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With just under three minutes to play, Mercyhurst’s Chantal Ste-Croix received the puck in the slot and skated toward the left circle. Ste-Croix dished a pass across the ice to Julia Schalin, who controlled the puck and ripped it past Syracuse goaltender Allie Kelley. The goal gave the Lakers a 3-2 lead.

Two minutes later, with Kelley off the ice in favor of an extra skater, Mercyhurst pounced again. Sofia Nuutinen won the puck near the center circle and fired a pinpoint shot into SU’s empty net.

After erasing a two-goal deficit in the third period, the Orange couldn’t finish when it mattered most.

Syracuse (7-16-0, 5-5-0 Atlantic Hockey America) dropped a fourth consecutive game, losing 4-2 to Mercyhurst (11-11-1, 6-4-0 AHA) Saturday. While Syracuse responded to the Lakers’ early 2-0 lead, it couldn’t capitalize late, surrendering twice in the final three minutes. The Orange have now failed to beat the Lakers in each of their last 12 meetings, dating back to January 2023.

Coming off a loss to Mercyhurst Friday, where Syracuse remained in striking distance, the keys to SU ending its dry spell against Mercyhurst were scoring first and capitalizing on the power play. The Orange went 0-for-4 on power play chances Friday night and conceded an early goal, dropping SU to 1-12 when its opposition scores first. The goals were clear for Syracuse, but it couldn’t fulfill either Saturday.

Offense was hard to come by for both squads in the first period. Mercyhurst had more early attempts than SU, but neither squad was very threatening. Syracuse managed just five shots on goal to the Lakers’ 17, but the game was scoreless entering the first intermission.

In the second period, the Mercyhurst offense woke up. Schalin was the first to draw blood, skating into the slot and firing an uncontested shot into Kelley’s top right corner.

Five minutes later, a foul on Heidi Knoll put the Lakers on the power play. Despite scoring just once in six power play chances the night prior, Mercyhurst made no mistake on its second chance Saturday. Nuutinen fired a shot from the left circle that Kelley saved, but she followed the puck into the crease to slot in the Lakers’ second goal of the afternoon.

Entering the third period, SU looked deflated. Last in the AHA with just 22.87 shots on goal per game, the Orange offense struggled to find solid chances throughout the first two periods.

However, the tides turned early in the third. Syracuse’s leading scorer, Bryn Saarela, was the first to sound the horn. A strong forecheck by Peyton Armstrong led to a turnover in the offensive zone. Armstrong took the puck behind the net and played a pass to Saarela, who blasted it into the top left corner. Saarela’s 12th goal of the season and ninth in as many games gave the Orange hope with plenty of time to take the lead.

SU hunted for chances for the next 10 minutes but couldn’t get clear shots past Mercyhurst goaltender Magdalena Luggin.

Nonetheless, Syracuse found its breakthrough with nine minutes remaining. Nea Tervonen ripped a shot from the left circle that Luggin pushed away to her left. Stella Costabile was the beneficiary, redirecting the loose puck into the net for her first career goal. The Orange had found their way back into the game, tying the contest 2-2.

The momentum didn’t last for long, however, as Schalin’s goal took the life out of a persistent SU squad late. Nuutinen’s empty-netter was the final nail in Syracuse’s coffin.

While both Friday and Saturday’s games brought familiar results against a tough conference foe, SU’s late surge in both contests proved it could provide offense late, something rarely seen from Syracuse in previous games.

Published on January 11, 2025 at 6:30 pm

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