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In Syracuse’s 6-2 loss to Penn State on Oct. 29, it allowed four goals in the third period. The collapse began just over a minute into the period as PSU’s Maddy Christian scored to give the Nittany Lions a 3-1 lead. The scoreline grew increasingly lopsided from there.

“We didn’t have a response,” said SU head coach Britni Smith postgame. “It’s something we talk about, having a response after goals for and goals against. I felt like we stepped on our shells there at the end.”

Through four College Hockey America games, Syracuse has been under constant pressure, culminating in a 0-4 CHA record. During this span, the Orange have allowed 40.75 shots on goal per game, compared to taking 25.5 per game. Their defensive struggles stem from allowing opposing offenses to get within SU’s zone far too often.

In the third period against Penn State, Syracuse was outshot 20-11 in shots on goal. And in 11 of the last 12 periods, the Orange have recorded fewer shots on goal than their opponents.

Still, goaltender Allie Kelley has excelled. She’s stopped .907% of shots and has faced 161 shots, the most in the CHA by 32 (Lindenwood’s Natalie Ferenc, 129). But Kelley, a two-time CHA Goaltender of the Week, has not received much defensive help. SU has blocked 49 shots in four conference games, the third-lowest total in the CHA.

During the loss to PSU, Smith said Syracuse lacked consistency, executing for 90 percent of the game and faltering for 10 percent. The loss dropped the Orange to 0-2 in conference play.

Syracuse then lost two in a row to Robert Morris, falling 4-2 on Nov. 3 and 3-2 on Nov. 4. The Colonials separated themselves by capitalizing on scoring opportunities, RMU head coach Logan Bittle said.

“We have a handful of points we try to hammer through each game. One of those is 50-50 battles and coming out with the puck,” Bittle said. “If we are on the winning side of those 50-50 battles we tend to have a good result. Especially on Friday but at times on Saturday as well we did a nice job of those 50-50 battles.”

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During the 4-2 loss, RMU’s Alaina Giampetro pounced on a loose puck and scored to put the Colonials up 3-1 in the second period. The next game, forward Madison Primeau got to another puck that sat still after a deflection and netted it past Kelley for a 2-1 lead. In both cases, the Colonials were first to the puck, winning the 50-50 battles and converting.

Over the two games, Morris outshot SU 40-26 and 39-26, respectively. The Colonials took advantage of holes in Syracuse’s defense.

“We want to get traffic to the net, and get the puck there as well,” Bittle said. “We limit the second and third opportunities to keep the shot totals a little lower on the Syracuse side.”

Despite its defensive struggles, Syracuse’s penalty kill has been strong, killing all 12 of its opponents’ power plays. The Orange’s 100% success rate ranks first in CHA, ahead of Penn State’s 87%.

“They’re very disciplined in their movements, really good on their clears and they blocked a lot of shots,” Bittle said of SU. “Being that they have a lot of size on their back end and they battle hard it makes things difficult for a power play unit.”

Playing at full strength has been a different story for Syracuse. In both conference series, SU has been outscored 17-8. The 17 goals allowed ranks second-worst in the CHA.

Bittle said CHA games are a “dogfight” and the series with RMU could have resulted differently for Syracuse.

“We have a group in there that believes,” Smith said after the defeat to Penn State. “It was 5-2 when we got that goal and the bench is still up. We’re looking to get the next one.”

Published on November 13, 2023 at 12:08 am