Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Leading 2-0 in the third period, Syracuse had no plans to sit back and be conservative in the final 20 minutes.

As Stonehill looked to transition out of its own end and into the neutral zone, Maya D’Arcy read the play perfectly and cut off the pass with a strong forecheck. She dished the puck onto the tape of Haley Trudeau, who went wide around the left side of the Skyhawks’ zone. Working the puck down low with time and space, she sent a perfect pass to Charlotte Hallett who fired it past Alexsa Caron, padding SU’s lead to 3-0.

“A big part of our speed is being able to get in hard on forechecks and recognizing when to create offense off the rush,” SU head coach Britni Smith said postgame. “In terms of possession, it’s definitely helping our game.”

In its second straight win over Stonehill, (0-2-0, 0-0-0 New England Women’s Hockey Alliance) Syracuse (2-0-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won 4-0 anchored by a strong forecheck and backcheck when its opponent possessed the puck. The effort culminated in four different scorers contributing for the Orange and a 20-save shutout for Bella Gould.

In the opening minutes, Syracuse picked up right where it left off in its victory the day before by again establishing its relentless forecheck in the Skyhawks’ zone. The constant pressure led to sloppy passes and turnovers by Stonehill, allowing the Orange to easily set up their offensive attack.

Through the first 10 minutes of the first period, Syracuse jumped out to a 7-0 advantage in shots on goal. Despite being short-handed for the next two minutes after a Rylee Smith tripping penalty, SU’s forwards continued to give the Skyhawks fits.

As Stonehill’s power play unit crossed the blue line into the Syracuse end, D’Arcy was caught behind the play in the neutral zone, but she quickly recovered. Now at full speed, her backcheck effort resulted in a quick turnover by the Skyhawks that sprung Tatum White the opposite way.

White and D’Arcy closed in on a two-on-one chance at the other end of the ice, nearly scoring off the rush that D’Arcy’s turnover had created.

“Coming back hard to the house, protecting our scoring area regardless of the numbers sets us up for a strong defensive core and puts us in position to break pucks out,” Smith said postgame. “(Backchecking) is definitely something that we’ve put a huge emphasis on.”

Eventually, Syracuse’s persistence was rewarded. Jocelyn Fiala broke the deadlock and put SU on top 1-0 with her first collegiate goal.

The Orange led 12-2 on the scoresheet after the first period, while consistent backchecking from their forwards had forced Gould to make only routine saves.

In the second period, the Skyhawks got on the attack early and Syracuse’s defense faced its first true tests of the afternoon. But with the help of forwards dropping back to break up passes and placing themselves in shooting lanes to the net, the Orange held off Stonehill’s length of offensive possession.

“When the forwards come back hard to the middle, it definitely helps the defense pick up girls who are maybe trailing behind,” D’Arcy said postgame. “You never know when the puck will get turned over.”

After defending for the first few minutes of the second frame, Syracuse’s forecheck continued to define its offensive attack and helped double its advantage.

Sprinting into the corner of the Stonehill zone, Stella Costabile won the race to the puck against Skyhawks defender Sarah Taylar. She slid the puck over to Mik Todd, who fed it in front for Rylee McLeod. The pass glanced off her stick, but Charli Kettyle picked it up and grew Syracuse’s lead to 2-0 with a perfectly placed snap-shot.

Through two periods of play, the Orange outshot their opponent by a lopsided 25-8 margin.

In the third period, the Orange continued to halt the Skyhawks’ attempts to transition out of their own zone with active sticks from their forwards that translated into even more Stonehill turnovers.

Just over a minute into the frame, Peyton Armstrong worked the puck along the right boards in the offensive zone. Somehow knowing Bryn Saarela was behind her, she blindly sent the puck toward her teammate who sent a wrister on net, nearly beating Caron on the glove side.

Despite Caron’s best efforts in her second consecutive start, the Orange put the game out of reach through depth scoring.

Having faced Syracuse’s non-stop pressure for most of the game, the Skyhawks seemed to be out of energy late in the third period. The Orange, however, were far from it. Tallies from Knoll and McLeod allowed SU to finally let off the gas pedal as the final minutes rolled off the clock and cruise to its second-straight 4-0 victory.

“We’ve put a lot of emphasis on forechecking and have worked on it for the past month or so that we’ve been here”, White said postgame. “We’ve really been dialing in on it at practice (that’s) helped us translate it into our game.”

Published on October 5, 2024 at 8:02 pm

Contact Matthew: mgray06@syr.edu