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ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Based on Syracuse’s first eight games of 2025-26, there’s one label that could be firmly applied to its players: They’re road warriors.

While each of SU’s first two home series pitted it against top-10 opponents, its away schedule has been more forgiving to start the year. So far, the Orange have taken advantage.

Faced with much tighter matchups on paper at Stonehill and Delaware — a team amid its inaugural season — SU swept both series, outscoring the opposition by a combined margin of 14-5.

Entering Friday’s matchup at RIT, the Orange’s spotless 4-0 road record marked their best start to a season away from home in program history. However, SU also had lost three of its last five meetings in Rochester.

Something needed to give.

Behind a lights-out effort from its power-play unit, Syracuse (5-4, 3-0 AHA) remained one of the hottest road teams in Division I with a 5-2 victory over RIT (4-5, 1-2 AHA) Friday. The Orange scored three goals on the player-advantage, their most in a single game this season. Peyton Armstrong set the pace for SU with the first four-point game of her career, while Celia Wiegand and Sami Gendron each added two in the win.

“It’s super hype playing in front of your home crowd, but being able to go and beat (a team) in their barn is also great,” Armstrong said postgame.

Each of Syracuse and RIT’s previous three matchups ended in one-goal games before Friday thanks to solid goaltending by both squads. In the first period, it seemed like that trend would continue.

Fresh off being named the AHA’s Rookie of the Week for her performance against the Blue Hens, SU turned to Ava Drabyk between the pipes in Rochester — her team-high seventh start. Though the Orange have used a three-goalie rotation this year, the freshman has emerged as the frontrunner to claim the No. 1 goalie spot.

Dealt 11 shots on target in the opening 20 minutes, Drabyk remained steady. Pitted against the nation’s top power-play unit late in the waning minutes of the first, she came up huge with a pair of saves on Laura Dyke to silence the usually productive group.

Opposite of Drabyk, Sophia Bellina was also tested early and often. Just over five minutes in, she was forced to deny a Jordan Blouin breakaway. Although she was surrounded by the Tigers’ sloppy passing in her own end, the netminder gave her team a chance from the opening whistle. It took a power-play chance midway through the frame for SU to finally sneak one by her.

Parked at the top of the crease, Blouin avenged her earlier miss by burying the game’s opening goal amid a net-mouth scramble. The tally marked the first for SU’s unit since Oct. 4 and only its third through seven games this year. But that was just the beginning of what became a day to remember for Syracuse’s player-advantage group.

Out of the break, SU continued to push the envelope and didn’t have to wait long for its efforts to pay off.

Following two more strong saves from Drabyk to open the second period, Armstrong doubled the Orange’s lead nearly seven minutes into play. Although she fanned on her previous breakaway attempt, the sophomore didn’t make the same mistake twice. One-on-one with Bellina, she beat the netminder with a glove-side snipe — her third of the campaign.

“She already had one breakaway in the game and didn’t convert, and then coming through the neutral zone, she kind of bobbled it again. But she’s a skilled player, so she’s going to find ways to score goals,” SU associate head coach Heather Farrell said of Armstrong’s tally.

The Orange’s special teams took care of the rest with Armstrong still at the forefront.

In its past three games before Friday, SU had struggled to stay out of the penalty box, racking up 19 infractions across the stretch. Late in the middle frame, the Tigers took a page out of its book. RIT racked up three penalties in the final eight minutes of the middle frame. What followed was an all-out clinic by Syracuse’s power-play unit.

With just over a minute left, Rachel Walsh ripped home SU’s second power play-goal of the day with a blistering shot from the left circle — the first goal of her career. Because of Blouin’s towering screen in front of the net, Bellina didn’t even see the puck until it was behind her.

“She’s contributing a lot right now. She’s on our power play, she’s killing penalties and she’s playing in five-on-five situations. Anytime someone can contribute by being on the scoresheet is great,” Farrell said of Walsh.

In the final seconds of the period, Nea Tervonen burned the Tigers’ penalty kill one last time thanks to some luck, as Jessica Cheung’s shot bounced off the right post and onto Tervonen’s tape. Staring at a gaping net, she slotted the puck home to cap SU’s power-play dominance.

“Tonight they were seeing the openings,” Farrell said of SU’s power play. “We’ve gotta keep taking what they give us, see where our openings are and try to convert as much as possible.”

Trailing by four with just 20 minutes to go, RIT left everything out on the ice. The Tigers’ power-play finally struck less than a minute into the third, and they cut the deficit in half via an Ireland Stein goal at the midway point. But it still wasn’t enough.

Backstopped by more timely saves from Drabyk, Syracuse slowed down RIT’s late push to seal the contest with an empty-netter, courtesy of Gendron.

“It was more just a reminder to refocus and stick to the game plan,” Farrell said of RIT’s two late goals. “We got back to basics, and our leadership got us through it, too. We’re a little bit of an inexperienced team learning how to play ahead.”

Now sitting at 3-0 in AHA play, Syracuse is officially amid one of its best starts to conference play ever. How much longer the Orange can maintain the hot start remains to be seen.

“We know RIT will bring it,” Farrell said. “They’re a tough opponent and they hounded us, so we’ve got to recover and be ready to go for another beating tomorrow.”

Published on October 24, 2025 at 7:37 pm
Contact Matthew: mgray06@syr.edu | @ma77hew_gray