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Ally Qualley collected a loose puck in the neutral zone just before crossing into the Syracuse zone. Qualley drove to her right, drawing two defenders to the side of the net with her.

She then delivered a perfect drop pass to Ryleigh Horlock. Horlock was wide open in front of SU goalie Allie Kelley. Horlock’s wrist shot put the puck over Kelley’s and into the top left of the net nine minutes into the game.

The goal gave Merrimack (3-1, 0-0 West Hockey East Association) a 2-0 lead over Syracuse (2-2, 0-0 College Hockey Association), a lead that SU’s offense wouldn’t be able to match. The Warriors ended up winning 4-0. In the first two periods of Saturday’s game, the Warriors offense dominated and secured a two game sweep of the Orange.

In the first period, Merrimack’s persistent attack put the Syracuse defense on its heels. The Warriors doubled the Orange in shots in both the first and second period. Syracuse recorded just nine shots in the first period to Merrimack 18.

Syracuse’s offense was inefficient in its shots, putting just three of its nine first period shots on frame, giving goalie Calli Hogarth an easy period. On the other side of the ice, Merrimack placed 11 out of 18 of its first period shots on net.

The Merrimack pressure tired the SU defense early on.

“It’s difficult when people get tired, but that’s when we need to keep communicating,” SU defender Alexandria Weiss said. “We can grind it out and eventually get the puck out for sure.”

In the second period, it was much of the same for each offense. Just over ten minutes into the period, Merrimack’s Maria Lindberg dumped the puck behind the net. Allison Reeb collected it and dished it back to Lindberg as she crashed the net. Lindberg fired a shot into the pad of Kelley. Mary Edmonds got the rebound backhanding a left handed shot on net.

The deflected off SU defender Kate Holmes which lifted the puck further in the air and over the glove of Kelley for the first goal of the contest.

Lindberg had a team high eight shots with four on the net.

Rebounds were an issue for the Orange all game long. Kelley was able to stock some of the second chances, but not all of them.

“There’s no script for every play in hockey and at the end of day you need to problem solve,” Syracuse head coach Britni Smith said. “Finding ways to tie up, push out and allow AK(Kelley) to find the rebounds.”

When possession was in the middle of action, defenders lost sticks, causing a practical man advantage for Merrimack. Weiss believes it was part of the issue that caused rebound goals.

“Staying with our guys and picking up sticks will eliminate those opportunities and chances for the other team,” Weiss said.

While Kelley was once again strong for Syracuse, the Warriors pressure her for the majority of the game.

Kelley finished the game with 28 saves less than 24 hours after recording 56 saves in the opening game of the weekend series. Kelly’s saves kept SU competitive in both contests.

“Late in the game having a six on five opportunity down two,” Smith said. “That’s because of AK (Kelley), so great job on her part”.

In the middle frame, the Orange were once again doubled in shots as Merrimack put up 20 compared to Syracuse’s 10. However, Syracuse was much more efficient in the second period, putting eight of the 10 shots on the frame, forcing Hogarth to make multiple difficult stops.

Despite the increased accuracy, Hogarth held strong, posting a shutout.

Merrimack’s attack was less efficient than the first frame, but nonetheless continued to be relentless in its offensive pursuit. The Warriors totaled 22 shots in the second period with 13 on the frame. The pressure being put on the Syracuse defense forced it to play a more defensive game.

While the first two periods decided the game, two empty net goals for Merrimack in the final two minutes clinched it.

Published on October 7, 2023 at 6:15 pm

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