Syracuse goaltender Arielle DeSmet recorded a season-high 50 saves in the Orange’s 1-1 overtime tie at Mercyhurst. The Charlotte, Vt. native turned away the first 41 shots in the game, including 22 in the second period. Sophomore Sarah Marchand tallied the first goal of the game on a power play less than five minutes into the third period to give the Orange a 1-0 lead. The Lakers tied the game midway through the third period. Syracuse (9-18-2, 6-5-1, College Hockey America) and Mercyhurst (14-3-2, 6-3-1) are tied for second place in the CHA standings with 13 points each.
“I am proud of the team and the way they responded today, It has been a heavy stretch of games with six in the last 10 days and they battled hard,” said head coach Britni Smith. “Desi (DeSmet) was fantastic and allowed us to weather storms I the first two periods. We played gritty and determined hockey in the third period and OT to earn a big tie on the road.”
Marchand scored her eighth goal of the season by deflecting forward Lauren Bellefontaine shot from the right circle into the back side of the net. Senior Mae Batherson started the play at the point and fed a pass to Bellefontaine for the shot.
In the overtime period, DeSmet saved both Mercyhurst shots that reached her, defenseman Hannah Johnson blocked two shots and then forward Sarah Thompson blocked the Lakers’ final shot with two seconds left to secure the tie. Johnson finished the game with three blocks, giving her a team-leading 63 for the season, which ranks first in the CHA and eighth on Syracuse’s single-season record list.
The Orange will host Penn State on February 3rd (6 pm) and 4th (3 pm) at Tennity Ice Pavilion. Syracuse will close CHA regular season play at home against Mercyhurst on Feb 10th and 11th, before Senior Day against Stonehill on Feb. 18th. All home games are played at Tennity Ice Pavilion.
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