Syracuse has trended upward since November. Saturday’s loss was 2 steps back.
Needing a win and RIT loss to be the AHA’s No. 3 seed in the postseason, Syracuse instead folded and lost 7-0 to No. 13 Mercyhurst. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor
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In many ways, Syracuse’s season has been a success. It’s won its most regular season games since 2021-22 (15), seen the emergence of freshman goalie Ava Drabyk and even recorded its first non-loss against Cornell in 15 years.
But even with the resounding successes, there have been duds. SU’s 12.2% power-play conversion rate and 74.8% penalty kill are the second-worst and worst, respectively, in Atlantic Hockey America. Its offense has been extremely inconsistent, as its 1.88 goals per game are the second-fewest in the AHA, ahead of only 2-30 Delaware.
SU is also just 5-10-3 at home and an abysmal 0-9-2 against ranked opponents. Its flaws were on full display against then-No. 4 Penn State back in November, where it was outscored 18-2 over two games and Drabyk was pulled in both contests.
Surely a similar result wouldn’t happen again, right?
Wrong. Rather than keeping pace with RIT in the AHA standings, Syracuse (14-16-4, 10-11-3 AHA) was trounced by No. 13 Mercyhurst (21-10-3, 17-5-2) 7-0 Saturday for its most lopsided loss since Nov. 15 against PSU. The Orange surrendered three first-period goals and never recovered, as Drabyk was pulled for Bella Gould midway through the second. With the loss, SU is locked into the No. 4 seed for the AHA tournament.
Syracuse has been on an upward trajectory since its first series against Penn State. Beyond its 8-6-4 record, Drabyk has racked up weekly AHA awards, Emma Gnade and Jackson Kinsler have become offensive engines and Sami Gendron has blossomed into a defensive cornerstone with a team-leading 80 blocks.
Friday was a prime example of SU’s progression since November. Down 2-1 with 90 seconds left in regulation, Jackson Kinsler rifled a shot past Mercyhurst goalie Magdalena Luggin to tie the game. Kinsler’s marquee moment paved the way for Syracuse to stun the Lakers in a shootout and gain a crucial two points.
Everything that worked on Friday didn’t Saturday. It showed early and often.
Associate head coach Heather Farrell has routinely emphasized the importance of starting fast. SU struggled out of the gate against RIT on Feb. 7, but Rylee McLeod scored just 38 seconds into Friday’s game to give the Orange a 1-0 lead.
Skating through heavy traffic, Jade Maisonneuve’s first shot was denied by Drabyk. But seconds later, with a swarm of other Lakers in the area, Maisonneuve tipped in the puck for an early goal.
Eight minutes in, a Sami Gendron tripping penalty gifted the Lakers a five-minute power play. SU killed Mercyhurst’s lone player-up opportunity Friday, but it couldn’t do the same Saturday.
Holly VanNetten, who scored Friday, dished the puck to Sophia Ljung. With little hesitation, she fired it into the back of the net for a goal to make it 2-0.
The Orange was already on life support. Not only were the Lakers still on their power play, but SU never came back from a multi-goal deficit this season. It was put-up or shut-up time.
Yet Syracuse kept reeling. After winning a faceoff, which Mercyhurst won over 70% of on the day, Maja Alenius’ high-arcing shot left Drabyk perplexed. Despite her improvements in reading opponents’ blade angles since the Penn State series in November, she couldn’t contest Alenius’, and Mercyhurst led 3-0.
Syracuse’s special teams kept unraveling early into the second period. On a power play that carried over from the end of the first, SU tallied just one shot and lost any small amount of momentum it had.
Charlotte Hallett and Gnade gave the Orange a brief spark with clean looks on goal, but nothing materialized. Mercyhurst’s stifling defense had their number.
Another lost faceoff gave the Lakers a goal on a silver platter. Sophie McKinley added to Mercyhurst’s offensive onslaught with a laser out of Drabyk’s reach to extend its advantage to four.
VanNetten tacked on her second in as many days, and it spelled the end of Drabyk’s disastrous afternoon. The Saskatchewan native’s 73.7% save rate was a career-worst and was just her second time allowing four or more goals since Nov. 15.
It’s uncharted territory for the netminder. Drabyk’s been a brick wall in net all season, and with recent changes to her stance, was often bailing out SU’s up-and-down offense.
Bella Gould, who was Syracuse’s anticipated starter coming into the season, replaced Drabyk but didn’t fare much better. Maisonneuve recorded two assists Friday, and after her early goal Saturday, she added another to increase the Lakers’ lead to 6-0.
Peyton Evans’ third-period power play goal was the icing on the cake of an utterly dominant Mercyhurst performance. Everything that could’ve gone wrong for SU went wrong.
The loss was especially damaging for Syracuse’s playoff seeding. Since RIT fell to Penn State, the Orange just needed a win to claim the AHA’s No. 3 seed and host either RMU or Delaware for a first-round playoff game.
But instead, SU will begin the playoffs in Rochester against RIT. If Saturday was a preview of what’s to come, Syracuse is in for a rude awakening and an early exit.
