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Rayla Clemons battled for the puck along the boards, running into two Vermont players before turning it over. Lara Beecher recycled the puck behind the net, accelerating into the open space. No Syracuse player stepped up to challenge her as she centered the puck, getting cut out by Mae Batherson. No one marked Beecher as she roped a pass to a wide-open Evelyne Blais-Savoie who flicked a shot past Arielle DeSmet to give Vermont a 1-0 lead. Maya D’Arcy left her mark to challenge Beecher, leaving Blais-Savoie open from point-blank range

Blais-Savoie’s shot was just the fourth shot on goal from the Catamounts in the opening period, as Syracuse (7-11-1, 4-2 CHA) fell 3-1 against Vermont (11-7-1, 8-5, Hockey East). After conceding the first goal, Syracuse locked down defensively, frustrating Vermont over the next few minutes. The Orange moved as a unit and cut down on the scoring opportunities, something they struggled with in the previous two games, letting in 15 goals.

SU was alert to any danger from Vermont, who came in averaging 3.3 goals per contest. Led by a dangerous attack of Theresa Schafzahl and Natálie Mlýnková, who’ve scored a combined 26 goals on the season. Syracuse held them in check. Schafzahl registered 5 shots and Mlýnková 3, but the top-two point scorers for the Catamounts didn’t find the back of the net. Schafzahl did record an assist on Vermont’s game-winning goal, her 11th of the season.

“For us, it was a challenge for the line that we matched against them,” head coach Britni Smith said. “Our goal was to keep them off the scoreboard and keep them at bay and obviously they did a great job with that.”

Smith detailed that the Catamounts were hot offensively in November, scoring 31 goals during a stretch where they won six out of seven games. Smith also explained that Vermont is a deep team that uses its depth to its advantage. She felt her team needed to stay compact to have a chance to win.

“We wanted to be responsible,” Smith said. “Make them have to go through us, don’t give them opportunities to get between the dots without feeling our bodies and our contact.”

After conceding with five minutes left in the first period, Syracuse kept Vermont off the scoreboard for the next 43 minutes. Vermont’s goal came off a rebound after a pad save from DeSmet. Corinne McCool was the first to react to the puck, scoring the game-winning goal for Vermont.

Senior defenseman Hannah Johnson called the goal a “tough pill to swallow.” Johnson recorded three blocks to add to her 36 on the season, leading the team. Syracuse recorded its second most blocks on the season with 15, throwing bodies in front of Vermont attackers whenever they were threatening. As the leader of the backline, Johnson made sure Syracuse stayed disciplined, cutting off passing lanes and forcing Vermont into tougher shots.

Going into the second period, Syracuse didn’t change anything defensively. Coach Smith felt they stuck to the game plan well, they would be successful and frustrate Vermont.

“There were no adjustments,” Smith said. “We just continued to play our games, they’re a talented team who’s going to have a lot of possession, they’re gonna flex the net, we just need to stick to our game plan.”

Tatum White, the lone goal scorer for the Orange, felt the team played a strong defensive game, not panicking even after they fell behind. Despite the result, White described the locker room energy as positive and said she’s “proud of the team’s effort,” responding to two-straight blowout losses.

She said that Orange were strong in the “D-Zone” today, making it hard for Vermont to get clear shots on net, giving Syracuse opportunities in transition.

Despite Vermont having 10 more shots on goal than Syracuse, Vermont was well below its season average of 30.6. The Catamounts finished with 24 shots on net, one of them coming on an open goal in the final minute of the game when Syracuse was chasing an equalizer.

A former defender herself, Smith has brought “experience and good tactics” on the defensive end according to Johnson. For Smith, one singular person didn’t stand out on the defensive end. She felt that, as a unit, Syracuse played one of its best defensive games of the season and if it can continue to perform at a high level, it’ll be a tough team to beat.

“We had three lines that were really going hard,” Smith said. “Our defense was battling hard in the defensive zone all game long working together to make it hard for Vermont.”

Published on December 9, 2022 at 10:24 pm

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22