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Syracuse kept the puck in the offensive zone, locking Stonehill deep and not letting them clear it up the ice. From the wing, Madison Primeau hit Kambel Beachum at the blue line, who shifted it back to Hannah Johnson. Johnson quickly fired back to Primeau, who’s shot whisked wide of the post. Primeau’s shot bounced off the boards right back to Johnson who read the trajectory of the puck. 

The defender swung it to Beachum, who fired it back to Johnson as the defender closed her out. Rayla Clemons got in front of three Stonehill defenders, waiting for a puck to come her way. As Johnson ripped a low shot in front, Clemons pounced. The junior redirected the puck past Hanna Zukow in net, giving Syracuse a 2-0 cushion in the first period. 

Clemons’ fourth goal of the season boosted Syracuse (10-22-2, 6-9-1 College Hockey America) past Stonehill (17-15-2, 14-9-1 New England Women’s Hockey Alliance), coming out with a 4-2 win. The Orange put in one of its most dominant performances of the season, connecting on all cylinders to pick up its first win in nearly a month. Behind a strong offensive performance on the power play and lockdown defense, the Orange reached double digit wins on the season. 

During the backend of the season, Syracuse’s offense sputtered at times. Up until Saturday’s victory, the Orange hadn’t scored multiple goals in a win, since defeating RIT 4-1 on January 25. On senior day, it was a different story with the Orange’s clicking with four different players getting on the scoresheet. 

“Tonight we talked about playing for seniors, they’ve done so much for this program, individually, but also as a group,” Syracuse head coach Britni Smith said. “It was a really good opportunity to just celebrate the success of the entire whole group.”

Marielle McHale opened up the scoring for the Orange in the first period, her first of the season. McHale found space in between three defenders before shifting the puck to her left hand and ripping one into the far post. 

“It was honestly fitting,” McHale said.  “I was like kind of imagining before the game but I didn’t think it was actually gonna happen.”

During the middle portion of the first period, Katie Sonntag was called for slashing with the Orange taking advantage, culminating with Clemons’ goal. The power play has been an emphasis from Smith throughout the season, but it’s been inconsistent, including an 0-7 power performance against Mercyhurst. Syracuse was ruthless on the power play, scoring two goals on five power plays against the Skyhawks on saturday.  

During the second period, the Orange took care of business on a 5-on-4 opportunity. Stonehill controlled a faceoff in the neutral zone, flicking it up the ice, trying to start an attack. Mae Batherson got her stick to the puck ahead of Sarah Tyler, deflecting it out of her path. Alexis Petford looked to latch onto the loose puck, but Batherson took it right away. With space in front of her the senior flipped it out to the wing to Rhea Hicks starting a 3-on-2 attack. Hicks gave it back to Batherson, who stepped into a shot, firing home Syracuse’s third goal of the game. Batherson’s goal ended up being the game winner for the Orange. 

“We did a good job just keeping the game simple and putting pucks on net,” Smith said.

Sarah Thompson scored an unassisted goal during four on four play in the second period, to put the Orange up 4-0. 

The four goal cushion was enough for the Orange with its defense remaining strong, only conceding 10 shots on goal, its lowest total from an opponent this season. Arielle DeSmet wasn’t tested much throughout, but she came up big for the Orange when called upon. With Syracuse on the power play in the second period Stonehill caught the Orange on the break. Paige Whaley found herself wide open on the wing, but as she closed in on net, the angle was tight. Whaley released a shot that DeSmet padded to the side. 

Once again Syracuse turned the puck over with a clearance finding Alexis Petford all alone. Petford skated in on net, but DeSmet stood tall, saving Petford’s attempt with her glove, keeping her shutout alive. 

“We are so confident knowing that she can stop literally anything,” Lauren Bellefontaine said. ”That power play we struggled a bit, but she made some huge saves for us and kept us in the game.

DeSmet was unable to record her third shutout of the year with Stonehill getting on the board with 12 minutes left. Petford found herself in open space poking home a deflected shot. It wasn’t enough for the Skyhawks. Stonehill would add one more with just over a minute remaining with Whaley taking advantage of a power-play opportunity. 

“Our goal and the third was making sure any shots we gave up were from outside the dots and above the circle,” Smith said. “I don’t think we necessarily were able to meet that goal but holding a team to two shots and the third I think it was a pretty consistent 60 for us.”

Published on February 18, 2023 at 7:50 pm

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