Syracuse falls to RIT on fluke deflection in overtime
It was certainly hard to swallow for Syracuse.
A game that typified the grit of this year’s senior class wasn’t supposed to be decided by a fluke deflection.
But with 2:29 left in overtime, Rochester Institute of Technology defender Melissa Bromley tipped a shot that deflected off the left shoulder of goaltender Jenesica Drinkwater. It trickled into the net to give RIT (16-15-3, 11-7-2 College Hockey America) a 2-1 victory over Syracuse (18-13-3, 9-8-3) in front of 527 fans at Tennity Ice Pavilion on Saturday on the Orange’s senior night.
“Some of it’s just a bounce here, bounce there as evidenced by their winning goal,” SU head coach Paul Flanagan said. “It just hit our player in the back and bounced in.”
With the win, RIT secured the No. 3 seed in the upcoming CHA playoffs, while the Orange got bumped to the No. 4 spot.
Syracuse will still host in the first round, but this is not how seniors Drinkwater, Margot Scharfe, Cara Johnson, Caitlin Roach, Brittney Krebs, Sadie St. Germain and the injured Kallie Billadeau wanted to end their final regular season.
“It’s frustrating when it bounces off our own teammate, but what can you do,” Drinkwater said. “It’s just bad luck.”
The game started off in favor of the Tigers 29 seconds into a Syracuse powerplay early in the first period.
Kourtney Kunichika corralled a puck at the blue line cleared from the corner by teammate Emilee Bulleid. She carried it the length of the ice, outskating two Syracuse defenders, firing a shot that deflected off the center of Drinkwater’s left leg pad.
The deflection fell right back to Kunichika’s stick, and she buried the shorthanded goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
With 8:20 left in the first, RIT leading scorer Kolbee McRea went down hard and dislocated her shoulder. She needed medical attention and wouldn’t return to the game.
Luckily for the Tigers, the absence of McRea didn’t cause any serious damage, as their defense was able to repeatedly block shots fired at goal by the Orange.
“We shot a lot of pucks straight into them,” Flanagan said. “We have to be better against teams that pack it in and try to stay in shooting lanes.”
The majority of the second period was uneventful, as neither team managed a serious chance on goal.
With less than two minutes remaining in the frame, RIT’s Marissa Maugeri toe-dragged two Syracuse defenders, finding herself 1-on-1 with Drinkwater.
But she lifted the puck just over the top right corner from close range, keeping the score at 1-0 heading into the third.
With 8:07 left in the game, the Orange was finally able to breakthrough courtesy of a Nicole Renault power-play goal.
The sophomore found herself in space in the right circle after a pass from Akane Hosoyamada and wristed home the puck to even the score at one.
“I got a really nice pass from the slot,” Renault said. “I just saw the opening and shot it, but I think it helped get our momentum back up.”
For the remainder of regulation, neither side was able to manage a goal, as Drinkwater and RIT goaltender Ali Binnington were each stalwart in net.
Midway through overtime, though, the Tigers were able to find a slight opening atop the right corner of the net, sending the visitors’ contingent into a frenzy.
“There was just a fluky goal we lost there at the end,” Renault said. “It was a shame because we were playing really well.”
The Orange has to turn right around, though, as it hosts the CHA playoffs starting next Friday.
Said Drinkwater: “There’s nothing really you can do about it but just bounce back.”
