Syracuse ties Mercyhurst 2-2, gains AHA point with shootout win
Syracuse tied Mercyhurst 2-2 Friday, but won the ensuing 1-0 shootout to secure an extra point in the conference standings. Angelina Grevi | Staff Photographer
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Like Superman, everyone has a kryptonite. For Syracuse, that’s Mercyhurst.
Last season, the Orange downed the Lakers 1-0 in Game 1 of the Atlantic Hockey America Semifinals on Feb. 28. Throughout the next two days, SU was outscored 9-2 and saw its season evaporate out of thin air.
But one time was surely a coincidence, right?
It certainly wasn’t in the 2023-24 season. SU lost any chance it had at advancing to the postseason because it lost its final two regular-season games to the Lakers. Even three seasons ago, the Orange lost in the first round of the playoffs in two games — once again to Mercyhurst.
Ahead of Friday, Syracuse’s all-time record versus Mercyhurst was 15-54-4. Fifty-four losses is the most it has against any opponent since the program was founded in 2008. SU couldn’t have been positioned any worse to compete with Mercyhurst Friday. It’s coming off its worst two-game stretch in two years, dropping back-to-back 7-0 and 11-2 losses to No. 6 Penn State.
Over the past few years, the Orange had the luxury of NCAA all-time saves leader Allie Kelley in their crease to give them a chance against the Lakers. With Kelley graduated, SU’s turned to a new goaltender room, headlined by Ava Drabyk. She was pulled for backup Maïka Paquin in each contest against the Nittany Lions.
Any questions regarding whether Drabyk was SU’s long-term netminder were shoved aside Friday. Syracuse (6-9-1, 4-4-1 AHA) tied Mercyhurst (8-7-2, 5-3-1 AHA) 2-2 and won the shootout 1-0 to gain an extra conference point. Drabyk stopped 31 shots and went 3-for-3 in the shootout. Thanks to a Celia Wiegand game-tying goal with nearly 90 seconds remaining, the Orange responded to Julia Schalin’s two unanswered tallies.
The contest could not have been less eventful than it was in the first period. Both squads were disciplined, with only Mercyhurst recording a penalty. Syracuse’s special teams were iffy in its 6-7 start, but despite its power play failing to convert, its penalty kill handled business on two tries Friday.
Offensively, Jordan Blouin nearly matched her season-high six shots on goal, notching five on target in the first period. On 23 total shots for the Orange, nothing fell through. Lakers goalie Magdalena Luggin was perfect with 12 saves in the period, but their back line was most impressive. It totaled double-digit blocks on Syracuse’s shots. Whether it was denying a Rachel Walsh centering pass halfway through the frame or halting former Laker Sami Gendron on a one-timer, Mercyhurst’s conservative defense kept it afloat for one period.
About eight minutes into the second period, Jackson Kinsler and Peyton Armstrong had their shots blocked by Sofia Ljung. But three faceoffs later, SU made some magic happen. Kinsler smacked the puck in the air from one blue line to the other. Stella Costabile corralled it, glided down the left side and hooked it into the net’s top-right corner to open the scoring.
Syracuse continued peppering Luggin in the following minutes, recording the game’s next four shots on goal. But when Walsh was assessed a cross-checking minor, the game switched on its head. Mercyhurst registered six attempts on the power play to no avail. But it wasn’t done attacking.
With a minute left in the second, Schalin received a back-door pass that bounced off her skate, though Julia Perjus was there to collect the puck. She motioned for Schalin to rotate to her left and sent it to her. Schalin threaded Drabyk to tie the game at 1-1.
The Orange had chances to break through. They were winning the shot battle through two, but little mistakes hindered them from retaking the lead. Costabile was thwarted by Luggin just under five minutes into the third on what looked like a golden opportunity for her second tally. A minute later, Kinsler was stuck skating in circles, trying to move away from Payten Evans.
The Lakers’ defense would constantly turn into instant offense. Eight minutes in, Schalin received a puck from behind the blue line and sniped it through Drabyk’s five-hole from the right faceoff circle.
SU tried responding right away, but Wiegand and Emma Gnade were both stymied about three minutes later. The Orange were running out of options. Their combination of Gnade, Costabile and Armstrong has been one of their top forward lines this season, but the three were playing so many minutes that they were out of breath.
With two minutes and thirty-five seconds to go, SU head coach Britni Smith motioned for Drabyk to skate to the bench for an extra skater. A minute later, Jessica Cheung slid a pass over to Wiegand on her left, who ripped a shot that doinked off the post and in, with 91 seconds remaining in regulation, ultimately sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, Blouin was called for hooking during the faceoff, and Mercyhurst drained some extra clock on the 4-on-3 advantage. On the power play itself, Drabyk made four saves, and she made eight overall in the five-minute period.
Although the NCAA counts a tied game through 65 minutes as an overall draw, the Orange had the opportunity to earn an extra conference point in a shootout.
Heidi Knoll scored on SU’s first attempt, and it was all up to Drabyk to match her energy. After a 1-0 first round, it was Schalin’s turn. She skated into the crease and didn’t even get a shot off.
The final test was Perjus, who Drabyk cleanly stopped with a stick save, giving SU a much-needed conference point that could be a boost in tiebreakers down the line.
