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Through Syracuse’s first 21 games, it’s already matched its win total from last season (seven). Yet, SU’s 14 losses speak larger volumes. The Orange have struggled against ranked opponents, falling in all nine of their contests, but SU has surged in conference play.

Syracuse entered Friday’s matchup against conference-foe Mercyhurst with a 5-3 Atlantic Hockey America record, ranking second behind No. 11 Penn State. Following its hot first half of the season, SU opened 2025 with two losses to No. 4 Minnesota Duluth, 6-2 and 2-1. But as conference play looms for 11 of SU’s final 12 games, head coach Britni Smith knows her priority.

“Everything for us is our process. Being able to see that those games are not out of our reach. Conference play is obviously now our focus,” Smith said on the pregame broadcast.

While SU has succeeded in AHA play thus far, Mercyhurst has been Syracuse’s Kryptonite in recent years. The Orange entered Friday with a 0-9-1 record in their last 10 contests against the Lakers and donned a 13-49-4 total record in the rivalry’s history.

That losing trend continued for Syracuse (7-15-0, 5-4-0 AHA) Friday against the Lakers (10-11-1, 5-4-0 AHA) in its 2-1 defeat. Despite receiving four power play opportunities, SU couldn’t capitalize, scoring its lone goal late in the third period.

However, as the opening puck dropped, Syracuse looked primed to back up Smith’s pregame message. The Orange placed Jessica Cheung in the starting lineup instead of Tatum White. Despite its captain coming off the bench, SU started with force.

In the first three minutes of play, just one shot was attempted by either team. Rylee McLeod had a fastbreak opportunity to put the Orange ahead early, but her shot was snagged by Lakers’ goaltender Jorden Mattison.

Following McLeod’s shot, the Orange continued to press Mercyhurst’s defensive front. A mistake by a Lakers’ defender gave Peyton Armstrong the puck with space out in front. But her swift movements down the ice were for nought as the Orange’s second fastbreak chance wasn’t converted.

Coming into the new year, Syracuse’s resolution was to hold strong defensive zone coverage. The Orange had done that recently in conference play, finding the win column in five of their last six AHA contests. But on Friday, Mercyhurst attacked Syracuse early.

After SU’s two misses, Mercyhurst’s first shot of the day landed in the back of the net. A slapshot from Sydney Pederson was redirected by Chantal Ste-Croix, skipping past Allie Kelley to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead.

The remaining majority of the first period continued to look in Syracuse’s favor statistically, but it couldn’t score. Heading into the first intermission, SU had produced two more shots on goal and won seven more faceoffs than the Lakers but was still at a deficit.

In the second period, Mercyhurst took over in all facets. The Lakers won the shot and faceoff battles and pushed their lead even further. In the 20-minute frame, Syracuse struggled with physicality. The Orange committed three penalties, allowing Mercyhurst to be up a skater constantly.

A Maya D’Arcy boarding penalty let the Lakers tally four shots. As D’Arcy reentered the ice, Bryn Saarela was called for cross-checking. It took Mercyhurst just four more attempts to double its score.

From the top left corner, Sofia Nuutinen fired a shot past Kelley to take a 2-0 lead. The rest of the second period consisted of another Saarela penalty, this time for interference. The Lakers produced six more shots while Saarela was out. At this point, it was a consistent uphill battle for the Orange.

While Pederson was later called for holding, SU didn’t have the energy to cut its deficit. The Orange notched just two shots during power play time, a representation of Syracuse’s second-period efforts.

In the final 20 minutes, Syracuse came out of the gate with its first-period aggression. The Orange pressured Mattison, pelting her with 23 shots. Finally, one of them landed.

With 8:13 remaining, the teams’ back-and-forth charges continued. McLeod and Julia Schalin were called for penalties, the sixth and seventh of the game. Syracuse finally delivered on the four-on-four opportunity when Nea Tervonen cut SU’s deficit to just one. The goal was SU’s third one-on-one fastbreak chance of the contest, and after constant defeat, Tervonen came through.

With a breath of fresh air and newfound energy, Syracuse was poised to tie the game in the ensuing minutes, yet all nine shots the Orange attempted were either saved, blocked or off-line.

As the end of regulation expired, SU dropped to 1-12 on the season when its opposition scores first. It’ll have to wait another day before it receives another chance to capture its first win over Mercyhurst in nearly three years.

Published on January 10, 2025 at 9:25 pm

Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_