Improved forecheck spurs offensive success for Syracuse

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After an overtime loss to Robert Morris Friday night, Syracuse women’s ice hockey head coach Britni Smith knew her power-play unit needed to change.

The Orange lost 4-3 after going 0-for-5 on the power play. Smith broke out the film for her team the following morning. The tape showed a trend — the Colonials were “flushing to a certain side,” said defenseman Alexandria Weiss. With the forecheck SU was up against, it was hard to get the puck out of the defensive zone.

The fix was simple: move the puck faster to get around Robert Morris’s forwards, bringing momentum to the power play. The plan came to fruition in the first six minutes of Saturday’s game. After moving the puck, Sarah Thompson’s power-play goal gave the Orange an early 1-0 lead.

Power play and forecheck adjustments in Syracuse’s series against Robert Morris helped create one of the most successful stretches of the season for the Orange. After falling 42 seconds short of a tie Friday, Syracuse controlled the offense for 60 minutes in a 2-1 victory Saturday.

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With a win the previous weekend against Penn State, it was the Orange’s first time winning CHA games in back-to-back series since taking victories against Lindenwood and RIT in Jan. 2023.

“Our forecheck did a really good job of not allowing clean breakouts,” Smith said. “We were able to really just continue to turn pucks over and get right back into offense.”

Freshman Nea Tervonen said the forecheck was a point of emphasis heading into the weekend. The forward, who was named CHA Rookie of the Week Monday, was instrumental to Syracuse’s transition offense, finishing with a goal and an assist across the two games.

While Syracuse capitalized on its offensive zone possessions against RMU over the weekend, it’s something the Orange have struggled with all season.

“We decided to switch up our forecheck and I feel like that helped us stay and sustain pressure in the o-zone,” Weiss said. “Our D is more active now. And when our D is active, everyone is active.”

After registering 40 and 39 shots on goal in the first series on Nov. 3 and 4, respectively, Robert Morris had significantly less time to create chances. On Saturday, the Colonials only had 27 shots on net.

The shorter defensive possessions helped SU create more chances, propelling it to a season-high 43 shots on goal on Friday (only to be surpassed the next day with 44). Syracuse’s only other 40-plus shot games were in the first series of the season against Post University.

“(We got) a lot more time spent trying to generate offense as opposed to spending time in the D-zone and by the time you get to the offensive zone you’re looking to change so we did a really good job of setting the next line up for offensive zone play,” Smith said.

The Orange this season have often suffered from getting stuck in the defensive zone. Even if Syracuse forced a turnover, it had to make a line change, killing all momentum and opportunity.

Whether it was a missed pass, too many skaters on the ice or an offsides, game-after-game possessions for the Orange were cut off. But this weekend, Syracuse found ways to set up its offense without making unforced errors.

Graduate student Rachel Teslak has set up all season along the blue line for shots. In the revamped offense, she thrived. The defenseman had seventeen shots and one assist this weekend, compared to just 18 shots total in her previous eight appearances.

“The lanes definitely open up (with longer possessions) and give us a better look at the net,” Teslak said. “And obviously we had great net front presence and a lot of o-zone opportunities and shots.”

The success all came back to Syracuse’s forecheck. According to Weiss, it started with the defense becoming more active in plays.

“If we see the pucks coming down on the side we’re pinching on as a defenseman,” Weiss said. “We have the green light to go and be a part of it, whereas before we were standing back so teams could break out easier.”

It has helped the team turn defensive turnovers into offensive pressure. Captain Tatum White explained after the game Saturday that the offense was “playing as a unit and not getting stuck on an island.”

Players expressed a new feeling of momentum as Syracuse travels to face fourth-place Lindenwood. The Orange sit in last place in the CHA and are four points behind the Lions.

In the first series, Syracuse got one point across the two games, losing 4-3 and tying 4-4. In the loss, Syracuse gave up two second-period goals while in the tie, SU blew a 4-1 lead in the final frame. This time around, Syracuse has a new look.

“We like our forecheck now, we like how our systems are so we’re just going to really keen in on those little things and stick to our gameplay,” Weiss said.