into the boards.
Soon both teams returned to full strength, but it seemed that some scores still remained unsettled.
With five minutes left to play in the first period, the players skated up to the face-off circle in Syracuse’s defensive zone. The entire time Syracuse defender Kambel Beacom skated up, she was staring down Lindenwood forward Sydney Rarick.
After Lindenwood’s shot off the puck drop was saved by DeSmet, things finally boiled over. It looked like Rarick had a few words to say to Beacom as they stood in front of the crease, prompting a shove from Beacom with her stick.
The situation was quickly de-escalated by teammates and referees, but it stood out because the teams were showing a physicality that’s not usually seen at the Tennity Ice Pavilion.
As the clock ticked down to the final three minutes of play, more penalties occurred. Ten seconds after Primeau received an elbowing penalty, the Lions got charged with one of their own as Davies was charged with hooking.
As soon as the Orange returned to full strength, Primeau dashed into the offensive zone, finding the puck at the crease and sending it past Ferenc in the Lions’ goal to give her team a two goal lead.
“Maddie’s someone that gives us depth on the third line,” Coach Smith said. “She moved her feet and kept her game simple.”
The period came to an end soon after, but the physicality of the first 20 minutes carried over into the next.
One minute into the second period, both sides got into something of a scuffle in front of Ferenc’s net. Thompson found herself in a shoving match with Lindenwood’s Madilynn Hickey. Primeau soon rushed over to back up her teammate, but the referees got there before things got too out of hand.
Two minutes later, the Lions’ offense finally started clicking. Lindenwood forward Morgan Neitzke skated down the left side into Syracuse’s defensive zone, wrapped around the net and found her teammate Kaitlin Finnegan in front of DeSmet’s net. Finnegan flicked the puck into the back of the net to cut the Syracuse lead to 2-1.
But the Orange soon countered with a goal of their own.
With four minutes left to play in the period, Primeau got the puck in front of Ferenc, skated back a few feet, and rifled off a shot into Lindenwood’s net. Her second goal of the night gave the Orange a 3-1 lead, which they held as the buzzer sounded to end the second period.
“I just went to the net, and put it on goal,” Primeau said. “I tried to put myself in areas that would help the team.”
Lindenwood won the face-off to start the third period, but soon allowed Primeau to get her third goal of the night to give the Orange a 4-1 lead. The Lions tried to revive their offense but couldn’t muster many good chances.
Lindenwood found themselves with an opportunity with five minutes left to play, but DeSmet made a quick stick save to deflect the puck, ending any hopes of a comeback.
“Tonight we just kept it simple. We made clean passes, found opportunities, and put the rebounds in the net,” Coach Smith said.
The game soon came to an end with the Orange winning 4-1. Syracuse will try to build on this momentum as they prepare for their rematch against Lindenwood on Saturday at 3 p.m.
is an undeclared student in the 2026 class and a contributor for The NewsHouse.
