BUFFALO, NY — The RIT women’s hockey team fell 4-0 in the College Hockey America Semifinal to Syracuse on Friday night at HARBORCENTER in downtown Buffalo, ending its 2016-17 season. No. 2 seed Syracuse will play top seed Robert Morris in the CHA Championship on Saturday at 4 p.m.
“It was a tough one for us,” said Bruce B. Bates Women’s Hockey Head Coach Scott McDonald. “Credit to Syracuse, they were the better team tonight and they have been all year long. They’re very well coached, well disciplined, and they play very hard. They’re flat out good and they were better tonight.”
Megan Quinn (one goal and one assist) and Stephanie Grossi (two assists) each had a pair of points for the Orange. Heather Schwarz, Kelli Rowswell, and Allie Munroe also had a goal, while Jessica Sibley and Savannah Rennie had a helper each.
Jenna de Jonge (Abbotsford, British Columbia/George Elliot) made 38 saves in net in the losing effort for the Tigers.
Syracuse out-shot RIT 42-13 in the game, including 18 in the second period alone. The Orange was 1-for-5 on the power-play, while RIT was unable to convert on three opportunities.
Neither team could find the back of the net in the opening period. Syracuse controlled play for most of the frame, firing 15 shots on net, which were all sent aside by de Jonge. RIT had the only power-play of the period, and was unable to convert.
The second period is where play picked up. Just under a minute into the period, de Jonge kept the score even as Alysha Burriss was denied on a point blank chance in front. Almost a minute later, she denied Burriss on a breakaway.
Syracuse eventually opened the scoring, 8:23 into the frame, as Schwarz put home a rebound just outside the crease. Just 1:35 later, Roswell scored on a wrist shot from the high slot, that was tipped off an RIT body in front and past de Jonge. With 3:44 left in the second, Syracuse looked to have bumped its lead to three, as a shot was fired into the net from the face off circle, but it was called back after an officials’ review, due to goalie interference by the Orange. Syracuse entered the third period leading 2-0.
In the third, the Orange put its foot down early, stopping the Tigers from making a comeback. Just 1:46 into the period, RIT wasn’t able to clear the puck out of its own zone, and Quinn made it 3-0 Orange. The Tigers would later take three straight penalties within a span of 4:32, giving Syracuse the chance to put the game away. The Orange converted on the second of those opportunities, on a power-play marker off the stick of Munroe.
The Tigers fired seven shots on target in the final period, but were shutout against the Orange for the third time this season.
Syracuse now leads the all-time series between the two schools, 14-7-2.
RIT falls to 22-11 in the postseason since Bruce B. Bates Women’s Hockey Coach Scott McDonald took over in 2006, including a 11-5 mark at the Division I level. The Tigers also fall to 2-2 all-time in the CHA Semifinals.
The loss knocked RIT out of the CHA Tournament, finishing the Tigers’ season with a 7-27-2 record. RIT will lose seniors Taylor Thurston (Kanata, Ontario/All Saints Catholic), Caitlin Wallace (Brantford, Ontario/Assumption Collegiate), Lindsay Stenason (Oakville, Ontario/Appleby College), Mackenzie Stone (Kars, Ontario/South Carleton), Cassie Clayton (Pickering, Ontario/PEAC School), and Brooke Stoddart (Elmvale, Ontario/Elmvale) to graduation heading into next season.
“I’m proud of our girls for competing and playing hard this weekend,” said McDonald. “I’m really proud of how they went out this season. Regardless of what the score was, they kept playing right to the end.”
What a crew this senior class was. They won two championships in four years here, which is still pretty amazing. We never let anything be an excuse, so they always came out, played hard, and helped set the standards for our program.”
