Syracuse ice hockey fails to rally in 2-1 overtime defeat to RPI
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The life of a Syracuse ice hockey player couldn’t be more different than that of a regular college student. Strict training regimens, nutrition plans and heavy travel schedules keep SU’s skaters busy from sun-up to sun-down throughout the five-month season.
This workload is unrelenting, particularly when the Orange find themselves in stretches like the one they face now. SU plays five games in a nine-day stretch, beginning with its home-and-home series against RPI this weekend.
“They understand what’s ahead of them,” Syracuse interim head coach Brendon Knight said postgame Saturday. “Unfortunately for them, they’re not going to be living the college life here for the next couple of months.”
Despite the demanding stretch, Knight believes his players still have more to unlock. So when he was asked what adjustments he made between the second and third periods on Saturday, he was blunt.
“None, to be honest,” Knight said. “We’re trying to get our kids to realize that they have more in the tank. When things really start to get hard physically, mentally, they really have to dig deep and push through that.”
Syracuse (8-6-0, 6-4-0 Atlantic Hockey America) answered the call in the third period against RPI (4-14-0, 1-6-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference), unloading a barrage of shots on RPI’s net and applying pressure throughout. But none of the Orange’s 18 third-period shots found the back of the net and SU faltered 2-1 in overtime, dropping its third straight game in heartbreaking fashion.
SU sported a different look for the start of Saturday’s contest. Regular netminder Ava Drabyk was on a rest day, and freshman Cicely Harnum made her first collegiate start between the pipes. On offense, Haley Trudeau made her first start since the 2024-25 season.
The changes proved fruitful at first. SU dominated possession early, and Harnum stopped each of RPI’s early attacks. The Orange also came up big in the defensive zone, nullifying multiple Engineer attacks before shots materialized.
After going 1-for-6 on the power play in Friday’s loss, SU got another woman-up advantage just ten and a half minutes into Saturday’s game, courtesy of an RPI trip. Syracuse rifled off shot after shot at RPI’s Reese Keating across the ensuing two minutes, but none fell.
SU’s penalty unit didn’t convert with an advantage Saturday, but the Orange killed both RPI power plays with ease.
“We’ve been a little more aggressive on the forecheck and the initial end zone,” Knight said. “We’re just in the right spots right now. Our sticks are in the lanes. We’re getting in front of pucks.”
But just a minute removed from SU’s power play, RPI struck first. Gracyn Mackay picked up the puck in the corner along the boards, finding Keira Johnson on the corner of the crease, who slid the puck between Harnum’s legs for the one-goal lead.
SU was on its heels. After not leading the day before, it needed to respond quickly to keep momentum balanced. It played aggressively and pushed into the offensive zone, but couldn’t find any clean looks.
That was until Rylee McLeod picked up the puck.
RPI won a faceoff in SU’s defensive zone and looked to bring the puck out to the point. But McLeod had other plans. She poked her stick out into the path of the puck, popping it into the air as she raced into the neutral zone. She beat her defender, picking up the puck along the boards and weaving through traffic to the far side of the crease.
From there, it was easy. She buried the puck in the bottom of the net, evening the tables with just 26 seconds left in the period.
But even after equalizing, RPI maintained momentum throughout the second period.
“They took it to us pretty good (in the second period),” Knight said.
The momentum disparity was clear on the stat sheet. RPI got off three more shots on goal than SU, won three more faceoffs and lay claim to one more power play. But between Harnum’s excellent stops and SU’s successful penalty kill, the score remained even after the period.
Harnum was excellent in her first start, responding well after RPI’s first goal and stopping 29 shots for a .935 save percentage.
The third period was different. Between the periods, Knight urged his team to dig deep and increase its offensive pressure. His team responded.
The Orange tallied 18 shots on goal, 10 more than the Engineers, and outshot RPI 34-12 throughout the period. They had plenty of opportunities in the crease, including a chance early in the period.
Emma Gnade grabbed the puck just in front of the blue line, streaking forward as three defenders converged on her. One-on-one with Keating, she tried to fake right, but was stopped short.
Time and time again, Syracuse’s attacks met the same fate in Keating’s pads as time expired, resulting in a three-on-three overtime period.
The OT period was brief, and RPI outshot Syracuse 4-1. After a successful save from Harnum halfway through, Syracuse won a faceoff in its defensive zone with a chance to go on the attack.
But RPI wouldn’t relent.
Mia Montanari fought for the puck behind the net, stripping Jessica Cheung as she circled to the crease. Montanari fired and found the back of the net, handing RPI the win and securing the series sweep.
After the loss, Knight acknowledged Syracuse’s recent struggles.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow, we’ve been having trouble scoring goals recently, and we’re going to have to figure out how to manufacture offense,” he said. “But the good thing is that the group is pretty disappointed, which is a good sign for our culture.”
