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Syracuse had the perfect opportunity to make a statement on the first play of its season. It pushed the puck past the blue line within seconds, eager to set the tone. Celia Wiegand, who recorded a shot in 24-of-37 games as a freshman, was ready to light the lamp for her third career goal. Both of her scores last season were the first of each contest.

Wiegand’s wristshot was gloved by Minnesota Duluth goaltender Ève Gascon 17 seconds into the campaign, leading to a face-off to the left of the Bulldogs’ goal. Nea Tervonen, who’s won 47.6% of draws in her career, tied up with Caitlin Kraemer.

Kraemer won the face-off, knocking the puck back to Danielle Burgen. SU’s forwards swarmed Burgen, and she tapped it up along the boards on the right side to Ashley Messier. Messier flung the puck into the neutral zone, where Kraemer snatched it and moved past the Orange’s blue line.

With Josie St. Martin gliding up the left wing and only Sami Gendron to beat, Kraemer saw the immediate two-on-one advantage. She gained velocity down the right side, and it was a tango with SU freshman goalie Ava Drabyk.

Kraemer fired a wristshot from behind the red face-off dot, slotting the puck around Drabyk’s left pad and into the net. Just 27 seconds in, the goal was a microcosm of what was to come in the rest of Drabyk’s first collegiate game.

Syracuse (0-1, 0-0 Atlantic Hockey America) fell to No. 6 Minnesota Duluth (3-0, 0-0 Western Collegiate Hockey) 4-0 Thursday in a game where the tone was set from the first few moments. Whenever the Orange botched a chance, the Bulldogs capitalized.

Kraemer’s goal put SU in a hole it couldn’t dig its way out of. Playing down 1-0 is a morale destroyer for any squad, providing little-to-no momentum and all the pressure in the world. Minnesota Duluth took advantage of the Orange’s lackadaisical play following its opening tally.

“We talked about getting the nerves out. There’s a lot to shake off there. That was taking a deep breath, it was hitting the restart button and going again,” SU forward Jackson Kinsler said.

After Kraemer’s goal, the Bulldogs strung together seven unanswered shots, six of which landed on target. Drabyk received her welcome-to-college moment early, and Minnesota Duluth kept putting her under duress. But Drabyk was the least of Syracuse’s problems. The Saskatchewan native stopped 44 shots Thursday, posting a .917 save percentage.

“Obviously, tough for her first goal against in a two-on-one. First goal on the first shot in your college career isn’t great,” Orange head coach Britni Smith said. “From there, she played great and had a lot of confidence in her ability.”

The Orange simply couldn’t get Minnesota Duluth off the attack. Losing the puck in their own defensive zone wouldn’t change that. Just over three minutes into the contest, Makenna Williment fumbled the puck behind SU’s blue line, and a Bulldogs face-off ensued moments later.

Losing face-offs didn’t help either. The Orange lost their first six tie-ups. Kraemer notched her career-high with 15 face-off victories. Emma Gnade started her collegiate career with a team-high 11 losses on draws.

It took a long time for SU to generate strong looks. Its best chance of the first period came on a counter attack with just under four minutes remaining. Jordan Blouin ripped a shot at Gascon that ricocheted off her blocker. Stella Costabile charged at the juicy rebound but whiffed at the most open net Syracuse saw Thursday.

The second period was the Orange’s best chance to capitalize. They drew four penalties, and they had seven-plus minutes with the player advantage.

They failed, though. SU couldn’t even hit the net with an extra skater. Charlotte Hallett’s laser was halted by Ida Karlsson eight minutes into the second frame.

“We really possessed quite a bit of our power plays. A couple in which they were pretty successful with keeping us to the perimeter but it’s just finding those opportunities to find lanes, get pucks on net, a little more traffic,” Smith said.

While the Orange couldn’t follow through with an opportunity on a silver platter to get on the board, the Bulldogs took advantage when it was their turn. Drabyk made contact with her right pad on a Rae Mayer pellet, but she left the right side of the goal open off the rebound. Thea Johansson made Drabyk pay and doubled the lead on the power play.

The contest was completely put out of reach in the third period. About five minutes in, Hallett tried to receive a pass on her stick, but instead, the puck hit the heel of her skate. Messier scorched it down to a cherry-picking St. Martin, who was barely onside. She caressed the puck and slotted it five-hole.

But the nail in the coffin came 10 minutes later, when Mayer zig-zagged through Rae Mayer and Kinsler, deked Gendron and extended Minnesota Duluth’s lead to four.

The Bulldogs were dominant from the first face-off to the last, and a 48-33 shot ratio won’t win Syracuse hockey games. It’s also unsustainable for whoever is behind the crease, whether it’s Drabyk, Bella Gould or Maïka Paquin.

Then again, the Bulldogs are the sixth-best team in the nation, and the Orange had fiery glimpses.

“We played them tight tonight. That was a great game. Really proud of the way that we came out for them,” Smith said. “For us, that’s our first NCAA game. So I think that that’s a huge start for us. Big, big, opportunity for us to set that as our standard.”

Published on September 25, 2025 at 10:25 pm
jaglick@syr.edu | @jason_glick