ERIE, Pa.- Junior Jessica Sibley lifted the Syracuse women’s ice hockey team with the game winner 1:30 into overtime on Saturday afternoon, as the Orange took down Mercyhurst in College Hockey America play by the final score of 2-1 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
The overtime win delivered Syracuse (12-13-3, 8-4-2 CHA) a series split with Mercyhurst (12-10-4, 9-3-2 CHA). Although the Orange beat the Lakers twice this season, Syracuse still resides two points behind Mercyhurst for first place in the CHA standings.
“Our team played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm today. I am proud of the way that we bounced back to come away with the win,” head coach Paul Flanagan said. “The most important thing is that we got the win to keep us in the mix of getting into first place.”
The Orange outshot Mercyhurst 34-11 throughout the contest and came from behind to pull away with the pivotal conference win. Despite outshooting the Lakers 19-6 in the first frame, Mercyhurst utilized a goal from Jillian Skinner to take a 1-0 advantage into the second period.
Sophomore Stephanie Grossi evened the game just 30 seconds into the second period by going top shelf to beat Mercyhurst netminder Sarah McDonnell. The Orange continued to apply pressure on the Lakers throughout the remainder of the contest, but were unable to score. The game eventually went into overtime notched at one.
After Mercyhurst took a five-minute major in the opening moments of overtime, Syracuse took advantage. Sibley let loose on a pass from senior Melissa Piacentini at 1:30, rocketing a slapper right past McDonnell for the win.
“It was only fitting that Sibley was the one to score the game winner,” Flanagan said. “She took the spearing penalty in overtime and it was nice to see her score to end it.”
Senior goaltender Jenn Gilligan made 10 saves in between the pipes for Syracuse, settling in after allowing the lone Mercyhurst goal in the first frame. McDonnell made a game-high 32 saves.
The Orange will stay on the road for its next CHA series when the team travels to Penn State next weekend. The first game will be on Friday, February 5 at 7 p.m. followed by a Saturday contest at 2:30 p.m. Both live video and live stats can be accessed via Cuse.com.
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