As the final seconds ticked off the clock and the horn sounded, Syracuse’s skaters celebrated with goalie Ady Cohen. The Orange had finally triumphed after a nine-game losing streak to start the season. 

Syracuse (1-9) blew out Union (0-6-1) on Tuesday night, 5-0, at Messa Rink in Schenectady, New York. Cohen recorded the team’s first shutout of the season. Defenders Lindsay Eastwood and Jessica DiGirolamo had one and two goals respectively. Forwards Savannah Rennie and Anna Leschyshyn had one goal each. SU used a big first and second period to power its victory over the Dutchwomen.

Syracuse took the lead in the first period by taking advantage of a delayed penalty call on Union.  Cohen left the ice giving the Orange an extra attacker. Seconds later, Eastwood had the puck at the point and blasted a shot that went off a Union defender and into the net. 

With five minutes left in the first period, DiGirolamo took the puck from her own zone into the offensive zone. She drove right into the slot and roofed a quick wrister top shelf to double Syracuse’s lead going into the break. 

The second period was all Syracuse as the Orange outshot the Dutchwomen 18-5. Nine minutes into the second period, DiGirolamo scored again, this time on the power play. It was a patient and methodical approach from the Orange, who passed the puck around side to side waiting for an opportunity. Rennie eventually found an open DiGirolamo on the blue line. DiGirolamo then took the puck at the point and found the top corner for her second of the game. 

The Orange exploded for two more goals to put the game out of reach. First, forward Madison Beishuizen spun around her defender and drove to the net. Beishuizen took a quick shot that was saved by the Union goalie Amelia Murray, but the rebound landed at the feet of Leschyshyn who slotted it into the net.

Less than a minute later, Rennie found a loose puck in the slot and drove toward the net. Rennie took a quick shot that was initially saved by Murray, but Rennie fought through the defense and followed her shot to backhand the puck into the net. That fifth goal by Syracuse spelled the end of the night for Murray. 

The scoring stopped in the third period as Union goalie Bella McKee came into the game. It was an even third period as the Orange saw out the victory by blocking shots and making sure Union didn’t have any quality goal scoring chances.

Syracuse will return home on Friday to start CHA conference play against RIT.

Published on October 29, 2019 at 8:31 pm

Contact Gaurav: gshetty@syr.edu