The Syracuse defense kept the nation’s 10th-ranked offense to just two goals in a 2-1 loss to 13th-ranked Vermont on Saturday at Tennity Ice Pavilion. The Catamounts came into the weekend series averaging 3.26 goals per game. The score was tied, 1-1, after the first period and then Vermont scored the game-winner midway through the second period.
“It would have been great to come out of the weekend with a win, but overall, I am extremely happy with our play. Vermont is a team that likes to play between the dots, so we made it very challenging for them to get between the dots and then when they were they felt our presence and I think we did a really good job with that,” said head coach Britni Smith. “We talked about our defense being what leads to offense and I thought tonight we really took care of that.”
In the first period, Syracuse (7-13-1, 4-2 CHA) forward Rayla Clemons did not let a Vermont goal stand by itself for very long. After UVM (13-7-1, 8-5-1 Hockey East) center Natalie Mlynkova scored on a power play goal 12:10 into the game, Clemons scored one minute later on a feed from Sarah Thompson to tie the game. Thompson gathered the puck in the defensive zone and hit a streaking Clemons in the neutral zone. The junior from Franklin, Mich. beat Vermont goalie Jessie McPherson from left to right for the score.
Syracuse will host #5 Colgate on Tuesday, January 10 at 6 pm at Tennity Ice Pavilion.
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