Syracuse lost to Mercyhurst, 2-0, on Friday night at Tennity Ice Pavilion. After more than 39 minutes without a goal the Lakers tallied one with 20 seconds remaining in the second period to go ahead, 1-0. MU scored an empty net goal with 92 seconds remaining for the final score. The Orange (9-21-2, 6-8-1 CHA) and Mercyhurst (16-13-2, 8-3-2) will play the series finale on Saturday at 3 pm at Tennity Ice Pavilion. All kids in attendance are invited to join the Kids Corner to welcome the Orange onto the ice before each period.
“I thought we did a really good job on defense tonight,” said head coach Britni Smith. “We hemmed up the middle of the ice and blocked shots. That is something we talked about, not only needing to be between the dots, but also making sure we are blocking shots when the opportunity arises. I thought we did a great job with that. We were doing better with our one-on-one battles, taking care of our puck battles that we did not need to have someone jumping in so we could have that layer of support in behind.”
Syracuse’s 18 blocked shots matched a season-high for the Orange. Junior Hannah Johnson had a game-high five blocks, increasing her season total to 72, which ranks third on the Syracuse single-season record list. Johnson is tied for sixth on the Orange career blocked shots record list with 139.
Syracuse goaltender Arielle DeSmet recorded 25 saves, increasing her season total to 806, which is second on the Orange record list. She is fifth on the Syracuse career saves record list with 1,591.
Mark Your Calendar
The Orange will host Senior Day when they play Stonehill on Feb. 18 at 2 pm. A group of six skaters will be honored at the game, including, Mae Batherson, Lauren Bellefontaine, DeSmet, Brynn Koocher, Anna Leschyshyn and Marielle McHale. During their Syracuse careers, the Orange won the 2019 and 2022 CHA Tournament Championships, the 2022 CHA regular season championship.
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