Syracuse ice hockey falls to No. 13 Vermont in last two minutes of play

After a blowout 11-3 loss to No. 12 Penn State over the weekend, the Syracuse ice hockey team looked to get things back on track against No. 13 Vermont on Friday night.

Early on in the game, it certainly seemed like they would, but inevitably fell 3-1. With back-to-back losses at Penn State, this marks the Orange’s third consecutive loss.

The Orange accumulated several scoring chances early on, but couldn’t capitalize on them. Five minutes into the first period, Syracuse forward Rhéa Hicks raced down the ice on a breakaway opportunity, but her shot was blocked by the pads of Vermont goaltender Jessie McPherson.

The game remained scoreless until the period hit the 15 minute mark when Vermont’s Lara Beecher found teammate Evelyn Blais-Savoie with a dart of a pass from behind the net. Blais-Savoie received the pass in the slot, and promptly launched the puck past Syracuse goaltender Arielle DeSmet to put the Catamounts up 1-0.

With the period winding down, Beecher found herself in a good position to add on to her point total. She skated down the ice, maneuvering past her defender to create space for a shot, but was stopped in her tracks by DeSmet with 26 seconds left to play. The period came to an end with Vermont in control of a one goal lead.

The second period proved to be a much better one for the Orange. Syracuse forwards Sarah Thompson and Tatum White raced into the Vermont offensive zone on a 2-on-1 opportunity. The duo made the most of it as Thompson’s pass was rifled into the back of the net by White before McPherson could get her glove to it.