Down 2-1 with 1:01 remaining in the third period, Robert Morris pulled its goalie. Fifteen seconds later, the Colonials won a faceoff to defender Mikaela Lowater, who quickly fired a shot from the point.

Syracuse forward Emily Costales was there to block the shot, sending it out of the attacking zone and causing the nearby Syracuse bench to erupt in high-pitched cheers.

“When they block a shot, especially if it goes out of the zone, that’s huge,” SU head coach Paul Flanagan. “It’s a huge boost for our team.”

After RMU brought the puck back into the SU zone, defenders poked it over the blue line, sending the bench into another frenzy. A few seconds later, forward Alysha Burriss stole the puck in the neutral zone and, as the bench screamed yet again, she skated the length of the ice to score an empty-net goal, securing the Orange’s (8-13-9, 6-5-5 College Hockey America) 3-1 victory over Robert Morris (9-17-3, 6-8-2) Saturday afternoon in Tennity Ice Pavilion.

Syracuse blocked eight shots and dominated the second period, but gave up a goal on RMU’s only viable opportunity, leaving the game tied. In the third, the Orange managed to capitalize on its strong play to win the game.

Both teams came out playing physically in the second, with an early penalty from RMU. A minute after the Colonials killed the penalty, SU forward Eleanor Haines put a shot on net that RMU goalie Jessica Dodds blocked out to the right wing.

Forward Heather Schwartz was there to pick it up, spun and fired a backhand shot toward the goal. Dodds again made the save to the right, but forward Laurence Porlier found the puck outside the crease and jammed home the rebound, making the score 1-0.

“It all started with how hard Ellie was going,” Schwartz said.

From then on, Syracuse dominated possession, including a two-minute stretch midway through the period when Robert Morris was unable to clear the puck from the attacking zone.

With 7:30 remaining in the period, SU defender Megan Quinn was knocked down in the neutral zone on a questionable no-call, Flanagan said. RMU forward Ashley Vesci grabbed the puck and initiated a two-on-one.

Vesci drove down the left wing before centering the puck to forward Natalie Fraser, who beat goalie Jenn Gilligan to the right post to tie the score at one.

“A lot of times there’s collisions and we got the bad end of it,” Flanagan said. “Let’s just go with that.”

During the second intermission, Flanagan told his team to try for a knockout punch. Syracuse was playing better, he said, and someone needed to secure the win.

Six minutes into the period, Schwartz answered Flanagan’s call to action.

While forechecking, forward Stephanie Grossi stole the puck along the left boards and fired the puck on goal. The shot hits Dodds’ pads and ricocheted hard up the center of the ice. Costales came in and immediately sent it back on net, but Dodds was there again.

This time, the rebound hovered on the crease, finding Schwartz’s stick as she slid the puck over the line.

“It was a perfect play,” Schwartz said, “perfect.”

Blocked shots by Syracuse dominated the remainder of the game. Every time Robert Morris made a bid, an Orange skater seemed to be there, laying her body out to stop the puck before it reached Gilligan.

And with every blocked shot, the Syracuse bench erupted in a chorus of cheers.

“I may have mentioned it in the dressing room that it was pretty nice not to have to work so hard tonight,” said Gilligan, who had to save only 18 of 30 RMU shots. “We’re not a flashy team so blocking shots is really big for us. Obviously from the sounds coming from the bench, they were huge blocks.”

Published on February 7, 2015 at 7:39 pm