Syracuse special teams struggle in 5-1 loss to No. 7 Quinnipiac

Syracuse Women’s Ice Hockey fans had yet to scream “We are SU” from the stands at Tennity Ice Pavilion this season. The chant erupts from the crowd after each goal the team scores. There was just one problem. In the Orange’s first three home games, they could not find the back of the net.

That changed midway through the third period of Saturday’s 5-1 loss to No. 7 Quinnipiac. After peppering shots at Bobcats goaltender Felicia Frank all afternoon, forward Emma Gnade broke through on her team’s 25th shot of the game. She corralled the puck in the low slot before firing it into the back of the net.

The goal horn went off and music played. Even though the scoreboard was not kind to Syracuse, the fans certainly were. It was the first time they got to chant “We are SU,” but it was not the first time the goal horn sounded.

The initial breakthrough appeared to have come earlier in the contest. In the first period, the puck was loose in front of Frank’s crease, and defender Celia Wiegand’s shot found twine through a cluster of bodies. The goal horn echoed through Tennity for the first time all season as Wiegand and her teammates hugged and fist bumped. 

After a short deliberation, the referees announced the goal was under further review. They emerged back onto the ice from the monitor and emphatically waved the goal off for goalie interference. 

“I think we had momentum at that point,” associate head coach Heather Farrell said. “It could have been a totally different game had that gone in, but that was the call.”

The score would have drawn the Orange within one goal of the Bobcats. Quinnipiac had a 2-0 lead, and held it through the first period. Syracuse found more offense in the second period, but none of its 13 shots during the frame hit the back of the net. 

Quinnipiac scored a pair in the period, taking a 4-0 lead into the third. Its fourth goal came courtesy of the power play, where the Bobcats excelled. They scored on two of their seven opportunities with the skater-advantage. In Friday’s game, they were two-for-three. 

Special teams have been a concern for the Orange this season. Syracuse was not able to convert either of its power play opportunities keeping power play percentage sitting below 10 percent on the year. Farrell wants her team to take a new approach when they have an extra skater.

“They need to have that killer instinct,” she said. “Sometimes a power play thinks we have a player up, so we don’t have to work as hard.” 

The Orange have no choice but to develop their power play during conference games. They begin their AHA slate next weekend on the road against Delaware. While Syracuse is 2-4, Gnade believes playing four games against top-10 competition has prepared her team for the rest of the season. 

“Now that we’ve played physical teams, we’ll be prepared,” she said.