Offensive struggles keep SU outside of CHA playoff picture
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As Syracuse Women’s Ice Hockey faces missing the conference playoffs for the first time in program history, there is a new message being spread throughout Tennity Ice Pavilion’s home locker room: “Pound the Rock.”
“You can’t just break a rock by one hit with a hammer,” said Tatum White, Syracuse’s captain. “So it takes every day, it takes every shift, every stride that you take, it just is pounding the rock toward (the) playoffs.”
With eight games left in the 2023-24 season, Syracuse (5-19-2, 2-9-1 College Hockey America) is in last place of the College Hockey America standings, six points out of a playoff spot. For the first 14 seasons since becoming an NCAA team in 2008, Syracuse automatically made the CHA playoffs. The conference incorporated quarterfinals to allow every team, the number fluctuating between four and six, to make postseason play. But that switched last year as the league switched to a semifinals-only tournament.
At this point a year ago, the Orange sat at 8-17-1. But with four conference wins already, Syracuse was in a race with Lindenwood for the No. 3 seed among the six CHA teams.
The difference between this year’s team and last year’s is simple: transfers. The Orange had nine players enter the transfer portal, having to completely rebuild the roster. Darci Johal (Holy Cross), Alexandria Weiss (Mercyhurst), Rachel Teslak (St. Lawrence) and Allie Kelley (St. Anselm), all mainstays in the starting lineup this year, transferred into the program.
But now, the team, which has nine championship appearances and 14 semi-final berths in 15 years of playing in the CHA, finds itself on the outside looking in.
The Orange’s offense is the root of their struggles. Syracuse averages the fewest shots per game in the CHA (22.3) and ranks in the bottom two of the conference in goals per game (1.73), assists per game (2.58), shots on goal per game (22.31) and shot percentage (.08).
While not producing on the offensive end, the Orange have also struggled to lock down opposing teams on the defensive end. Syracuse goalies have faced 40.8 shots per game — the most in the CHA. Kelley (883) and Amelia Van Vliet (65) have combined for 948 saves, the most in the CHA and 126 more than second-place Robert Morris.
Despite the high number of saves, the Orange are still letting in goals at a high rate. SU’s .893 save percentage is fifth in the CHA. Syracuse also sports a minus-68 goal differential, the worst in the conference.
But this team has shown it can turn the ship around. On Jan. 19, using two special teams goals and a strong defensive effort, the Orange upset first-place Penn State 3-1 in Syracuse’s first CHA win since Dec. 2 against RIT.
Syracuse’s shooting struggles continued in the victory, getting outshot 42-13. But it was the Orange’s defense and Kelley, who had 41 saves, that sealed the deal.
“I thought we really played our game and battled hard,” said Syracuse head coach Britni Smith. “Special teams did a great job in game one really, getting it done as well.”
Now, with an eight-game stretch starting with Robert Morris, Syracuse is aiming to repeat that success.
“I think we finally really put it together for a full 60 (minutes) and I just think it was huge that we know that we can do that and we have eight games moving forward … we need to win all of them,” forward Marielle McHale said.
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The Orange have the opportunity to move up in the standings over the next three weekends. Syracuse is within seven points of Robert Morris, Lindenwood, and RIT, its next three opponents.
In the season’s first two matchups between Syracuse and Robert Morris, the Orange held close on the road, falling 4-2 and 3-2 in back-to-back matchups. SU scored two power-play goals in the first loss and held a 1-0 lead in the second period the next day.
While Syracuse had a better start to the season last year, it had a rough February. SU went 1-6 in the month, with its only win coming against nonconference opponent Stonehill. The Orange’s final two losses were a two-game sweep to second-seeded Mercyhurst in the semifinals.
Syracuse will play Mercyhurst on Feb. 16 and 17, this time to close out the regular season. Whether or not the Orange can string together the wins they need to make the playoffs, the next month will be one of the most important yet in the Smith era.
“Moving forward we know we can win every game so there’s no reason we shouldn’t go do it,” White said. “And that’s what we need to do to make the CHA playoffs. We’re taking every day as a day to get better.”
