Head coach Paul Flanagan and Syracuse walked back into the locker room tied 2-2 with Ohio State following the second period on Nov. 18. What could have been a motivating victory for SU quickly turned into an ugly defeat.

The Buckeyes reeled off four goals in the third period en route to a 6-3 win, handing the Orange another loss at home.  SU’s late-game collapse proved that the team is still struggling to play consistent hockey for an entire 60 minutes. 

‘It’s so important that we come out strong and finish strong,’ forward Allie LaCombe said in interview in October. ‘We are a good middle-period team once we get our momentum going, but those first two shifts are so important for us to come out strong.’

Despite glimpses of productivity from the Orange attack, the defense could not provide enough support in order to prevent a sweep at the hands of Ohio State last weekend. SU (5-9-0, 0-0 CHA) will look to have a more balanced effort when they play a weekend series with Rensselaer (3-9-4, 1-3-2 ECAC), beginning Friday night at Houston Field House. 

The Orange players responded well on Saturday after their frustrating loss to Ohio State the previous night. SU came out aggressively, pressuring the Buckeyes defense and generating scoring opportunities.

LaCombe gave SU a lead in the early minutes of the first period.  The Orange continued to battle, led by the strong play of sophomore goalie Jenesica Drinkwater. But sloppy defense by SU allowed two late-game goals for Ohio State.  Flanagan and his squad let a second straight game slip away, this time in more dramatic fashion. 

‘It was almost like we made it too easy for them,’ Flanagan said. ‘We got tired, and you make a lot of fundamental mistakes when you’re tired.’

The Buckeyes toppled SU with their quickness and athleticism, smothering the Orange forwards on the attack. Syracuse was clearly overmatched against a talented Ohio State team, and the players’ lack of energy down the stretch resulted in an overall inconsistent performance. 

The Orange will try to end its three-game regular-season losing streak when it plays two very winnable games against Rensselaer this weekend. And that starts with playing hard for all three periods.

‘When you play 60 minutes if you can control those 20 minute intervals we should be winning games,’ captain Megan Skelly said.

Rensselaer, led by head coach John Burke, will come out firing after dropping two games against top-ranked Wisconsin last weekend. Forwards Jordan Smelker and Alisa Harrison have paced the RPI offensive attack so far this season. Smelker has four goals and eight assists while Harrison has added five goals and six assists.

As the Orange players spend the Thanksgiving holiday on campus resting, Flanagan stressed to his team the importance of showing up to play on Friday night and being consistent.  This means better passing, fewer communication breakdowns and a stronger effort on defense. 

‘We’re a hardworking team and we have a lot of talent,’ freshman forward Casey Hirsch said.  ‘If we play our game and come out and play all 60 minutes, we’ll win.’  

awmirmin@syr.edu

Published on November 24, 2011 at 12:00 pm