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Tatum White raced to the middle of the ice. After Sarah Marchand got hold of a scampering puck that just bounced off the boards, White found an uncommon empty area in St. Lawrence’s defense. Marchand flipped her stick to its backside, flicking the puck towards White.
White ripped a lefty shot from the right side of the net, but it deflected off the Lucy Morgan’s pads.
The linkup between Marchand and White was a rare moment where Syracuse (1-3-0, 0-0-0 College Hockey America) got a clear look on net in its 2-0 loss to St Lawrence (2-3-0, 0-0-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference). SU was shut out for the second straight game, and for the third time this season.
The loss came during head coach Britni Smith’s first home game in her new position. The Orange had played their previous three games on the road before Thursday.
“I think the players were super excited to have a home game after we’ve been on the road the first few weeks,” Smith said.
White’s shot on goal was Syracuse’s first attempt on net all game, coming nearly halfway into the first period. SU’s offense couldn’t get going for much of the game only managing 13 shots on goal compared to the Saints 45.
Lauren Bellfontaine controlled the puck in the middle of the ice later in the first period, swinging it to Maya D’Arcy, who ripped a low shot that flashed past the post. The Orange struggled to connect passes in transition, unable to take advantage of any breaks.
“You’re gonna have to just play defense (through) weather storms” Smith said.
Rayla Clemons put pressure on the defense when she got the chance, finishing with a team-high four shots.
“When I have the puck I’m just thinking about the opportunity to try to beat a few girls and I’m gonna do that to get the offense started.” Clemons said.
St. Lawrence was dominant right from the opening faceoff, controlling the puck and moving it around the ice. The Saints attack was connected and had good rhythm. They never panicked as they moved into the attacking zone.
In the third period, Clemons felt SU had good “intensity and urgency” in the last few minutes, desperate to tie the game after the Saints’ Kiley Mastel scored in the first. Hannah Johnson slapped a pass across the ice to a patient Bellefontaine, but a St. Lawrence player slightly redirected the puck. Bellefontaine received the puck again moments later, but she couldn’t redirect it towards the net.
“The third period the possession time definitely balanced out, so we can build off that now,” Smith said. “It’s finding ways without possession to get the scoring areas to create a little more offense for ourselves.”
Trying to push for an equalizer, Syracuse pulled DeSmet with under a minute to go. But Ana Segedi put the game away after she took the puck from the neutral zone and placed it in the Syracuse net, doubling the Saints advantage with 43 seconds left.
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