The mood was somber for Syracuse as it rode a bus back from Potsdam, New York after getting blown out Friday night.

But SU’s coaches thought the Orange might have a chance, playing the second game of a home-and-home on its own rink on Saturday. Head coach Paul Flanagan told his team to come out aggressive and look to capitalize on a tired opponent.

“The kids answered the bell, from the drop of the puck to the very end,” Flanagan said. “We showed a lot of character.”

After falling to the defending national champions 9-0 Friday night, SU (1-3-4) played Clarkson (5-3-0) tight before losing to the Golden Knights for the second straight game, 4-1. The Orange was outshot Clarkson, 33-20, but stayed within one goal for almost 55 minutes.

The first period was dominated by penalties, with two for SU and three for Clarkson. Neither team was able to capitalize on its advantages and the Orange looked to be on the same level as Clarkson. SU had 10 shots on goal to the Golden Knights’ 12.

“Territorially, we may have had more time of possession in their zone,” Flanagan said.

With less than two minutes left in the period, Clarkson showed its team strength.

The Golden Knights stacked skaters on the right side of the ice, obstructing SU goalie Jenn Gilligan’s view. With the left wing open, Clarkson defender Savannah Harmon slid forward and took a sharp pass from center Genevieve Bannon before burying it in the open side of the net.

“I expected the shot immediately and it turned out that she passed the puck, I guess, to the far side,” Gilligan said. “I tried to recover as quickly as possible and I just didn’t get there fast enough.”

The Orange tried to stay aggressive and retain as much possession as possible. Five minutes into the next period, it paid off.

Freshman forward Alysha Burriss took the puck from the corner and skated toward the blue line. The winger made eye contact with defenseman Larissa Martyniuk at the seam and fired a pass.

Martyniuk got the puck and shot from the same spot on the ice where Clarkson had scored. The puck slid under goalie Shea Tiley’s pads and the game was tied.

“Everything just parted, I called for it and just got it on net,” Martyniuk said.

Three minutes later, forward Melissa Piacentini took a bodycheck penalty, sending SU on the penalty kill. A minute and a half into it, Clarkson capitalized.

A shot from the point sent Gilligan flying to make the first save. Splayed out on the ice, Gilligan stopped a few more close opportunities before forward Olivia Howe was able to jam the puck home.

“Once you get to three, four opportunities, there’s not much I can do,” the goalie said.

The rest of the period and most of the third saw SU and Clarkson go back and forth, trading opportunities. The Golden Knights outshot SU by 10 in the final two periods.

The Orange managed only four shots on net in the final period because Clarkson packed its players in around the net, stopping SU from getting in deep.

Two late mistakes from SU led to Clarkson steals in the neutral zone and goals that put the game out of reach.

Despite the loss, Flanagan thought his team played almost equal with Clarkson and was happy with its performance.

“It wasn’t a 4-1 ballgame, it was a closer game than that,” Flanagan said. “We needed to get back on track.”

Published on October 25, 2014 at 9:34 pm