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As Penn State’s Mya Vaslet crossed the defensive blue line, there was nothing but open ice in front of her. She cut to the right side of the ice, only having to face SU’s Maya D’Arcy in the offensive zone. A few more strides pushed Vaslet around the outside of D’Arcy and to the front of the goal where she easily slotted a shot past Syracuse goalie Allie Kelley. Just over 9 minutes into the second period, the Nittany Lions took a 2-1 lead.

No. 15 Penn State (3-6-1, 2-0-0 College Hockey America) never looked back, defeating Syracuse (3-7-1, 0-2-0 CHA) 6-2 as the buzzer sounded Sunday. On Saturday, Syracuse head coach Britni Smith said her team needed to play 60 minutes of complete hockey. Today, she said her team was 90 percent there, holding Penn State to a one-goal lead until the third period.

Unlike the controlled offense Penn State had in the series’ first game, both teams traded shots in transition throughout the first eight minutes of the period.

“I think we did our best just to slow them down,” Thompson said. “We played a physical game. I’m really proud of the way we got our bumps and pins tonight.”

With just under 12 minutes to go in the first period, Darci Johal tripped an opponent, putting Penn State on the power play. Syracuse’s penalty kill then locked down, only allowing one shot over the next two minutes.

After Alyssa Machado was called for slashing, SU had what was then its best opportunity of the game. On the power play, Syracuse defenseman Rachel Teslak came alive, firing shots from the middle of the offensive zone. She finished the period with five shots, three on goal.

“Her shot is her strength for sure,” Smith said. “So we want to make sure we give her the green light. She gets a ton off on the power play.”

A different tripping penalty on Syracuse and a faceoff violation on Penn State generated four-on-four play with 27 seconds left in the period. The Nittany Lions needed just 12 to take advantage.

After fighting for a puck on the right board, Penn State’s Tessa Janecke emerged in the offensive zone. She powered toward the goal, but instead of shooting, she slipped a pass past two Syracuse defenders to the stick of Julie Gough. She tapped in the first goal of the game.

By the end of the first, Syracuse had put together one of its best statistical periods of the year. It led in faceoffs and equaled Penn State’s shots on goal. Faceoffs were a strength all day with SU’s Tatum White finishing with a CHA season-high 24 faceoff wins. Despite trailing by one, the Orange carried some momentum into the second period.

After Penn State killed off the penalty left over from the first, Syracuse went on the attack.

Rayla Clemons intercepted a pass at SU’s offensive blue line and tapped a pass to Marielle McHale up the left side of the ice. After a few strides, McHale maneuvered a pass to just right of the goal, where Thompson fired home her second goal of the season.

With the game tied at 1-1, Penn State peppered shots at Kelley. She held strong, but Vaslet eventually beat the goaltender with 10:57 remaining in the second.

Following Vaslet’s goal, the Nittany Lions started to look more and more comfortable. While they failed to find opportunities for wide-open shots, Penn State managed to kill time by maximizing possession. In response, the Orange continued to give chase, remaining aggressive throughout the second period of action despite limited time with the puck.

“It was great,” Thompson said. “Benergy, bench energy we call it, is a huge thing for our team … So that was something we really focused on tonight. It was excellent in the first 40 (minutes).”

Despite a 44 second 5-on-3 opportunity late in the second period, Syracuse registered just one shot during its power play opportunity. Over the game Syracuse was outshot 21-17 but kept the game close.

In the third period, the Nittany Lions’ offense exploded, recording 20 shots on goal, four of which found the back of the net.

Just a minute into the period, Penn State’s Maddy Christian picked up a loose puck on the Nittany Lions offensive blue line. She quickly turned around, took a couple of strides and easily scored.

Two minutes later, the Nittany Lions struck again. Kelley made the initial save on the play but lost control of the puck, handing Penn State’s Karley Garcia an easy goal to create a three-goal advantage.

The visiting side added two more off the stick of Janecke and Stella Rectrum, sandwiching a Teslak score, to conjure up a commanding 6-2 scoreline. Syracuse’s third-period collapse culminated in a devastating third consecutive loss.

“We had a really good game plan in place and they executed really well for about 90% of the game today. That 10 percent that (Penn State) kind of was able to capitalize is our focus now moving forward,” Smith said.

Published on October 29, 2023 at 8:14 pm