ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The Syracuse ice hockey team (10-9-2) fell to RIT (10-11-2) in the final minute of play on Friday night in Ritter Arena. Six of the seven goals scored in the game were on the power play.
“There was a lot of special teams and it wasn’t a very good game for either team,” head coach Paul Flanagan said. “They out played us physically and they wanted it more. It really came down to a game of special teams, there was only one even strength goal the whole game. I give credit to what they did on the power play but I was extremely disappointed in our showing tonight.”
SU outshot the Tigers 36-26 and edged RIT in the faceoff circle 39-33. Jenesica Drinkwater made 20 saves while Jetta Rackleff had 31 stops in net.
The Orange took an early lead when Jessica Sibley regained control of the puck behind the end line on the left side of the goal after exchanging possessions with the RIT defender and passed it out in front of the net to Julie Knerr, who was unguarded. Knerr skated to the left and sent one past Rackleff to take a 1-0 lead 8:25 into the game.
RIT scored 1:05 into the second period to tie the game at 1-1. Jess Patton got the initial shot off, which Drinkwater saved but she lost sight of the puck and Kourtney Kunichika netted the equalizer.
Syracuse regained its advantage seven minutes later on the power play when Akane Hosoyamada deflected a shot from Larissa Martyniuk, taken from the point, up and over the goalie, who was expecting it to be hard and low to bring the score to 2-1.
RIT then scored two in a row, both on the power play to take its first lead of the game with 3:24remaining in the second period. The first was a goal by Erin Zach and the second was a rebounded shot into the net at the end of a two-man-down situation for SU.
Syracuse rallied at the end of the second stanza, scoring a goal when Nicole Renault took a wrist shot from the point that Melissa Piacentini redirected into the goal to tie the score at 3-3.
Both teams pressured on offense but no one was able to score until RIT had a shorthanded score with 1:17 left in the game. Cassie Clayton stole the puck and brought it up the ice, beating two SU defenders and sent in the game-winning goal.
The Orange put two shots on target in the final minute but a penalty on Sibley ended Syracuse’s offensive efforts.
