Syracuse penalty kill smothers Boston College’s chances in upset victory
Akane Hosoyamada, the Syracuse defense and goaltender Kallie Billadeau turned aside 43 shots in the Orange's upset win over Boston College. Luke Rafferty | Video Editor
The Syracuse bench banged loudly on the boards and howled encouragement to the skaters on the ice.
Another cleared puck on a Boston College power play, followed by another roar of gloves pounding on the inner wall of the rink.
Shorthanded on eight occasions against one of the most prolific offenses in college hockey, Paul Flanagan’s penalty kill unit didn’t flinch, holding the Eagles scoreless on 14:09 of power-play time.
“The kids that are on the ice, they get a lot of confidence, and the girls on the bench, that just pumps you up,” Flanagan said. “It gets the adrenaline going. Penalty killing is hard work, and I thought we did a nice job of that.”
The Orange penalty kill unit highlighted a strong defensive effort in Syracuse’s (4-4) 4-1 win over No. 3 Boston College (5-2) on Friday night at the Tennity Ice Pavilion. It was the highest-ranked opponent Syracuse has beaten in program history. The Orange followed it up with a 5-2 victory at home on Saturday afternoon against Union (3-5).
Including the four Union penalty chances that Syracuse dashed on Saturday, the Orange has now remained un-scored upon in its last 26 penalty kill opportunities, dating back to a 4-0 loss at then-No. 3 Clarkson on Oct. 12. SU has won three out of four games during that span.
The Syracuse defense clogged the area in front of the net throughout its win against the Eagles. Shots came flying in from every direction, but a collective effort by the SU defense and goalie Kallie Billadeau deflected 43 throughout the game.
“Everyone was willing to block shots,” said Akane Hosoyamada, who was on the penalty kill unit all game. “We were sacrificing our bodies to stop any shots from getting through. I thought it was a great job by everyone.”
For the shots that the Syracuse defense didn’t get in front of, Billadeau handled them. She credited her teammates’ positioning and timing as the reason she was able to stop so many shots.
“(The defense) stayed up and they played the girl early, which allowed me, if the shot did get through, to react in time to make the save,” Billadeau said. “They protected me.”
The one attempt that did touch the net was the result of a fortunate bounce for the Eagles. Melissa Bizzari struck a puck that was blocked by Billadeau, but Kate Leary capitalized on the rebound.
The goal was the extent of the damage that Boston College would inflict on the stingy SU defense.
Following the win, the team mobbed Billadeau behind the net. As they went back to change, screams of joy could be heard permeating from the locker room.
Billadeau said it was the biggest win in program history, and much of the credit is owed to the selflessness of her defensive unit.
“There’s a big focus on sacrificing the body and blocking shots, it’s pretty brave what these girls do,” Billadeau said. “They don’t have the pads on that I have and they’re throwing themselves in front of 80 mile per hour shots.
“I thought they were definitely the MVP’s of our team tonight.”
