Syracuse ice hockey tops RPI 3-1 for 1st home regulation win
Syracuse won its first home game in regulation of the season Friday in a 3-1 victory over RPI, aided by Nea Tervonen and Jackson Kinsler's heroics. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
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“Cardiac ‘Cuse.”
It’s a nickname many of Syracuse’s teams have taken on for their dramatic come-from-behind victories. Ever since it returned home for a four-game homestand following back-to-back crushing defeats at Penn State, SU ice hockey has taken on that mantle.
It started in Game 1 versus Mercyhurst. Trailing 2-1 in the final two minutes of regulation, Celia Wiegand drew the Orange even to force overtime. Then, Heidi Knoll scored the game-winner in the ensuing shootout to finally secure SU’s first home win and an all-important Atlantic Hockey America point.
After dropping Game 2 to the Lakers, the Orange put on more magic in front of their home crowd versus No. 5 Cornell. This time, Stella Costabile potted the tying goal late in the final frame to send SU to its second shootout in four days. Again, the Orange thrived under pressure and claimed the extra point, snapping a losing streak against the Big Red that dated back to Nov. 30, 2010.
Despite its recent resiliency, SU still held a 0-4-2 record in its past six matchups and sat in fifth place in the AHA entering Friday. It was in dire need of a regulation win.
To open its home-and-home series with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (4-14-0, 1-7-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference), Syracuse (7-10-2, 4-5-1 AHA) claimed a much-needed three points with a 3-1 victory Friday night. Nea Tervonen and Jackson Kinsler led the charge for SU with two points each, while goalie Ava Drabyk recorded 24 saves.
“A win’s a win, so we’ll take points however they come,” SU associate head coach Heather Farrell said postgame.
Over their past few games, no Orange player has held a hotter stick than Stella Costabile. Although she started her sophomore campaign on the slower side — notching four points through her first 15 games — she’s flipped a switch since Syracuse’s forgettable trip to State College. With two goals and an assist in her last three outings, the winger didn’t need long to extend that scoring streak further Friday.
Less than five minutes in, Kinsler skated behind the goal line and lightly fed the puck to the front of the net. Cutting between two RPI players, Costabile slapped the puck home past Reese Keating to provide her squad with an early jolt, something it’d lacked throughout the homestand. The tally was the Orange’s first in the opening frame since they were obliterated 11-2 by the Nittany Lions on Nov 15.
“She competes offensively, she works defensively and is really committed to her craft. She’s a leader in a lot of ways, so we’re super happy for her that it’s resulting in goals,” Farrell said of Costabile.
Following the strike, open ice became much harder to find for SU as RPI applied pressure at both ends of the rink. Both sides exchanged fleeting chances, but the remainder of the period was dominated by the goaltenders.
Fresh off a career-high 48 save outing in the Orange’s upset of the Big Red, Drabyk turned aside all 10 pucks that came her way in the first. At the other end, her counterpart Keating looked just as sharp — besides SU’s early tally. Her 12 saves in the frame kept the contest at 1-0 through 20 minutes and helped stall SU’s first power-play chance of the night.
However, SU’s player-up unit didn’t have to wait long to hop over the boards again. The Engineers stumbled into a roughing penalty right out of the gate to open the middle frame, gifting Syracuse’s player-up group a prime scoring opportunity. But the puck only wound up in the back of its own net.
Off a turnover in the neutral zone, Georgia Bailey found herself all alone with Drabyk on a breakaway. With a forehand-backhand deke, she roofed the puck over the netminder’s outstretched pad to draw the Engineers even. The breakdown marked the fourth goal SU has allowed while on the power play this year.
“Our mentality is you just keep going, you just keep grinding. You can’t dwell on those little things,” Farrell said.
Looking to generate a response, Syracuse’s offense turned up the heat by rifling 14 shots on target compared to RPI’s five in the second. But it was hindered by persistent struggles in the face off dot. The Orange scooped up just 6-of-17 draws in the period. In the latter half of the frame, RPI’s power-play unit was given its first two chances of the night but came up empty on each of them as SU’s penalty kill held firm.
Heading into the third tied at one, it seemed like the Orange were on their way to another overtime or shootout decision. Kinsler changed that.
Carrying the puck inside the left circle, she found Tervonen in front of the net, who ripped a backhand shot into the left side of the goal past a sprawling Keating. With so many bodies in the crease, RPI’s coaching staff immediately challenged the tally for a potential goalie interference call. After a minute-long video review, the goal stood, securing Kinsler’s fourth apple in as many games.
“She does need to shoot the puck more, and that’s something she knows, but she’s also able to see the ice so well and set up her teammates, which we’re thankful for,” Farrell said of Kinsler.
As Syracuse rounded out its flawless night on the penalty kill by denying two more RPI power-play chances down the stretch, Charlotte Hallett tacked on an empty-netter inside the final two minutes to seal its victory.
After being swept by the Engineers last season, the Orange will now look to return the favor Saturday.
“We weren’t at our best tonight, but we were able to figure it out and come out on top.”
