BUFFALO – Three minutes into the third period, Syracuse needed an answer. The Orange trailed 3-2 after allowing three consecutive goals. SU’s Brynn Koocher skated the puck down the right sideboards toward the Robert Morris net. As she got closer, Koocher let go of a quick wrist shot. But before the puck reached its target, the stick of Emilie Harley stopped it, neutralizing the threat.

It was one of many instances where the Orange (14-20-2, 12-8-2 College Hockey America) could not find a solution through Robert Morris’ (20-11-4, 14-5-2) defense. The Colonials held SU to 22 shots on goal, including four in the final period. Robert Morris’ aggressive back-check and shot-blocking shut down multiple Syracuse opportunities, helping the Colonials advance to the CHA tournament finals with a 5-2 win at the Harborcenter in Buffalo on Friday night. 

“They had some killer instincts defensively,” SU head coach Paul Flanagan said. “We tried to stretch someone, we tried to spring someone, we tried different things. And you gotta give your opponent credit, they just didn’t give us much.”

In the first period though, the Orange had full control of the game, getting on the board first courtesy of a Lindsay Eastwood goal. The senior captain collected the loose puck in the slot and poked it past Colonials goalie Raygan Kirk with 52 seconds remaining in the period. After Mae Batherson scored just over a minute into the second period, Syracuse had converted its first 12 shots on net into two goals, highly efficient for a team that was only able to score twice on 63 shots against RIT on Feb. 8. 

From that point on, the Syracuse offense stuttered and was unable to apply the same caliber of shots or opportunities. The Colonials adapted their game, keeping more skaters in the slot to take away any cross-ice passes and blocking shots from the point. Robert Morris’ strategy worked, after Batherson’s goal, Syracuse was held to only 13 shots on goal for the remaining 39 minutes of the game. 

Apart from having bodies and sticks in the passing lanes and breaking up the Syracuse offense before it could get started, the Colonials stepped in front of 11 shots. With just over 12 minutes gone in the first period, Eastwood teed up a slapshot from the left side of the blue line. With two Syracuse skaters in front of the net, any shot on goal with a rebound was highly likely to end up as a goal for the Orange. Seeing Eastwood wind up, Colonials senior Sarah Lecavalier got in front of the blast, taking it off her shins. With the Orange defense out of position, Lecavalier took her own rebound down the ice on a breakaway opportunity, where she was eventually stopped by SU goalie Allison Small. 

“If we could get those through, that was extremely important,” Eastwood said. “But any shot is a good shot, especially in playoff hockey.”

Robert Morris shut down the Orange in the final two-thirds of the game, but Syracuse’s shot quality diminished quickly after the Colonials comeback. Instead of setting up in the offensive zone, establishing possession and finding a good shot – which is what the Orange did on Batherson and Eastwood’s goals – the Orange tried to erase the deficit with fast breaks and two-on-ones. The Colonials were able to easily counter these chances, either with a poke check or with Kirk making a save. 

A little less than a year ago, Syracuse took 30 shots, converting six times to beat Robert Morris in the CHA tournament final to clinch SU’s first NCAA tournament bid in program history. But Friday night, the Colonials aggressive defense limited Orange scoring opportunities, preventing Syracuse a chance to repeat as CHA champions.

Published on March 6, 2020 at 9:27 pm

Contact Will: wrhentsc@syr.edu