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The rollercoaster ride is over.

Syracuse’s season ended Saturday with a narrow 2-1 loss to No. 3 Penn State in the Atlantic Hockey America semifinals. SU finished with a middling 15-18-4 record, matching its win total from last season.

The Orange’s season saw notable highs. Their first non-loss against then-No. 5 Cornell since 2010 with a 2-2 tie on Nov. 25, 2025. The emergence of freshman goalie Ava Drabyk. Breakout years from Peyton Armstrong, Emma Gnade and Jackson Kinsler.

But Syracuse’s season also featured several lows. An 11-2 loss to Penn State on Nov. 15, 2025. One shootout win and 13 losses against ranked competition. The second-worst offense in the AHA with just 69 goals.

Whenever SU looked to be turning a corner, it fell flat, never finding consistency to compete with the AHA’s best in PSU and Mercyhurst.

Here are the numbers that defined Syracuse’s (15-18-4, 10-11-3 AHA) 2025-26 season:

Ava Drabyk’s 92.2% save rate

Syracuse had a glaring question mark at goalie entering the season.

Goaltender Allie Kelley, the NCAA’s all-time saves leader, graduated after two seasons with the Orange. The Orange faced a choice between Bella Gould and Maika Paquin, two inexperienced returners, and Drabyk, a freshman.

After SU deployed a three-goalie rotation to begin the year, Drabyk took the job for good in mid-October. Her 92.2% save rate ranked third in the AHA, and she recorded four shutouts and won six weekly AHA honors.

“Stepping in after Allie Kelley is definitely some big shoes to fill, but I think (Ava) did it very well,” SU defender Maya D’Arcy said. “All freshmen, no matter your position, there’s some nerves your first couple of games. But she handled it very well.”

Drabyk impressed immediately. In the Orange’s 4-0 loss to then-No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth on Sept. 25, the netminder saved 44-of-48 shots to keep them in the game until the third period.

The Saskatchewan native repeatedly bailed out Syracuse’s offense, and that continued in a two-game sweep over Delaware on Oct. 17-18, 2025. SU mustered just three goals in two games against an AHA bottom-feeder Blue Hens, but Drabyk saved 47 of 48 shots, preventing disaster.

Sure, she wasn’t perfect. Drabyk was pulled early after conceding four goals in a 11-2 drubbing to then-No. 4 Penn State on Nov. 15, 2025. But she focused on sharpening her technique by reading opponents’ blades to anticipate shot paths.

The adjustments reaped immediate benefits. Drabyk didn’t surrender more than three goals in a game from mid-November to Jan. 24, propelling the Orange to a 7-4-3 record in that two-month stretch. Unlike last year, Drabyk’s breakout affords Smith certainty at the goalie position looking forward.

Ilyan Zarech | Design Editor

12.4% power-play percentage

SU’s power-play unit was its bread and butter last season. Its 20.4% rate on player-up opportunities was second in the AHA, only behind RIT’s 27.6%. Bryn Saarela led the group with six power-play goals, while Jackson Kinsler added four.

This season was the polar opposite.

Syracuse’s season opener foreshadowed what was to come. It went a measly 0-for-6 on the power play against Minnesota-Duluth. The Orange couldn’t cash in on their 12 shots across their six player-up chances.

The Orange finished the season with a 12.4% power-play conversion rate, second-worst in the conference ahead of lowly Delaware (10.4%). A year after three players had over four power-play goals, none reached the mark this year, as Armstrong and Nea Tervonen only mustered three.

“We’ve gotta clean up a couple of things as a unit and then just get more shots from the net, move the puck faster and just capitalize when we get the chance,” Tervonen said after Syracuse’s 3-0 loss to then-No. 7 Quinnipiac on Oct. 10, 2025.

SU had a golden opportunity to eclipse 50% on Nov. 8, 2025, against Lindenwood. The Lions were a pitiful 2-11 entering the game, and the Orange were riding momentum fresh off a Jordan Blouin overtime winner the night before.

Instead, Syracuse crumbled. The driving factor in the 4-1 loss? An 0-for-5 power-play mark.

0.79 goals per game against ranked opponents

Drabyk did all she could against ranked opponents. But it still wasn’t enough.

Syracuse’s offense stumbled against top-15 teams. Zero goals in two games against Minnesota Duluth to open its season. One goal in two games against Quinnipiac in October. Just six goals in six games against Penn State.

Gnade was the backbone of the Orange’s offense with a team-leading nine goals, but she couldn’t recreate her form against ranked competition. She scored one of her nine goals against top-15 opponents, and that one came in garbage time down 4-0 to Quinnipiac on Oct. 11, 2025.

It was a similar story for Armstrong. In 23 games against non-ranked teams, she notched eight goals and tacked on nine assists. But in the 14 contests she played against ranked competition, she went scoreless and recorded just one assist.

When SU’s stars couldn’t produce, the rest of the offense went with them. That was on full display in Game 2 of the AHA semifinals against the Nittany Lions. SU outblocked PSU 11-3 and Drabyk gloved 28-of-30 shots. But costly turnovers proved detrimental, and Syracuse couldn’t find the equalizer in its 2-1 loss.

74.6% penalty kill

Syracuse’s special teams shortcomings weren’t just limited to offense.

SU’s 78.3% penalty kill last season ranked fourth in the AHA. This year, however, it plunged to just 74.6%, the worst in the AHA, even behind Delaware.

From opening night onward, opposing player-up offenses frequently pounced on the Orange’s defense. It allowed Minnesota-Duluth to score on two of its four power plays. Even when UMD didn’t convert on its other two player-up chances, it tallied 10 combined shots.

Syracuse was locked in a scoreless tie late in the third period with Robert Morris on Dec. 5, 2025. But just three seconds into its power play, RMU’s Thalia D’Elia broke the ice, giving the Colonials a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The RMU and Minnesota-Duluth games were just small snippets of a season-long struggle. For an otherwise stout defense, the penalty kill was Syracuse’s Achilles heel.

Published on March 2, 2026 at 11:33 pm
Contact Spencer: sabrod@syr.edu | @spencerbrod20