Syracuse falls 5-0 to Penn State, splits weekend series
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Penn State’s Kendall Butzke got the puck back a few feet in front of the blue line after passing it back and forth with Katelyn Roberts on a power play. From the middle of the ice, Buzke slid a pass to a wide-open Tessa Janecke in the right face-off zone. A few feet removed from the goal line, the forward slammed a one-timer past the left shoulder of Syracuse goaltender Allie Kelley with 4:30 left in the second.
It was Penn State’s third goal of the period and the first of two power-play goals to put the Nittany Lions up 3-0. A dominant second period and strong special teams performance were enough for first-place Penn State (14-11-1, 9-3-0 College Hockey America) to power 5-0 past last-place Syracuse (5-19-2, 2-9-1 CHA).
A day after SU’s biggest win of the season — a 3-1 victory over Penn State — the Orange’s offense fell flat. Syracuse mustered zero goals off of 12 shots against PSU goaltender Katie DeSa.
The Orange took momentum from game one into the first minutes of Saturday’s contest. A tripping call on Penn State’s Mya Vaslet 45 seconds in gave Syracuse a skater-up advantage early on.
Syracuse got the first shot of the game off of a screamer by Rachel Teslak. But it was saved by DeSa. From there, Penn State’s Janecke started to control the offense whether it was on fast breaks or chances. Overall PSU racked up 15 first-period shots.
Though Kelley was up to the task. She saved all 15, including two on a Penn State power-play 12 minutes into the period.
After that penalty kill, Syracuse adjusted defensively. While the Orange still were forced to play in their defensive zone for most of the period, players stood closer to the net and forced further out shots from the Nittany Lions. Long-distance shots have been easier for Kelley all season long. This kept the game scoreless through one period.
As the second started, play looked similar to the start. Penn State was firing away, leading Kelley to 20 saves not even 24 minutes into the contest.
Almost six minutes into the period, Kelley at last got beat. After a blocked Syracuse shot, Lyndie Lobdell got a puck in the right faceoff zone for Syracuse’s offense. The senior then was off to the races. As she moved up the ice, she maneuvered toward the right boards and slapped a shot from the red line. An unexpecting Kelley got her left pad on the puck but it dribbled back into the net for a 1-0 Penn State lead.
The goal awoke the Nittany Lions offense even more. Penn State shoved shot after shot at the goal, yet Kelley made consistent stops.
The Orange kept the deficit at one until there was 5:37 left in the second. After Syracuse turned the puck over behind its defensive net, Brianna Brooks skated behind to the left post. Here she found a cutting Alva Johnsson. The graduate student slid into a pass from Brooks just a few feet in front of the goal and hammered in a shot above Kelley.
With a 2-0 lead, Penn State wasted no time. A high-sticking call on Syracuse’s Jocelyn Fiala led to Janecke’s goal. In 68 seconds, a one-goal deficit was tripled for Syracuse.
Meanwhile, any opportunity the Orange had seemed to disappear in seconds. A late chance for SU got called back for offsides. At the end of 40 minutes, Syracuse had been outshot 36-8. While Kelley did have 33 saves, the Nittany Lions carried a 3-0 lead into the third.
The Orange went into the final period more aggressive with the deficit. Charlotte Hallett fired a shot on goal just over two minutes into the period but DeSa held strong. Syracuse didn’t reach the 10 shots on goal mark until nine minutes into the third.
On the opposite side of the ice, Kelley had to continue to make save after save. But as Syracuse looked more tired by the minute, Penn State seemed closer to a breakthrough.
They got it after Syracuse’s Teslak got called for hooking.
With 7:01 left in the third, Butzke passed the puck from the middle of the offensive zone to Roberts who was hanging in the left faceoff zone. Roberts quickly fired a shot on net, where Vaslet was standing. Vaslet, who scored the lone goal for Penn State in game one of the weekend series, deflected it into the net to move the lead to 4-0. The Nittany Lions finished the game 2-for-6 on the power-play.
Then with just under two minutes left, Butzke fired from near the midpoint of the offensive zone and got it into the left side of the net.
After a scoreless first twenty minutes, two periods of high-volume offense from the Nittany Lions were too much for the Orange. Syracuse finished the game outshot 53-12 in shots on goal.
