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Tatum White and Chloe Corbin lined up in the center of the ice getting ready for a faceoff. White won the faceoff and looked to get Syracuse back in the game. 17 seconds after winning the faceoff, White had an opening and fired a shot, but it was wide of the net. Teagan Heaslip gained possession of the puck and dished it to Meara Ryan.

Ryan saw Morgan Neitzke breaking free and gave the puck up to her. Skating down the right side of the ice, Neitzke broke free from the defense and only needed to beat Arielle DeSmet. As she crept towards the crease, Neitzke made a double move to get the puck to her left side and scored her second goal of the second period with 2:09 remaining in the period. It was Lindenwood’s third goal of the period and they all came within two minutes of each other.

On the heels of its second-period collapse, Syracuse (8-16-1, 5-3 CHA) lost 6-3 to Lindenwood (3-21, 3-7 CHA). SU had won its first three games against the Lions this season by an average of 2.33 goals per game including a dominant win last night, but the Lions got the better of the Orange today.

Lindenwood dominated the first period outshooting Syracuse by eight and it took a 1-0 lead when Ryan scored with 3:04 remaining in the period.

Near the midway point of the second period, the Orange had a great opportunity to tie the game. Despite a Mae Batherson miss, Syracuse was able to keep the puck in Lindenwood’s defensive zone. Seconds later, Lauren Bellefontaine had a shot on goal that was blocked by Julia Maguire and kicked into the open ice near the crease. Batherson swooped in and scored past Maguire to tie the game with 10:59 left in the second period.

However, everything went awry in the closing minutes of the second period for the Orange. With just under three minutes remaining in the period, Rachell Goff controlled the puck in the left corner of Syracuse’s defensive zone with her back to the goal. In one motion, Goff turned her body and fired to give Lindenwood a 2-1 lead.

After Ryan defeated Bellefontaine in a faceoff, Lindenwood regained possession 17 seconds after it just scored its second goal of the game. Sydney Rarick had the puck to the right of Syracuse’s goal. With the defense collapsing in on her, and DeSmet hugging the left goal post as a counter, Rarick slung the puck across the ice to a wide-open Neitzke. With an opening, Neitzke scored an easy goal and extended Lindenwood’s lead to two and soon three after her second goal of the period 30 seconds later.

Bellefontaine scored two goals in the third period, but the Lions responded with three of its own. In a season full of disappointing losses, this might sting the worst as Lindenwood’s three-goal win over the Orange prevented a chance for SU to jump into second place in the College Hockey America standings with a win or tie.

Published on January 21, 2023 at 5:22 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon