Orange Conference Call: Syracuse Locks Down First CHA Victory in Program History

Friday, January 30

Syracuse, NY

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Niagara

Junior defenseman Gabrielle Beaudry delivered the parting shot in the third period while junior goaltender Kucy Schoedel stood strong in net all night in SU's first CHA victory, 2-1.

Orange Conference Call: Syracuse Locks Down First CHA Victory in Program History

1/30/2009 10:28:13 PM | Ice Hockey

Box Score

Syracuse 2, Niagara 1

Season Statstics

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – In a valiant defensive stand, the Syracuse women's ice hockey team (4-15-3) won its first College Hockey America contest in program history on Friday night against Niagara, 2-1, at Tennity Ice Pavilion. The Orange's fourth overall victory was a crucial one as this weekend is SU's final chance to make up some ground in the tumultuous CHA standings. Syracuse leapfrogged Niagara in the league standings with the triumph and is now in fourth place with five points (3 ties – 1 win).

Junior defenseman Gabrielle Beaudry (Cortland, N.Y.) notched her first career goal for Syracuse in emphatic fashion, firing in the game-winner during the third period to help cut down Niagara's sextet. Sophomore captain Stefanie Marty (Nussbaumen, Switzerland) is now in sole possession of second place in team points with her sixth goal of the season, 15th point overall.

Junior goaltender Lucy Schoedel (Ithaca, N.Y.) put forth a sterling effort manning the net for the Orange on Friday, turning away 36-of-37 shots, the most she has thwarted since her career-high of 46 against Mercyhurst on Nov. 15. Schoedel faced heavy pressure all evening as the Purple Eagles outshot Syracuse 37-17 in the game. The third-year netminder has made 606 saves though 22 games and raised her season save percentage to 89.8.

"Lucy (Schoedel) played with great confidence all night," head coach Paul Flanagan said. "Tonight was a long time coming for this team and I'm proud of the way they responded all night. We got that quick one on the board and Niagara outshot us for the remainder of the game, but Lucy took charge and played a great game tonight. We hope to learn from this game and go about our business from here on out."

Before anyone could get settled into their seats, Syracuse took the opening draw down to Niagara's end and worked the puck down low behind the net to sophomore co-captain Julie Rising (Anchorage, Alaska). Rising caught the Purple Eagles' defense in a vulnerable position and delivered a cunning pass to Marty for the one-timer over NU's Jenni Bauer just 00:25 seconds into the match. Rising's seventh helper of the season, 12 in all, gave the Orange the early 1-0 advantage.

Syracuse was on the penalty kill in the later stages of the first period and the SU blueline hampered NU's powerplay attack. The Orange blocked a couple Niagara shots out front and Schoedel made three great saves in succession right near the horn. Niagara outshot Syracuse 13-5 in the opening period.

As Niagara's Mary McKinnon came out of the penalty box, Melanie Mills made a great steal in the neutral zone, facilitating a two-on-one advantage for the Purple Eagles. Mills skated the puck down the right side, tried to deke Schoedel out with a spin move in front of the net, but came short on the attempt. Mills' shot recoiled off of Schoedel's pad and Ashley Riggs was right in front to knot the game, 1-1, at 10:26 of the second stanza. Niagara managed to hold the Orange to just four shots in the middle period.

Syracuse reacted in the third period with better puck control and more open looks than the previous two periods. SU maneuvered its offense in Niagara's zone when freshman defenseman Kelly Dimmen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) detected her linemate wide open in the slot. Dimmen fired the puck to Beaudry to the left of the right faceoff circle and she unleashed a perfectly-placed wrist shot that went right past a well-screened Bauer at 4:51 of the third period for her first-career game-winning goal.

Niagara got the Tennity faithful's pulses going when it had a two-man advantage with 00:40 second left in the game, but the resilient Orange defense kept the Purple Eagles from spoiling Syracuse's first conference victory.

The victory give the Orange a one-point cushion in the league rankings, and with Saturday's contest being the final CHA game for Syracuse, SU will be looking for another victory to try and position themselves for a better seed in the CHA playoffs which starts on March 5.

The rematch with Niagara is scheduled for tomorrow; Saturday, January 31 at 2 pm. Tomorrow will be the second to last tilt staged at Tennity Ice Pavilion. SU has one home game left at Tennity on Friday, February 20 before hosting St. Anselm's at the Onondaga County War Memorial on Saturday, February 21 at 2 pm.