Syracuse hockey competes closely with BU, lose 3-2 before conference play begins
Syracuse hockey loses weekend series to Terriers
Goals from Jackson Kinsler and Maya D’Arcy not enough as Terriers sweep weekend series over the Orange.
In Syracuse’s women’s hockey’s (2-7) took the 3-2 defeat in its second matchup with Boston University in less than 24 hours. The prior day, the Terriers took down the Orange 4-1. However in this game, SU fixed many of its mistakes to keep the matchup competitive.
The first 20 minutes of play were rather bland from each side. The Terriers committed two penalties to the Orange’s one. Both teams played cleaner than they did in the first game; each team committed just one more penalty for the remainder of the game. Syracuse cut it penalties in half from Friday to this game.
After a couple breakaway chances, the Orange conceded its first goal of the game with less than five minutes remaining in the period. The Orange responded immediately as forward Jackson Kinsler scored with 20 seconds remaining in the second period to tie the game 1-1. Forward Bryn Saarela and forward Tatum White added an assist on Kinsler’s third goal of the season.
BU got off to a hot start in the third period by lighting the lamp early. The Terriers scored back-to-back goals to take a 3-1 lead just a bit over halfway through the period.
Syracuse did not quit despite the deficit. Defender Maya D’Arcy netted her second goal of the season at a crucial time, scoring about one minute after the Terriers’ third goal. Saarela and White each recorded their second assist of the game on this goal.
White recalled that there were system tactics that the Orange wanted to tweak before the third period, and it appeared that they most certainly did.
A large theme throughout the entirety of the 2024-2025 campaign thus far for Syracuse has been conceding goals in clusters. Head coach Britni Smith did not shy away from stating this truth after the game on Friday.
In this game, the Orange responded completely differently in scenarios after the Terriers scored. After Boston University’s first and third goals, SU came fighting back with two quick goals of their own. Instead of seemingly panicking, Syracuse’s mindset today was to stay composed following a moment that did not go their way.
Coach Smith said, “We’re consistent in what we can control. What we can control is that next shift. It’s an opportunity to shift the table in our favor, and I thought we did a good job with that.”
At the conclusion of the game, the Orange were unable to level the score. The team registered several chances in the final minutes, but could not put the puck in the net before the siren sounded.
In Syracuse’s first meeting with BU, it led in shots on goal 29-23. However, in this game, things were quite different. The Orange only put up 18 shots to the Terriers’ 33. Coach Smith was not derailed by this as she gave credit to the talent that the BU program generates.
“With BU, it’s expected to have to let up some storms [of shots] there,” Smith said.
Luckily, SU goaltender Allie Kelley had yet another strong showing. The senior made 30 saves, the second-most amount of saves she’s accumulated in a game all season.
With AHA conference play coming up, Syracuse believes they have the tools to succeed right away despite its 2-7 record.
“We wanna come out flying into conference play. We talked a lot about our process in preseason,” White said. “Obviously, in conference play, it’s for points and for playoff positions.”
White believes conference play is where the Orange will hit the ground running. SU has more time to prepare for its first conference game, which will be at Penn State at 6 on Thursday.