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Six minutes into the second period, Syracuse’s Maya D’Arcy raced into Lindenwood’s defensive zone. As Brooke Pioske stepped between D’Arcy and the goal, she glanced over her shoulder and slid the puck to Heidi Knoll streaking down the middle of the ice. Knoll collected the pass from 20 feet out and sent a wrist shot past goalie Ava McIllmurray, giving SU a 2-1 lead.

In a 4-4 tie between Lindenwood (5-8-1, 2-3-1 College Hockey America) and Syracuse (3-10-2, 0-5-1 College Hockey America), underclassmen combined to total two of SU’s four goals and added two assists. In yesterday’s 4-3 loss to LU, all three Syracuse goals were by upperclassmen and prior to Saturday’s game, four of its five leading scorers were seniors or graduates.

Immediately after recording its first penalty kill of the game, Rachel Teslak controlled the puck in the Syracuse defensive zone. Teslak launched the puck ahead to an open Knoll skating down the right side. Knoll positioned herself for a one-on-one opportunity with McIllmurray but fired it right off her chest.

Over the next eight minutes, Syracuse underclassmen continued to apply pressure. Sophomore Charlotte Hallett, Knoll and D’Arcy all fired shots, but McIllmurray, who was making her first collegiate start, and the Lions’ defense protected their goal to keep the game scoreless.

At the 15:30 mark of the first period, sophomore Gabby Dougherty pushed the puck forward to Kate Holmes who gathered the puck by the blue line. Holmes launched it toward a group of skaters surrounding the LU goal. The puck bounced around in the scrum and found the stick of freshman Haley Trudeau, who tipped it into the back of the net. The goal was the second of the season for Trudeau and gave the Orange a 1-0 lead.

SU took the 1-0 advantage into the second period, but it took the Lions three minutes to tie it 1-1. Unlike Friday, where Lindenwood broke the 1-1 tie, Knoll’s goal gave SU a 2-1 lead three minutes later. The two sophomores combined to give Syracuse early momentum.

“Maya D’Arcy is my roommate so we got that connection,” Knoll said. “She passed it back and I was saying all game (to myself) ‘don’t shoot it back in the glove’ but the girl was screening her so I shot low glove and luckily it went in.”

The goal by Knoll, her fourth of the season, sparked the beginning of a 3-0 Syracuse run. Four minutes later, senior Tatum White netted a puck off a setup from Teslak to increase SU’s lead to 3-1 heading into the third period.

It took just 1:11 into the third period for Syracuse to record its fourth goal, the most it’s had since the 4-4 tie against Boston College on Oct. 20. Holmes corralled a rebound off the body of McIllmurray and her ensuing shot found the back of the net, giving SU a 4-1 lead.

Three minutes later, Morgan Neitzke recorded her CHA-leading 12th goal of the season, ending the SU run at three goals. The goal brought LU to a 4-2 deficit.

During the three minutes that followed, Knoll rifled off two more shots. The first came off a transition play where Sarah Thompson sprinted down the right side and found Knoll but her quick shot missed wide of the net. Two minutes later, Knoll received the puck by the blue line and rocketed a shot toward McIllmurray but it was deflected high of the net.

Hallett got a scoring look at the top of the Lindenwood defensive zone with 9:14 remaining, yet missed high. Knoll recorded her career-high fifth shot on goal at the 11:27 mark but McIllmurray tallied another one of her six third-period saves. Syracuse’s scoring chances continued to be stymied by McIllmurray and the Lions’ defense.

“We just have to keep burying our chances,” Knoll said. “Luckily today I got to do that even though I had more opportunities and I didn’t take advantage. It’s still a process, we’re getting better and trying to really bare down.”

While Lindenwood went on its own three-goal run to tie the game at the end of regulation, the performance of Syracuse’s underclassmen allowed it to salvage a draw.

“We need some secondary offense because we definitely have some people that are carrying the weight a little bit with our production,” said SU head coach Britni Smith. “It was good to see some other people joining that.”

Published on November 18, 2023 at 7:39 pm