SYRACUSE SCORES AS TIME EXPIRES TO TIE UCONN
It took every last second, but the Orange were able to salvage a tie with UConn on Sunday, thanks to the last-second heroics of Jessica Sibley and ‘Cuse’s extra skater unit.
With the Orange trailing 2-1, goaltender Jenn Gilligan on the bench and time waning, Sibley managed to deflect a shot from Alysha Burriss into the top of the net just before the horn sounded. After review, the officials determined that the goal stood and had crossed the line with less than one second remaining, sending Syracuse to overtime for the fourth-straight game.
Sibley’s goal capped off a dominant third period for the Orange in which pepper the Huskies’ net, attempting 31 shots (putting 14 on net and having 11 blocked) to UConn’s three – but it wasn’t until Sibley’s last-second goal that the Orange were able to get past UConn net minder Annie Belanger.
After a scoreless first period, Syracuse got on the board first in a wild second period that featured seven penalties as Emily Costales scored 52 seconds into the second period. The goal was the first of Costales’ career, with the assists coming from Nicole Renault and Stephanie Grossi.
The Huskies got the goal back with nine minutes left in the second as they took advantage of a 4-on-4 situation and Theresa Knutson beat Gilligan on a feed from Sara MacDonnell.
UConn scored again just under six minutes later when Emily Snodgrass scored on a Huskies’ power play to give them a 2-1 lead which they would take into the locker room.
After the Orange’s dominant third period, the Huskies saw more opportunities in the overtime period, but Gilligan and the ‘Cuse defense withstood the pressure to preserve the tie.
The tie is the fourth in a row for the Orange, tying the amount of ties the team had in the last two seasons combined and second only to the 2010-11 (6) season for most in an entire season.
Syracuse owned a 39-19 advantage in shots on goal in the game.
