Penalties burn Syracuse in 5-2 loss to Wisconsin
Phil Bryant | Contributing Photographer
Late in the first period, Wisconsin scored off a Syracuse penalty. Not two minutes later, another Orange penalty led to another Badger goal.
After a tripping call on defenseman Lindsay Eastwood in the first period, a Syracuse fan screamed out “That’s terrible!” Eastwood herself stood there, seemingly bewildered by the call.
Many complaints about officiating followed as Syracuse (0-3-1) fell to Wisconsin (6-0-0), 5-2, on Saturday. The Orange found itself on the penalty kill eight times, accumulating 16 penalty minutes.
“I just thought they did a poor job,” SU head coach Paul Flanagan said. “I don’t mind saying that. I’m probably not supposed to, but they didn’t do a very good job of managing the game.”
Wisconsin took advantage of the power plays. After Megan Quinn was sent to the penalty box for hooking late in the first period, Badger forward Abby Roque found Claudia Kepler down low. Kepler slid the puck past Orange goalkeeper Abbey Miller for the game’s first score.
Less than two minutes later, the Badgers again were on a power play, this time a roughing penalty by Syracuse’s Allie Olnowich. From the same spot she scored a few minutes prior, Kepler launched a shot into the high corner of the net for the Badgers’ second power play goal.
Syracuse freshman Emma Polaski was aware of the referees’ questionable calls throughout the game, but chose not to dwell on them.
“It was frustrating, but there’s nothing we can really do about it,” Polaski said. “We just have to control the controllables, keep our heads down, and let the coaches yell at them.”
Flanagan noted there was a large increase in physicality in the second game of the series, a trend he pins on Saturday’s officiating crew. It was a totally different crew from the game prior. In the last minute of Saturday alone, there were two instances where Wisconsin players picked up penalties and got into verbal altercations with an Orange player.
But Wisconsin’s penalties didn’t hurt the team as much as the Orange’s did.
“We’re always leading the country in penalties,” Miller said, “and a lot of our penalties are ones I wouldn’t say are super good calls.”
Published on October 7, 2017 at 7:11 pm
Contact Brandon: bross02@syr.edu
