Two minutes made all the difference. The short on-ice span that separated Syracuse from a season-defining win on senior day and another bitter loss left the Orange wondering when bounces were eventually going to go its way.

With Syracuse up by a goal, the Orange was playing with energy and had the momentum. But in a two-minute window, it dropped off and disappeared. Robert Morris scored three times in 99 seconds and from there Syracuse struggled to get back in the game.

‘For us to try to get back into it, it just makes it tough,’ SU head coach Paul Flanagan said. ‘It’s just mentally defeating. It’s tiring.’

And though Flanagan liked how his team didn’t pack it in, the Orange (9-18-3, 0-5-3 CHA) didn’t see the result it wanted, losing 5-2 to Robert Morris (16-8-2, 5-2-1) in the final home game of the season at Tennity Ice Pavilion in front of 341 fans Saturday. SU lost 4-3 to the Colonials on Friday night in the series opener. A few mental lapses and costly mistakes manifested into easy opportunities for the Colonials to sweep the Orange in the conference matchup.

Four-year seniors — Megan Skelly, Taylor Metcalfe, Lisa Mullan and Stephanie Jones — were honored before the game in an emotional ceremony. Those heavy emotions carried onto the ice and gave Syracuse an additional boost on the ice.

Holly Carrie-Mattimoe put SU out in front with a quick strike in the first period. Slipping by a lethargic Robert Morris defense, Mattimoe glided from the near side of the ice and went top shelf on Colonials goaltender Kristen DiCiocco, who was slow to react.

With what Mattimoe called a little bit of luck, the Orange showed that bundled energy from the ceremony translated into its early play and lead.

‘We were all excited, all pumped for the seniors, and we really wanted to get that win for them,’ Carrie-Mattimoe said.

But that desire couldn’t outweigh the mistakes Syracuse made following its early edge.

After Jacquie Greco was sent to the penalty box for interference, Robert Morris capitalized.

Robert Morris began to send a flurry of shots on the cage on the power-play opportunity. The Colonials then finally broke through when Rebecca Vint redirected a long pass from teammate Brianna Delaney into the back of the net with 48 seconds left in the first period.

Then things began to unravel for Syracuse. Just 28 seconds later, the Colonials’ Dayna Newsom fired a shot through Kallie Billadeau’s legs to give Robert Morris a one-goal lead.

‘It’s very deflating, the one goal all right,’ Flanagan said. ‘But the second goal was tough.’

If the second goal was tough, the third goal was devastating.

And it came 51 seconds into the second period when Robert Morris executed a two-on-one to perfection. Kelsey Thomas sent a centering feed to Thea Imbrogno, who deked out Billadeau out for a two-goal edge.

By that point, all the energy Syracuse had displayed at the start of game had left the building, and by the third goal the only noise was coming from the Colonials’ bench.

And once again, for the most part, the Orange could only point to itself for the breakdown on ice.

‘Once one happened we just kind, were kind of scrambling out there, and they just got the other two,’ freshman Nicole Ferrara said. ‘We just need to keep our cool next time.’

Ferrara and the SU squad eventually regained their composure and made things interesting when Ferrara collected a loose puck in front of the cage and shot it into an exposed net to make it 3-2.

The goal gave Syracuse some life, and Metcalfe said she thought an Orange comeback was within the realm of possibility. But it ultimately wasn’t meant to be.

Robert Morris netted two goals late for additional insurance. On a day the Orange wanted to send the seniors out with a win, it instead left SU players searching for answers to its ongoing problems, especially how to avoid critical letdowns.

‘I don’t know. I think it’s been happening a lot this season,’ Ferrara said. ‘We still really haven’t figured it out.’

dgproppe@syr.edu

 

Published on February 5, 2012 at 12:00 pm