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Bryn Prier calmly controlled the puck, skating alongside Syracuse’s net. With limited pressure from SU’s defense, Prier found Makayla Watson at the top of the faceoff circle. With the puck corralled in her stick, Watson skated toward Syracuse’s goaltender, Allie Kelley.

Instead of taking the shot with just one defender ahead, Watson dished it to Maya Labad across the zone. Labad skated in and fired a shot past Kelley into the back of the net. The goal gave Quinnipiac its first lead of the day and was the game-winner.

Syracuse (2-5-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Hockey Association) fell 4-1 to No. 10 Quinnipiac (6-2-0, 0-0-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) 4-1 Saturday afternoon in an offensive battle. Quinnipiac attempted 71 shots, while SU mustered 39 en route to its defeat.

The first period was sedate for both offenses. Within three minutes of the opening whistle, the Bobcats already attempted six shots. Kelley saved two of them while Tatum White deflected a third away. White then followed up her block with a shot attempt of her own.

The forward just missed as Tiana McIntyre hit the puck out of the area. Following the attempts from both teams, Syracuse attained 18 more opportunities in the period, while Quinnipiac found just 12 more.

With 12:37 to go in the first, SU’s Charlotte Hallett was called for a penalty, beginning the Bobcats’ first power play of the day. Syracuse’s defense came up clutch, allowing just two shots on the penalty kill.

The first period ended with both teams scoreless as Syracuse outshot the Bobcats by one.

Things changed in the second period, though. Syracuse got on the board first just over two minutes in. Skating on the right side of the rink, Hallett tapped the puck over to Rylee McLeod. As part of a three-on-two attack, McLeod put it past Quinnipiac’s Kaley Doyle to give SU a 1-0 lead.

The goal was McLeod’s second of the year, her first since Syracuse’s opening series against Stonehill on Oct. 5.

Following the score, everything went downhill for the Orange for the rest of the period. In the next 18 minutes, the Bobcats attempted 28 shots compared to SU’s nine and eventually took the lead.

Just three minutes after McLeod’s goal, Labad tied the game up at 1-1. Maddy Samoskevich set up Labad across the rink with a pristine pass. With the puck in possession, Labad shot toward Kelley, who saved it. However, the save bounced back to Labad, who converted on the second effort.

Another penalty from Hallett led to a Quinnipiac power play three minutes later. During the final second of the advantage, Labad’s second goal of the day gave the Bobcats a 2-1 lead. Syracuse tallied just six more shot attempts in the period and headed into the third down one score.

With just 20 minutes left, Syracuse was in dire need of offensive production but was unable to get anything going. Following a seven-shot stretch from the Bobcats, the Orange almost matched them with four of their own.

Two were saved by Doyle, while one went wide, and another was blocked by Samoskevich. SU’s Bryn Saarela was later called for tripping, leading to another power play for the Bobcats. After three missed shots, Labad finally buried home her third goal of the day.

From a difficult angle on the right side of Kelley, Labad sniped a shot into the back of the net. The goal marked her first career hat trick.

Syracuse found itself with better momentum later in the third but couldn’t add to the scoreboard. A penalty by Prier led to a Syracuse power play. The Orange attempted just one shot in the two minutes of advantage before Prier returned to action.

With 58 seconds remaining, Kahlen Lamarche found SU’s open net to seal the 4-1 victory for the Bobcats. The loss marked the first time since Dec. 5, 2023, to Jan. 16, 2024, that Syracuse has lost five straight matches.

Published on October 19, 2024 at 6:50 pm

Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_