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As Carrie Byrnes carried the puck up the left side of the ice and passed to Tessa Janecke across Penn State’s defensive blue line. A clear two-on-two fastbreak emerged. As Janecke sped towards the goal line, she flicked a pass towards the front of the net. Waiting there alone was Julie Gough, who flipped a one timer into the top right corner to give Penn State a 1-0 lead 3:11 into the second period.

The area in front of Allie Kelley was wide open for one of the first times all game. After a first period in which Syracuse blocked shots and crowded well in the defensive zone, breakdowns for the Orange’s defense came in the second period.

This was the catalyst for two of No. 15 Penn State’s goals (2-6-1, 1-0-0 College Hockey America) en route to a 4-2 win over Syracuse (3-6-1, 0-1-0 CHA) in the CHA opener. While the Orange struggled in the second, they recorded 13 blocks, a bright spot for a team which is winless over its last four games.

Crease play has been a point of emphasis throughout the season. After the first home series of the year against Merrimack, head coach Britni Smith said her team needed to button up rebounds and loose pucks near their defensive goal.

Through the first 20 minutes tonight, Syracuse did that perfectly. Less than three minutes in, as Penn State began to formulate an offensive possession, Syracuse crowded in front of the net, preventing any close shots.

“We’re okay with shots from outside and up high,” Smith said postgame. “We really wanted to eliminate those in the house.”

This trend continued throughout the period. With ten minutes left in the first, Penn State’s Stella Retrum received a puck on the right wing. Quickly three Syracuse players collapsed onto her, preventing a shot.

Even when Penn State got off shots, Syracuse was there to block them.

“It’s a focus of ours for sure,” Smith said. “It’s something that we need in order to be effective in our defensive zone coverage. So it’s it’s nice to see players stepping up that maybe aren’t normally blocking shots and finding those lanes.”

By the end of the period, Syracuse had racked up eight blocked shots. Graduate defenseman Rachel Teslak, said the blocks help Kelley.

“In any defensive game for any team, you need to be able to block the shots,” Teslak said. “You need to be able to help out your goaltender.”

A mix of blocked shots, as well as 16 saves by Kelley, kept the game scoreless at the end of the first period. But while Syracuse’s blocked shots were the storyline of the first period Penn State found more openings in the second period.

“I think our second was probably the period that we let down a little bit today,” Smith said postgame. “Shots on net, goals. Take that period out, it’s a much more even game.”

The second period is where Penn State’s speed caused SU problems. Janecke came alive making blazing runs on fast breaks.

Suddenly, the clouded area in front of the goal that kept the game scoreless early on had disappeared.

Runs by players like Janecke and sophomore forward Maddy Christian, throughout the period led to more chances for Penn State. The Nittany Lions scored two goals in the period, with 15 shots on goal compared to six from Syracuse. In the second, the Orange had zero blocked shots.

Graduate Defenseman Alexandria Weiss, who scored in the third period, sees multiple ways the team can improve on stopping fast breaks and being more secure defensively.

“One thing we just have to do is get pucks deep,” Weiss said. “I think sometimes we played with the puck a little too much along the blue line and we know they’re like a fast transition team. So I think we just need to make sure to get the puck deep or hold on to it a little longer so we can stop those breaks.”

The pace of play returned to Syracuse’s favor in the third period. Two goals cut the lead down to one twice, but the Nittany Lions had quick responses both times. Although, Syracuse’s defense looked much stronger. They added five blocked shots in the third.

Before the second game against the Nittany Lions tomorrow Teslak believes the team needs to focus on systems they’ve already been taught.

“I think playing short and simple in the D-zone is what’s gonna make us successful as a group and I think we definitely made strides on that tonight,” Teslak said.

Published on October 28, 2023 at 6:19 pm