Syracuse ice hockey swept in home opener series

Merrimack completed the weekend sweep over Syracuse with a 4-0 win against the Orange on Saturday in Tennity Ice Pavilion.

The Warriors have now won three straight after dropping the first two games of their season to Clarkson University, while Syracuse falls to a 2-2 record after losing at home.

Merrimack set the tone early, peppering Syracuse graduate goalie Allie Kelley with 11 shots on goal in the first period to Syracuse’s three. The Warriors would continue the offensive onslaught throughout the afternoon, finishing with 32 shots on goal. SU only managed to get off 30 shots in total, half of which were able to find their mark.

Photo by Ryan Jermyn

Merrimack Forwards Emily Oosterveld and Raice Szott race down the ice on a fast break.

The reigning CHA Goaltender of the Week showed flashes of brilliance in the loss, coming up with a handful of tremendous saves. She finished with a total of 28 saves, just a day removed from her historic 56-save performance on Friday night.

Kelley only allowed two of Merrimack’s goals, as she vacated the net in the final two minutes of regulation. This resulted in two empty-net goals.

Syracuse could rarely build momentum on offense, but they had more than enough opportunities, thanks to graduate forward Kate Holmes. Holmes led the game with 15 faceoffs won. However, the Orange were unable to keep possession for very long after, killing all SU momentum.

Darci Johal was another bright spot for the Orange, as the graduate forward led her team in shots on goal. However, Merrimack was relentless on defense, stealing the puck away for transition opportunities through all three periods.

Photo by Ryan Jermyn

Syracuse Forward Kate Holmes maneuvers the puck between the legs of Merrimack defenseman on Saturday.

Merrimack did not share in this offensive struggle, as all but five Warriors recorded a shot in the win. The visitors had four different scorers in the game: Mary Edmonds, Ryleigh Horlock, Allison Reeb and Alex Ferguson.

Before the day was over, the Warriors managed to get 52 shots on the Orange and assisted on all goals, marking their offensive dominance on the day.

The Orange are back in action next weekend with a home-away split series against RPI. The puck drops for the first leg on Friday at 6 p.m.

The Orange have a following weekday showdown with Cornell before taking on perennial powerhouse Boston University on October 20.

Photo by Ryan Jermyn

Syracuse and Merrimack players shake hands after a 4-0 Merrimack win.