Coming back from a brutal loss with seven seconds to go in overtime on Friday, Syracuse was able to win 4-0 Saturday over Quinnipiac in front of 132 at Tennity Ice Pavilion.

“We were so deflated by how we lost. I think the win was even more impressive today by how well we played,” head coach Paul Flanagan said. “We had as much energy I thought in the last ten minutes of the third period today as we did early last night. That’s a credit to how the team prepares themselves.”

The Orange has had a problem throughout the year of getting opportunities and not capitalizing on them. In the first period, freshmen Melissa Piacentini and Laurie Kingsbury both had opportunities to put the puck through but could not convert due to traffic inside or no other help around the net.

The Orange finally was able to convert on chances, however. In the second period, Kingsbury fired a shot toward the net and this time had the help she needed as sophomore Shiann Darkangelo corralled Kingsbury’s wide shot and put it through the net.

“We had the momentum the whole time (before the goal), it was just when we were going get one to get everyone pumped up and keep going,” Darkangelo said.

While the Orange converted on the one goal in the second period, it still had many missed opportunities, only converting on one of its 13 shot attempts. This changed in the third period for the team though, as they were able to convert on multiple opportunities, scoring three times.

On the first goal in the third period, captain Jacquie Greco was able — after multiple attempts — to sneak one through to Kingsbury for a score, giving the Orange a key 2-0 lead.

“I was actually so tired,” Greco said. “I was going to go off for a change, but they kept passing me the puck so I just kept putting it on net. I’m like it has to go in or someone has to tip it or something, and it finally went in so I was happy.”

Heading into the season, the Orange had serious worries about its goalie play. Juniors Jenesica Drinkwater and Kallie Billadeau had both started at goalie for the team for two seasons, but had injuries heading into the year. Neither goalie was even cleared until the week of the first game of the season.

Both have been able to battle through these injuries throughout the season. Billadeau started her second game of the year on Saturday and earned a shutout. In her two games, she has yet to let a goal pass her.

“When I was younger I would think I would have a shutout and it wouldn’t end up happening,” Billadeau said. “Its just one of those things where you really have to stay mentally focused and not let anything creep into your mind like that. Just keep playing how you have been the whole game and it will work out.”

In Friday’s game, the Orange let in two of the three goals while it was in the penalty. In Saturday’s game, Syracuse was able to turn around the play of its penalty kill unit, stopping Quinnipiac on four power play opportunities.

On the first power play opportunity for Quinnipiac, Billadeau was able to save several shots, including near attempts by Quinnipiac center Erica Johansson.

Flanagan was pleased with the reads his kill unit made on Saturday.

“I think just making their reads and their switches. They’re doing a real good job with knowing where to go and when,” Flanagan said. “That is the key. Obviously getting big saves from the goaltender — that helps. The old adage, ‘A goalie is your best penalty killer,’ comes into play quite a bit.”

Winning the game against Quinnipiac on Saturday comes at an important time for the Orange, as it heads out for a long road trip. SU doesn’t play another home game until Nov. 23 — more than a month away.

Billadeau believes this game will be huge for the team’s momentum as it starts its road trip this week at Connecticut.

“This is a big one for us. It was a good team,” Billadeau said. “It’s a huge momentum swing for us. Last game wasn’t very lucky; they scored with six seconds left in overtime. It was really hard for us. This is a big bounce back, and we just got to carry that momentum into next weekend.”

Published on October 21, 2012 at 11:50 pm

Contact Ryan: rlraigro@syr.edu