Syracuse drops their first conference matchup late at home against RIT

However, as the second period began, the Tigers looked like a whole new team. It only took RIT two minutes to score the equalizer, as Madison Farrand put one past ‘Cuse goaltender Allison Small. The Tigers weren’t finished there. They netted three goals in the first ten minutes of the period to take a 3-1 lead and stun Coach Paul Flanagan and Syracuse. Abby Davies and Jaymee Dolan provided the pad for the Tigers early on in the second, but the Orange came storming back in the latter half of the period. Victoria Klimek pulled the puck out of a scrum and put it in the back of the net, tallying her first goal of the season. Less than three minutes later, Syracuse would tie the game up at 3 apiece off a score from Savannah Rennie and an assist from Abby Maloughney.

Gearing up to be an exciting third period, with both teams deadlocked at 3-3, the Orange wasted no time retaking the lead. Freshman Mae Batherson scored just 59 seconds into the third period, giving Syracuse a 4-3 lead and all the momentum. Even after being called for two penalties in a matter of 20 seconds, the Orange weathered the 5v3 challenge, looking stellar both on the offensive and defensive side. SU looked well on their way to picking up their first home win of the season and defeating the Tigers for the first time since March 1st, 2018. However, with six minutes to go in regulation, the Tigers turned on the afterburners, scoring four goals, including two open-net goals in the final two minutes. 

Ultimately, a game-winner, which put the Tigers up for good, came off a mental error for the Orange as they had too many skaters on the ice and allowed a power-play goal. From what looked like SU’s second win a row, Syracuse dropped yet another home game, this time by the score of 7-4. Syracuse outshot RIT on goal 39-21 but the inability to capitalize early is what plagued the Orange on the first night of November. Both Mae Batherson and Savannah Rennie had a goal and an assist, as ‘Cuse dropped to 1-10 on the season and 0-1 in conference play. Their next matchup is a chance at immediate revenge, as Syracuse and RIT face off Saturday at noon. 

Update: The Orange took down RIT on the road 3-0 Saturday.