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In a season that’s featured many highs and lows for Syracuse, victories away from home ice have been tough to come by. Entering Saturday, the Orange had earned four wins away from Tennity Ice Pavillion, two of which came last week to Robert Morris. Before that series sweep, SU’s last win on the road was on Nov. 22, 2024, over Lindenwood.

Pairing up Syracuse’s struggles on the road with its apparent battles against Mercyhurst didn’t set SU up for much to celebrate in its regular season finale. The Orange hadn’t beaten the Lakers in nearly three years, with their last win coming on Feb. 26, 2022.

Syracuse (13-21-0, 11-9-0 Atlantic Hockey America) overcame those frequent setbacks on Saturday, defeating Mercyhurst (18-14-2, 13-6-1 Atlantic Hockey America) 4-2. With Allie Kelley’s 40 saves, her highest since Jan. 17 against Minnesota Duluth (54), and SU’s four goals, the Orange ended their regular season with a win.

Syracuse started things off on the defensive side of the ice. Kelley — who notched SU’s all-time saves record Friday (2,168) — grabbed her first of the day 46 seconds in. Mercyhurst’s Thea Johansson, coming off a hat trick, had a one-on-one breakaway with the goaltender. However, a quick maneuver by Johansson was to no avail. Following Kelley’s save, SU struck the other way.

Four straight Syracuse shots saw Jorden Mattison tally two saves, but it wasn’t enough to keep the game deadlocked at zero. Peyton Armstrong captured a rebound off Mattison, where she was immediately forced to the ground. Sydney Pedersen was called for boarding, and the AHA’s second-ranked power play unit came through.

Armstrong pushed the puck through the neutral zone, where she found Jessica Cheung. Cheung, at the top of the Lakers’ defensive zone, fed Celia Wiegand cross-ice. There, she fired a slapshot into the back of the net to score her second career goal and give the Orange a 1-0 lead.

Wiegand’s score began a stretch where the Orange and Lakers traded shots until Tatum White was penalized. On its advantage, Mercyhurst took five shots, but four saves from Kelley, along with a block from Jackson Kinsler, kept SU in front.

On the brink of ending the first period with a lead, its first time doing so against the Lakers this year, Vanessa Upson tied the game.

Like Wiegand’s shot, Upson straddled the top of her offensive zone. On a quick assist, Upson wristed a shot Kelley’s way. The puck shed traffic at the crease but, after deflecting off Syracuse and Mercyhurst sticks, became the equalizer.

With a chance to regroup and come out stronger in the second period, both teams played passively. A lingering power play from the first period gave Syracuse an early advantage. Still, Mattison’s strength in net held up each time. Megan McKay ended SU’s shot barrage with one of her own, but it was snared by Cheung.

In a first period that was heavily offensive, the middle frame allowed Kelley and Mattison to flash their leather. Constant advantages, with one penalty each, saw loaded pressure on the goalkeepers. However, Kelley’s 11 saves kept the game knotted. On the other side, Mattison denied seven SU tries.

To begin the third period, Mercyhurst’s offensive presence from the opening frame was quickly shown. Johansson nailed a shot on Kelley 1:02 into play, which looked to go in. As Mercyhurst celebrated, the referees concluded Kelley had denied the goal, keeping the game tied.

Despite the save by Kelley, the Lakers took the period’s first four shots. But when the Orange got a chance, they made it count. A mistake by Emmi Mourujärvi allowed Heidi Knoll to steal the puck. The junior took a fast break to Mattison, where one quick move put her on a swivel. Knoll sniped the back of the net to give SU its first lead since the opening period.

Still, Mercyhurst dominated offensively. After Knoll’s goal, Mercyhurst took four shots in the next three minutes. But again, as Knoll displayed before, Syracuse didn’t need many opportunities to make things count.

Rylee McLeod got things started for Syracuse with a simple shot that Mattison stonewalled. Nine seconds later, however, Sami Gendron, the former Laker, and McLeod assisted an insurance goal to Maya D’Arcy.

Similar to where Wiegand was positioned in the opening period, D’Arcy was fed by her teammates to rattle home Syracuse’s second goal in four minutes.

For Syracuse to earn its first win over the Lakers since 2022, all SU had to do was play firm defense. And it did just that. Kelley made three more saves shortly after D’Arcy’s goal before Jade Maisonneuve was called for elbowing, giving SU its fourth power play of the day.

The Orange tallied just one shot in the advantage stretch, but Kelley’s denial of four shots in under three minutes put Mercyhurst in a scramble. With the game coming to a close, Kylee Mahoney made things interesting, burying the back of the net with 1:11 to play.

Still, as Mattison was removed from Mercyhurst’s goal, White put the finishing touches on SU’s victory with a 200-foot shot with 24 seconds to play.

Published on February 15, 2025 at 3:56 pm

Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_