Ice hockey

Syracuse collapses in overtime, gets outworked by RIT in disheartening 4-3 loss

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Paul Flanagan sat alone outside of Gene Polisseni Center, staring into an empty parking lot, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his blue Syracuse ice hockey jacket.

“I just needed to cool off,” Flanagan said.

SU’s players were still in the locker room having a team meeting, and stayed there for 54 minutes after the game ended.

Minutes earlier, the Orange had tied its game against Rochester Institute of Technology with just 11 seconds left in regulation. The chants of “defense” ringing throughout the stadium were silenced and SU’s players hugged each other.

But two minutes into overtime, Syracuse defender Kaillie Goodnough gave up the puck in the defensive zone, creating a three-on-one. RIT defender Emilee Bulleid pocketed a shot top shelf past SU goalie Jenn Gilligan.



Syracuse forward Julie Knerr skated to the bench and, with two hands, swung her stick into the boards. Flanagan, expressionless, walked onto the ice.

“To have a veteran defenseman with an unforgivable turnover in our zone to give them a three-on-one, it’s inexcusable,” Flanagan said.

The Orange was in control of the game early, but after a momentum-changing penalty, RIT scored the first goal. For every subsequent Syracuse goal, the Tigers had an answer. As the mistakes and missed chances mounted for SU, the frustration built. Ultimately, the Orange (6-12-8, 4-4-4 College Hockey America) fell to the Tigers (9-14-3, 3-8-1), 4-3, on Friday night.

“We’ve been in a lot of close games. So what?” Flanagan said. “We’ve won six games out of 26 and if we’re defined by our record then we really haven’t done much. We find ways to lose games rather than find ways to win games.”

Halfway through the first period, Syracuse had controlled the possession and put eight shots on goal, but had nothing to show for it.

A tripping penalty on Jessica Sibley put SU on its heels and RIT forward Marissa Maugeri sent one over Gilligan’s left shoulder shortly after the penalty expired.

Later in the period, after a goal by SU forward Heather Schwarz, Bulleid answered with a one-timer in the crease to make it 2-1, RIT.

When Sibley scored a power-play goal on a wraparound five minutes into the second period, Maugeri beat SU defender Megan Quinn along the goal line three minutes later and put RIT up 3-2.

“Obviously it probably wasn’t my best game of the year,” Gilligan said. “That third goal was definitely one I wanted to have back.”

Every time Flanagan’s top two players in points, forwards Melissa Piacentini and Stephanie Grossi, came off the ice he was in their ears, demonstrating a move with an imaginary stick or pointing to areas on the ice with a dry-erase board.

But it wasn’t working.

Syracuse couldn’t maintain an even-strength offensive possession. The Orange had trouble getting the puck out of the defensive zone, too, as defenders would mishandle it or have their passes intercepted.

“All over the ice we all got outworked in big parts of the game and that was the major game-turner,” Piacentini said.

For the third period, Syracuse changed its first and second lines, swapping forward Alysha Burriss and Sibley, but the results didn’t change.

Out of options, SU pulled Gilligan for an extra attacker with a minute to go in regulation. A power play gave the Orange a six-on-four advantage and Piacentini tipped in the equalizer, tying her for first in the nation with eight power-play goals.

But as RIT had done all game, it answered Syracuse’s goal. As the players filed onto the ice, chants of “RIT” filled the air.

After the game, Flanagan’s message to the team was simple.

“I just don’t feel we’re a very cohesive group,” he said, “in understanding what it takes to win hockey games.”





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