Melissa Piacentini needed two goals to set the Syracuse career goals record. In less than 10 minutes, she got both.

During a power play less than two minutes into the game, defender Akane Hosoyamada fired a shot from the right point. Perfectly placed in the center of the ice, Piacentini put her stick out and tipped the shot in.

Eight minutes later, forward Stephanie Grossi centered a pass from the left circle and found Piacentini’s stick. With a backhand flick, she became SU’s all-time leading goal scorer.

Not that it mattered much after the game.

“I could (not) care less about a record right now, to be honest with you,” SU head coach Paul Flanagan said. “I just know our record and it’s brutal right now. That’s enough of that one.”

Piacentini’s two goals catalyzed a four-goal first period for Syracuse (8-13-10, 6-5-6 College Hockey America) that quickly turned to complacency in the final two periods. While giving up two goals each in the second and third periods, SU squandered seven power-play opportunities, including overtime. The 4-4 tie against Lindenwood (9-17-2, 6-9-2) proved to be a microcosm for a season of close games and disappointments.

“The 10th tie of the season,” forward Allie LaCombe said. “Never thought in my four years I’d say that in a sentence.”

After Piacentini’s two goals, SU scored two more in the first period. Grossi scored on a rebound and LaCombe scored off a give-and-go with forward Alysha Burriss.

The four goals were the most the Orange had scored in the first period this season and everything was going Syracuse’s way.

“Going up 4-0, it can bite you in the ass sometimes and that’s what it did to us,” Piacentini said.

As Lindenwood began to chip away at the lead, SU had opportunities. The Lions’ first two goals came off breakaways from SU possessions in the attacking zone.

The first one occurred with all three SU forwards behind the Lindenwood net, Flanagan said, which shows a lack of situational awareness.

In the third, Syracuse had three power-play opportunities but was unable to convert.

“There’s only so much you can say,” LaCombe said of a silent locker room after the game. “We’ve been saying the same things the whole season. At some point, talk is cheap. You have to do it.”

After Lindenwood killed another penalty, Piacentini had consecutive opportunities around the net.

With just over two minutes left, she positioned herself in front of the net in the center of the ice, just as she had when scoring her first goal. The shot came in from Nicole Renault, but Piacentini couldn’t tip it in. When she got her own rebound, she failed to finish from inside the crease.

“It’s a tough lesson to learn but at this point in the season, it’s getting kind of old,” Flanagan said. “… The kids have to ask themselves how much they really want the two points.”

Flanagan said the game was a capsule for the SU season.

Along with the 10 ties, Syracuse has lost five one-goal games. The Orange also gave up the lead in 12 of its losses and ties. SU has outshot this season’s opponents by 156, yet only has eight wins.

On Friday night, Syracuse outshot Lindenwood by 18 but finished with the same score.

“We’re shooting the puck like we’re 12-year-olds and you’re not going to win hockey games,” Flanagan said. “When you’re shooting the puck from the point on the power play and it’s hitting their stick on the ice and they clear it, I can’t explain that.

“That’s just a lack of skill, a lack of determination, I guess. I don’t know. So that’s really frustrating because we had a lot of opportunities.”

Published on February 14, 2015 at 12:22 am