The Syracuse ice hockey team (6-5-2) was strong on defense late in the game to end in a 1-1 draw with Robert Morris (11-3-1) on Friday night at Tennity Ice Pavilion. Both goalies were strong in net with Jessica Dodds making 25 saves for RMU and Kallie Billadeau making 26 stops for the Orange.
Neither team had much of an advantage throughout the course of the game. Robert Morris and Syracuse were nearly even shots on goal (RMU 27, SU 26) and faceoff wins (RMU 26, SU 29) resulting in almost equal possession time.
“I didn’t think we had the energy tonight,” head coach Paul Flanagan said. “They’re a good team and they come at you hard. We were resilient late in the game. I thought late in the third period they were after us pretty good. Defensively, you can bend a little bit but we didn’t break and Billadeau made some big saves. I think we feel, certainly in our barn, that we’ve got to show up with more energy and execute better.”
Nicole Ferrara was the only Orange with a point on the night, scoring the first shorthanded goal of the year for SU at the beginning of the third period.
Neither team was able to convert on the power play. Syracuse had six power play opportunities and RMU had four. The Orange showed its penalty kill prowess, allowing only two shots in 7 minutes and 28 seconds while down a skater.
Ferrara stripped the puck from an RMU skater at the defensive blue line and used some physicality to beat the one-on-one matchup with a Colonial defender. She then took it to the net and used a quick snap of the wrist to get the puck pass Dodds at the crease and take a 1-0 lead 5:19 into the second period.
It didn’t take long for the Colonials to tie the game. Ashley Vesci netted a wrist shot from the top left side of the crease that snuck past Billadeau and the left pipe to even the score at 1-1 with 5:24 left in the second period.
Even play marked the final 25 minutes of the game with RMU putting 12 shots on goal and SU targeting the net 11 times.
