With the game tied at one, Nicole Ferrara got a chance late in the third period to put the Orange on top. The Syracuse forward took a quick shot, but it rang off the pipe and flew into the boards, keeping the game knotted at one.

“It’s definitely important (to create chances)”, Ferrara said, “But I had a bunch of chances I needed to finish.”

Syracuse (8-9-2, 5-1-2 College Hockey America) smothered Penn State (4-10-4, 1-3-4 CHA) Saturday afternoon, but an inconsistent performance from the Orange offense, and strong defensive play from Penn State, saw the two sides tie 1-1 in overtime.

The game was dominated from start to finish by the Orange. Similar to Friday night’s game, in which the Orange won 3-1, Syracuse held an advantage over the Nittany Lions in every offensive statistic.

Syracuse forward Jessica Sibley bolstered the Orange offense early, scoring less than halfway through the first period on a Melissa Piacentini assist.

“I told the team after the first period, ‘We really can win this game’,” Syracuse head coach Paul Flanagan said.

The Orange was able to posses the puck well for the rest of the game, almost never giving it up. The only time that the Nittany Lions were able to get the puck back was when Syracuse took a shot.

Shooting-wise, though, the Nittany Lions were much more efficient than the Orange. Of SU’s 63 shots attempted, just 41 were on goal. Penn State saw just 32 attempted shots, but put 23 on goal.

Strong play from Penn State defenders limited open shots from Syracuse, especially in power plays. The Orange saw four power plays Saturday, but didn’t score on any of them.

“We had a lot of opportunities,” Piacentini said, “We just have to find a way to get them past the goalie.”

Sibley, the No. 2 goal-scorer for the Orange, was kept quiet for the rest of the game. She continued to shoot, but couldn’t find the back of the net again.

Flanagan discussed how important it is for the Orange to capitalize on its opportunities. On Saturday, he said, Syracuse had a number of chances, but the team just couldn’t finish plays.

“If my mind serves me correct, if there were four or five Grade-A chances, I thought we just shot a little too soon,” Flanagan said, “If you have a little more patience, make a little move, you score.”

Flanagan said that the Syracuse offense should have done a better job of exploiting Penn State’s defense, especially goaltender Celine Whitlinger, who drops to her knees a lot. In that situation, he wants his players to recognize the part of the goal what the goaltender is “giving you” and put the puck there.

Instead of finding the open holes in the net Saturday night, the Orange made Whitlinger look like a superstar. Averaging 33.86 saves per game in her career, the senior had 40 against the Orange.

Piacentini, coming off of Friday night’s game where she earned her 100th career point for the Orange, said that capitalizing on its chances would have seen a different outcome for the Orange.

“We were up and down, and consistency killed us,” Piacentini said, “If we got one of those (shots) in, the game would have been different.”

Published on December 5, 2015 at 7:32 pm

Contact Matt: mjfel100@syr.edu