A day after Syracuse narrowly fell to No. 3 Clarkson 4-3 on Friday, the Orange’s ineffective special teams play once again held them back from victory on Saturday.

Three consecutive power plays to start the game gave Syracuse (0-2) the opportunity for an ideal start just a day after dropping its home opener. But Clarkson (2-0) managed to kill each of them off. 

Syracuse went on to regret failing to capitalize early, as two late-first period goals by Clarkson took the Golden Knights into the locker room up 2-0.

Following the Orange’s home opener, SU head coach Paul Flanagan said penalties on both sides prevented Syracuse from gaining momentum at five-on-five. With 22 total penalty minutes in Saturday’s game between the two teams, the Orange’s power play and penalty kill units were asked to log significant minutes for the second day in a row.

Despite injuries to two key forwards, Rhyen McGill and Caitrin Lonergan, that kept them out of Saturday’s action, Clarkson seemed no worse for wear. Two tallies in the opening minutes of the second period put the Golden Knights up 4-0 and positioned the 2018 National Champions for a weekend sweep to start the season.

Clarkson’s five total goals came on 29 shots against Orange goaltender Allison Small in her season debut. The game was just Small’s third regular season start for Syracuse, as she joined the Orange on a midseason transfer from Quinnipiac last year.

Syracuse’s lone goal came from freshman Anna Leschyshyn, her first career goal, with 16:05 remaining in the contest. Leschyshyn has started the season alongside freshman forwards Brynn Koocher and Madison Beishuizen, forming a “rookie line” that has received praise from Flanagan and captain Lindsay Eastwood.

“They’re doing a good job,” Eastwood said. “It makes me excited to see them out there together.”

Published on September 28, 2019 at 5:48 pm

Contact Mitchell: mbannon@syr.edu