Syracuse’s new faceoff unit shows promise in loss vs. Minnesota Duluth
Despite falling to Minnesota Duluth 4-0 for the second straight game, Syracuse improved on faceoffs, going 25-for-49. Lars Jendruschewitz | Senior Staff Photographer
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For the past five seasons, Syracuse had the luxury of leaning on one of the nation’s best faceoff-taking centers: Tatum White.
Though the unit dealt with its fair share of hiccups, White’s steadiness on the draw helped guide its attack during what eventually became deep playoff runs. That’s why once her college career ended after last season, it sparked an unavoidable question: how would SU’s faceoff unit fare without her?
In their season opener on Thursday, the Orange rolled through a mix of experience and youth in an attempt to fill that gap. Nea Tervonen led the group, taking the opening draw and the most of any SU player (22). Surprisingly, freshman Emma Gnade followed close behind with 18 reps. Other returners, including Haley Trudeau and Rylee McLeod, also slotted in.
Facing one of the country’s top teams right out of the gate, SU won only 41.5% (27-of-65) of its faceoffs that night. It seemed like game 2 would bring yet another sloppy day in the circle for the Orange. Instead, they showed some backbone.
Despite falling 4-0 to No. 6 Minnesota Duluth (4-0-0, 0-0-0 Western Collegiate Hockey) for the second night in a row, Syracuse’s (0-2-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Hockey America) slightly new faceoff unit showed promise. Led by Gnade and Tervonen once again, SU narrowly bested Minnesota Duluth on the dot with a 51% mark (25-of-49).
Entering 2025-26, it seemed Tervonen was the favorite to take on the role of SU’s next first-line center. Behind White, she led the Orange’s second line last year, racking up 307 faceoff victories, which landed her just outside the top 20 for most in a single season by a Syracuse player. Right on cue, she glided in to take the opening draw in game 1.
But on Friday night, head coach Britni Smith decided to give a younger stick the chance to shine. Enter Gnade.
After taking 18 draws the previous night, the freshman was dealt a tough matchup in the Bulldogs’ standout Caitlin Kraemer. Faced with their top center, Gnade wasn’t quick enough. With a flick of the wrist, Kraemer cleanly won the puck back to her teammates and set the stage for four unanswered Bulldog shot attempts on goalie Ava Drabyk.
Just over two minutes in, McLeod secured SU’s first faceoff win of the night, but it was overshadowed by a Makenna Williment penalty. Thanks to a strong defensive effort from the Orange, they managed to keep the score knotted at zero. The stand marked the first of three successful kills for Syracuse.
After splitting the first four faceoffs, SU’s unit fell behind by losing the next five. Then came a spark. Given a power play with 3:36 remaining in the opening frame, SU pressured the Bulldogs behind four consecutive draw wins to close the first frame — including two from Gnade.
The freshman went on to take the opening faceoffs to start the next two periods, finishing her outing with five victories.
“She’s such a learner of the game, so she really understands. When we make an adjustment with her, she does it right away. We’re really happy with where her game is at right now,” Orange associate head coach Heather Farrell said of Gnade.
As the penalties piled up in the second period, Syracuse continued to make the Bulldogs earn every inch in the circle. By the end of the frame, it trailed 17-12 on faceoffs but was still in the game down 1-0.
Over the final 20 minutes, the unit finally turned a corner, but the goals never followed. Ironically, each of Minnesota Duluth’s three goals in the final period came moments after a Syracuse faceoff win.
Midway through the frame, a McLeod victory was given away immediately by a poorly-placed pass in the neutral zone by SU. Seconds later, the puck ended up in the back of its net courtesy of a Kraemer wrist shot.
With 3:16 to go, it was rinse, wash, repeat. The Orange coughed up Gnade’s draw victory back to a Minnesota Duluth defender. Ten ticks later, Thea Johannson blew the contest open with a miraculous goal off her own rebound from the left wing. The former Mercyhurst Laker went on to secure UMD’s triumph with an empty-netter — her third tally of the series.
“It doesn’t just take the center to win those draws. We really need our wingers to come in and help and have a plan,” Farrell said.
Two games into 2025-26, Syracuse now sits in the exact opposite spot it started last season: 0-2 following back-to-back 4-0 defeats. Still, over the course of 48 hours, its new-look faceoff unit showed that even without White, it can still compete with the nation’s best teams on the draw.
“We have really good loss plans and we have good win plans for all the dots. More practice will allow us to be ready and set in those areas,” Farrell said.
