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In November, Syracuse left St. Charles, Missouri, with a missed opportunity. While the Orange took one of two games on the road against Lindenwood, SU was defeated 4-1 in the series finale, which began a streak of 10 losses in its next 12 games.
The win is one of just three on the season for the Lions, and their second in Atlantic Hockey America play. Against the team situated at the bottom of the conference, it was a game Syracuse wanted back.
So, when Lindenwood came to Syracuse for a two-game set this weekend, the Orange focused on leaving nothing to chance against the Lions.
And they didn’t. SU (10-20-0, 8-8-0 AHA) defeated Lindenwood (3-23-2, 2-13-1 AHA) 5-0 at Tennity Ice Pavilion Saturday in its final home game. Ten different players recorded a point, while the five-goal margin of victory was the Orange’s biggest of the season. Now sitting nine points behind Mercyhurst with four games remaining, the sweep draws SU within striking distance of the second seed in the AHA playoffs.
“I think our game was a little bit more dialed in this time around,” SU head coach Britni Smith said. “System wise, roster wise, not a whole lot’s changed, but just our ability to really buy into that (consistency) and find it for 60 (minutes).”
The Orange scored in the first period in each of their past three games entering the contest, and Saturday was no different. Though after Stella Costabile scored just a minute in on Friday, it took a bit longer to find the net Saturday. But when Syracuse did, it was Costabile again.
Jessica Cheung recovered the puck in the neutral zone, spun away from a defender and worked her way to the right circle. She dished a pass across the face of the goal to Jackson Kinsler, who delivered a short pass to Costabile. The freshman cleaned it up in the crease to score her second goal in as many games.
SU dominated on the forecheck all afternoon, and it played a key piece in its second goal. Ten minutes after finding the opener, Costabile’s efforts on the forecheck led to a turnover in the offensive zone. Jocelyn Fiala recovered the loose puck and played it into the slot for Nea Tervonen, who redirected it into the back of the net.
Despite being outshot 9-8 in the period, the Orange were in full control. Their two goals in the first 20 minutes brought them to six first-period scores in their last four games.
“Our games out in Lindenwood, we weren’t overly happy with our consistency,” Smith said. “I think this weekend, maybe not overly happy with our first period yesterday, but otherwise, fairly consistent hockey. To me, that’s the biggest difference.”
The pressure didn’t stop in the second. Syracuse fired a team-high 12 shots on goal in the penultimate period, and two resulted in goals.
First, Carly Sardine lit the lamp for her first career goal. Fiala played a pass to Heidi Knoll on the right wing, who whipped the puck into the slot. Sardine worked around her defender and got on the end of the pass, tapping in SU’s third goal of the afternoon.
With less than a minute to play in the second, the Orange earned their second power play of the game. After going 2-5 on the player advantage the night before, Syracuse cashed in again.
Sami Gendron fired a pass from the blue line and found Kinsler in the slot. Kinsler got her stick to the puck and deflected it behind her. She still tucked it into the net, spinning around quickly and pelting it into the top left corner as she fell to the ground. SU led 4-0 after two periods.
“Some of those goals are kind of gritty goals and finding ways to get it done in situations where maybe in the past we haven’t been,” Smith said. “I think it’s very promising for our future.”
The third period was primarily spent in Syracuse’s defensive zone, trying to crush any late Lions comeback. Cheung had four blocks in the first five minutes of the period.
The effort was replicated in net. In what could’ve been her final game at Tennity, goaltender Allie Kelley stepped up. With eight minutes remaining, a penalty shot was awarded to Lindenwood following a foul in the crease. Quinn McLaren took the shot, skating into the offensive zone from the faceoff circle. Kelley made an acrobatic stop, extending both of her legs to force McLaren’s shot to the boards.
“The focus is playing hard for our seniors,” Smith said. “To top it off, Allie getting a shut-out was nice to see as well.”
Desperate for a way back into the game, Lindenwood pulled its goaltender midway through the period. It nearly resulted in a goal. The Lions found the net seven minutes into the period, but a lengthy review overturned the score. Fiala was fouled in the build-up to the goal.
Instead, Syracuse scored on the other end moments later. With Lindenwood’s goal still unattended, Bryn Saarela won the puck in the neutral zone and sent it toward Gendron. From behind the blue line, Gendron fired it into the empty net to stamp SU’s dominant win.
The Orange’s victory inches them closer to the top of the AHA standings. With four games to go, Syracuse will have its work cut out for it to push toward the top two seeds. But Smith and her squad weren’t worried about the next few weeks on Saturday afternoon. For now, SU wants to soak in the series win.
“It’s kind of the end of a chapter, and part of that is just making sure that it’s the end of a chapter that (the seniors) remember in a very positive light,” Smith said. “I think we did that for them this weekend.”
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