Syracuse University
McGill University
SU Hangs Tough with #1 Team in Canada
2/25/2009 8:54:40 AM | Ice Hockey
MONTREAL, Quebec – In a final retooling before playoff hockey washes over the Orange, the Syracuse women's hockey team crossed international boundaries to meet up with the No. 1 collegiate team in Canada, McGill University, in an exhibition affair on Tuesday night. Syracuse hung tough with the Great White North's premiere club, tossing up 28 shots to the Marlets' 30, but in the end, McGill outlasted the Orange, 4-2, at McConnell Arena.
Sophomore co-captain Julie Rising and freshman winger Megan Skelly each notched a two-point game by helping out on each other's tallies while freshman defenseman Kylie Klassen was awarded Syracuse's other assist.
Junior goaltender Lucy Schoedel manned the cage for the first 42:30 of the contest and was relieved by freshman Steph Jones for the remaining 17:30. Schoedel turned aside 16-of-20 shots she faced while Jones blocked all 10 pucks that came her way. Jones also stoned McGill's Ann-Sophie Bettez on a penalty shot attempt at the 7:00 minute mark of the final stanza.
McGill, a team that was won its last 23 outings, put the first two goals on the board in powerplay style. After sophomore Rebecca Gordon was whistled for interference at 4:23 of the first period, Rebecca Martindale was able to find the back of the net with nine seconds remaining in the powerplay at 6:23.
Martindale capitalized on another interference call in the second period, but lit the lamp only six seconds into the extra man advantage at 3:26 for the 2-0 lead.
Marie-Andree Leclerc-Auger repeated Martindale's proceedings with two more goals to initiate the third period, only Marie-Andree Leclerc-Auger's came in six-on-six fashion. Thirty-seven seconds into the final period, Marie-Andree Leclerc-Auger made it a 3-0 game and then almost two minutes later at 2:30, she fired in the Marlets' final marker of the night to put the contest out of reach, 4-0.
Skelly and Rising took a stab at making it a game after Skelly buried one at 9:26, followed up a little over a minute with a Rising wrister at 10:47 to cut McGill's lead in half, 4-2, with about half a period of hockey left, but Syracuse could not break through in the end.
Following a sturdy test from a team that has gone 32-2-0 and 17-0 in its conference this season, the Orange now turns its attention back to the College Hockey America conference. Syracuse has not faced a CHA team since its first two conference victories at home against Niagara at the end of January.
Although there is one more weekend of regular season CHA action, the pairings have been finalized for the 2009 College Hockey America women's tournament to be held March 5-7 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Pa.
Mercyhurst clinched the regular-season title by way of an 8-1 win against Niagara and Wayne State's 1-0 setback at Robert Morris.
Syracuse leads Niagara by three points (7-4) in the league standings. Niagara would have to win twice at home this upcoming weekend against Robert Morris to move into fourth place. The Orange has the tiebreaker over the Purple Eagles by compiling a 2-0-2 mark in head-to-head competition this season.
The tournament schedule for the CHA Tournament starting on Thursday, March 5, is as follows:
Thursday, March 5
First Round Game/Quarterfinals
No. 5 Seed vs. No. 4 Seed (Niagara vs. SYRACUSE)
3:00 p.m.
Friday, March 6
Semifinal Game 1
Quarterfinal winner vs. No. 1 Seed (Mercyhurst)
3:00 p.m.
Friday, March 6
Semifinal Game 2
No. 3 Seed (Robert Morris) vs. No. 2 Seed (Wayne State)
7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 7
Championship Game
5:00 p.m.
