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Merrimack’s Allie Reeb recovered a loose puck and played a quick pass to teammate Maria Lindberg, who sniped a shot toward goal, forcing a save from Syracuse goalkeeper Allie Kelley. But instead of a Orange jersey picking up the puck, it was Merrimack’s Mary Edmonds, who quickly skipped the puck over the left shoulder of Kelley and into the net.

It was just 9:18 into the game, but Edmonds’s goal was all the Merrimack Warriors (3-2, 0-0 West Hockey East Association) would need to get past the Syracuse Orange (2-2, 0-0 College Hockey Association) in a shutout 4-0 victory. Syracuse, after only scoring one goal in the opener of the series, struggled offensively again, mustering only 15 shots on goal.

For the first 40 seconds, the Orange held possession in the offensive zone after Kate Holmes won the opening faceoff. A couple minutes later, Syracuse fired off four shots on one possession but only one was on target.

Yet, after that SU’s early offensive onslaught, Merrimack peppered Kelley with multiple shots 4:30 into the first period. The Warriors controlled possession following that, leading up to the first goal.

“It just comes down to there’s no script for every play in hockey and at the end of the day you have to problem solve,” Syracuse head coach Britni Smith said. “So finding ways to tie up, to push out and allow (Kelley) to find those rebounds.” Syracuse locked down defensively from there on, including recovering a dangerous puck in front of Kelley a few minutes later.

With 6:18 remaining in the first period, Merrimack received another opportunity after SU’s Charlotte Hallett was called for holding. Hallett went down to the ice during that play and had to be tended to by a trainer. With one less skater on the ice, Syracuse continued to kill power plays. Late back-and-forth play from both sides kept it at 1-0 lead through one period.

Two minutes into the second period, Holmes won a faceoff from the left offensive circle. She sent it straight back to Jocelyn Fiala, who fired a slap shot that curved just away from the top left part of the net.

The Warriors settled in after that and almost went up 2-0 when Celine Tedenby went one-on-one with Kelley, but the graduate goalkeeper made a good save at her chest.

Kelley fielded shots cleanly until 10:20 into the second period, when Ally Quagley forced a turnover at the blue line. She skated quickly to the right faceoff center and found a trailing Ryleigh Horlock. Horlock fired, first-time, to the top left corner giving Kelley zero chance. Despite conceding a second goal, Syracuse’s backline looked stronger in the second period.

“I feel like a lot of the D started to make plays and shoot the puck more … It’s just like, huge when we get the pucks on net for (the forwards) to get rebound opportunities,” defenseman Alexandria Weiss said.

In the second, Syracuse was only outshot on goal 13-8. For much of the rest of the period, both teams traded offensive chances.

Nearly 14 minutes into the period, Syracuse found itself playing four-on-four for the first time this season as a player on each side was penalized for holding. After a shot by SU’s Sara Thompson was softly kicked away by Calli Hogarth, Syracuse was a second too slow to field the puck in front of the open net.

Syracuse entered the third desperately needing offense, but couldn’t find it. The Orange registered just four shots on goal in the third. Both teams had power plays, but neither was able to convert.

Kelley, who finished the day with 30 saves on 32 shots faced, was pulled with 2:53 left in the game. The Warriors would quickly take advantage, as Allison Reeb forced a turnover and fired a shot from the left side beyond the blue line for a goal with 1:24 left.

Alex Ferguson put the cherry on top with a second empty-net goal for the Warriors 80 seconds later, sealing the 4-0 victory. Syracuse will now have the week to get ready for their series, a home-and-home with RPI starting on the road on Friday.

“I mean (we have) 11 new people so we’re working to find lines still, we’re working to find what’s going to be right for us and you know, yesterday to today big improvements,” Smith said. “So next weekend we’ll be better again.”

Published on October 7, 2023 at 7:58 pm