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Entering the first game of the two-game weekend series against Lindenwood, Syracuse found itself four points out of the final playoff spot in College Hockey America. Facing the Lions, who held the final spot coming into the game, gave the Orange a chance to bridge the gap with just six games remaining in their regular season.

Though it couldn’t earn a victory, Syracuse (6-20-3, 3-10-2 CHA) overcame a four-goal deficit Friday night to tie Lindenwood (10-15-2, 5-8-2 CHA) 7-7 and grab a point in conference play. Two Lions’ goals less than five minutes into the contest put the Orange behind early, but after trailing by as much as four goals in the second period, a Tatum White goal with nine seconds remaining in regulation pushed the game to overtime.

Just over four minutes into the first period, Kaitlin Finnegan collected the puck out of a scrum in the corner and dashed toward the right post. As she approached the net, she slid the puck across the middle of the offensive zone to Quinn McLaren. The left-handed defender stood in front of the net as SU’s defense lost its marks. McLaren slotted the puck home, giving the Lions a 1-0 lead.

Less than a minute later, the lead was doubled as Syracuse’s defense once again let a Lindenwood player alone in front of the net. This time, Sidney Jackel collected the puck on the left side of the net as White approached. As White pushed her to the outside, Jackel used a nifty move to quickly get to her backhand. Her backhand pass went across the crease to the right post, and Morgan Neitzke, the CHA leader in goals, tapped it in to increase SU’s deficit to 2-0.

Lindenwood entered the game with the most goals allowed per game in the CHA with 4.77. Still, Syracuse couldn’t score early on to stay close in the game. The Orange recorded just six shots on target through the first 20 minutes.

To get back into the game, Syracuse had to trust its power play unit, as it faced the worst penalty killing unit in its league. Lindenwood killed fewer than 70% of its penalties prior to Friday’s contest.

Following Syracuse’s penalty kill stopping the Lions, the Orange were given a chance to test the bottom ranked Lindenwood unit when Karolina Sykorova committed a penalty. Yet SU didn’t record a shot on net on the two-minute power play.

Minutes later, when Syracuse forward Darci Johal committed a penalty of her own, the Lions took advantage. Thea Jørgensen’s goal with 10 seconds remaining in the period resulted in a 3-0 deficit for SU at the first break.

Though to start the second period, Syracuse’s Kate Holmes split through the Lindenwood defense and fired an accurate wrist shot past goalie Natalie Ferenc to get the Orange on the board.

SU had an even better chance 40 seconds later when Sarah Thompson was on a breakaway, but Ferenc stood strong. In response, Lindenwood’s Jørgensen and McLaren both tallied their second goals of the game during a 55-second span to give the Lions a 5-1 lead.

Shortly after Lindenwood took a four-goal lead, Syracuse countered with two of its own. Rachel Teslak scored a short-handed goal and Johal added another, cutting the deficit to just two.

In a scoring barrage by both teams in the second, both teams added another goal before the period came to an end. Syracuse’s penalty kill produced another short-handed goal on a breakaway goal by Rayla Clemons. Prior to Clemons’ goal, Rachel Goff scored Lindenwood’s sixth goal of the game and third of the period.

While the Orange recorded four goals (the most they had scored since a five-goal period against Post on Nov. 25, 2022) in the second period, their defense played so poorly that they were severely overshadowed. The Lions offense picked apart the Orange, forcing Allie Kelley to struggle as a result.

In the faceoff circle, Lindenwood also dominated, winning 14-of-19 attempts. In all facets, Syracuse was severely behind a team it needed to beat if it had any hopes of making a playoff spot. Yet after 40 minutes, SU trailed by just two goals.

To start the third period, despite allowing two less goals than Kelley, Ferenc was pulled for Ava McIllmurray. Teslak quickly tested the backup goalie, cutting off an attempted clearance and racing down the right side of the ice. Marielle McHale was on her left for a two-on-one attempt, but Teslak kept the puck and beat McIllmurray through the five-hole. After trailing by as much as four goals, the Orange were down just one with just under 16 minutes remaining.

SU was all set to go on a power play after a Sydney Rarick tripping penalty. Though on the same possession, Kailey Langefels delivered a check to the head, setting up a five-minute major penalty and erasing the SU power-play chance.

Lindenwood committed a penalty during the major, but neither side capitalized on the four-on-four. When both of Lindenwood’s penalties were served, the Lions had just over a minute remaining in its power play. They took advantage, scoring with 19 seconds left on the power play to increase the lead to 7-5.

Heidi Knoll added a goal with just over two minutes remaining, allowing Kelley to break for the bench to set up a six-on-five advantage down just one. As mayhem ensued, Lindenwood missed multiple empty-net opportunities, allowing SU to go the other way.

With just nine seconds remaining, White scored the game-tying goal on a backhand as SU came back from a four-goal deficit to send it into overtime. But during the extra period, there were only four combined shots on net and the contest ended in a 7-7 tie.

Though a win for Syracuse would’ve helped its postseason push, stealing a point after a tough start keeps the Orange, for now, afloat in the playoff picture.

Published on February 2, 2024 at 10:05 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky