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With 8:18 remaining in the third period, Post won a faceoff in the Syracuse offensive zone, but the puck went into a scramble behind the Eagles’ net.

After a struggle for the puck, it eventually swung out to the top of the offensive zone. SU defender Rachel Teslak collected it and quickly swung it from the right of the blue line to the left. On the left, Charlotte Hallet delivered a left handed wrist shot to the front of the net. Forward Heidi Knoll tipped the puck off of Hallet’s shot into the back of the net.

The goal was Knoll’s second of the game and gave the Orange a 2-0 lead with just minutes remaining in the contest. In the end, Syracuse (1-0, 0-0 College Hockey America) defeated Post (0-3, 0-0 New England Women’s Hockey Alliance) 2-0 in its first game of the 2023-2024 season.

In the first period, Syracuse controlled possession but failed to score. Post goaltender Grace Glasrud made multiple saves and held onto the puck for a stoppage of play. Glasrud made an impressive save with 14 minutes remaining in the first period when Knoll swung the puck from behind the net to Sarah Thompson. She took a one-timer slapshot that Glasrud was able to corral without a rebound.

While the Orange offense was threatening, the defense was playing just as strong. Syracuse’s backline didn’t allow Post to record a shot on net until 10 minutes remaining in the first frame. After Thompson fell with the puck in the neutral zone, Post forward Jade Giesbrecht led a transition break.

The Eagles were prepared to go on a 2-on-1 offensive transition, but Syracuse fell back into place quickly, blocking off the pass to the right. Giesbrecht was forced to float a wrist shot from deep and wide in the offensive zone. The shot floated directly into SU goalie Allie Kelley’s mid section. She easily collected the puck without allowing a rebound.

Aside from the non-threatening opportunity, the Orange often applied pressure on Glasrud and the Post defenders to clear the puck and reposition. Post had just three offensive zone faceoffs in the opening 20 minutes, yet were still tied with Syracuse at the first break.

Syracuse gave Post a couple of one-man advantages through penalties. Hallett was penalized for two minor penalties due to interference in the game. One came at the end of the first period while the other came at the end of the second. The two penalties did not cause any goals, but allowed the Eagles to have man-advantages and increase their scoring chances. Luckily for the Orange, their penalty killing team along with Kelley held Post scoreless.

In the second period, it was much of the same as Syracuse was often in the offensive zone. Its persistent attack had Glasrud scrambling at every second to keep the puck out of the net. Although she was under heavy duress, she kept the game close.

Glasrud denied all Syracuse chances throughout much of the game, but was eventually beaten by a shot.

Seventeen minutes into the second period, Knoll collected the puck outside the offensive zone and skated ahead. She took the puck to her left, preparing for a right-handed wrist shot across her body.

As no defenders pressured her, Knoll went deeper into the zone with a defender creeping toward her left hand side. She quickly cut to her right and fired above Glasrud’s glove into the top right corner of the net, giving Syracuse its first goal of the season.

At the second intermission, Syracuse led 1-0 and were dominating the Eagles in possession.

In the third, SU held the puck in the offensive zone once again for the bulk of the time, but couldn’t put the game away with another goal to give itself a cushion. That was until Knoll stepped up offensively again. Her goal was the game clincher with just minutes remaining in the defensive battle.

Published on September 29, 2023 at 6:40 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky