Saarela’s hat trick helps SU Ice Hockey get back in the win column

As the first half of the 2024-25 season ends, Syracuse Women’s Ice Hockey aim to end the semester on a high note. Thankfully, the Orange are already halfway towards that goal after a hat-trick by Bryn Saarela aided them in the 4-1 win against Robert Morris.

Last night marked the first hat trick of the graduate forward’s career, and she had nothing but praise for her teammates and coaches.

“I could not do it without the people behind me,” Saarela said regarding the defense. “My line and everybody else, it’s a good feeling, but the people behind me were what made it happen.”

Not only was the defense on point, but a ton of power plays were distributed in favor of SU. Throughout the game, Syracuse had five power plays in comparison to RMU’s three. However, the only time the Orange scored off from Saarela was in the first period, which was right after Tatum White got the game started with a goal of her own. 

Fortunately for the Orange, Saarela would score the final three goals for the Orange in a performance that nobody saw coming.

Over the rest of the game, Saarela would score the puck in more ways than one. After a first-period RMU goal by Lindsey Smolen, the Denver native got things started with a power-play goal in the same frame. The next period was dry in terms of scoring, but in the third, Saarela put the icing on the cake with two goals.

Following the conclusion of the game, the main focus was the hat trick by Saarela. Almost everybody on the team was proud of her, especially since this was the first hat trick this season for Syracuse.

“I thought we played a pretty solid 60 tonight,” head coach Britni Smith said. “Some ebbs and flows to the game, which is to be expected, but overall, I felt like we executed, especially in the first period.”

Smith’s new strategy is to win the first period to aggressively open the game. She hopes her new strategy could work against RMU in Tennity again tomorrow at 3 p.m.