Lakers Top Orange in Final Second of OT

Saturday, January 11

Syracuse, NY

3 PM

Syracuse University

6-14-1, 5-2-1CHA

Mercyhurst

12-8-2, 6-2-0CHA

OT 1

Mercyhurst

Syracuse

Lindsay Eastwood tied the game at 3-3 to send Syracuse and Mercyhurst to overtime.

1/11/2020 7:00:00 PM | Ice Hockey

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A last second heartbreaker sent Mercyhurst (12-8-2, 6-2-0 CHA) past Syracuse (6-14-1, 5-2-1 CHA) Saturday afternoon in the final game of the weekend series at Tennity Ice Pavilion. 'Cuse went goal-for-goal with the Lakers all game, but a last second shovel-shot from Maggie Knott gave Mercyhurst the win. Orange goals came from Madison Beishuizen, Mae Batherson and Lindsay Eastwood. Eastwood has now scored 21 goals in her career, setting a new program record for most goals by a defenseman. Allie Munroe '19 held the previous record. Syracuse returns to the ice Friday in a road match against Robert Morris.

Lindsay Eastwood record

"There's just little parts of the game that we have to keep working at getting better on so that we're not chasing teams," head coach Paul Flanagan said. "I didn't think we answered the bell very well in the first period. They came out firing on all cylinders and I give their staff and their team a lot of credit for that. We battled back pretty well and kept plugging away, but it would be nice to have some consistency with getting the lead and playing with the lead."

Syracuse split the weekend with the Lakers, winning 8-3 last night to briefly jump to the top of the College hockey America conference standings. With today's loss, 'Cuse moves to third in the CHA behind Mercyhurst and RMU who are both 6-2 in league play.

🔊Coach Flanagan addresses the media post game. pic.twitter.com/wmyn5VsCUV
— Syracuse Ice Hockey (@CuseIce) January 11, 2020

How it happened
Mercyhurst was the first on the board , scoring the only goal in the first period at the 6:18 mark. The Orange responded with two goals in the first half of the second period, the scores coming from the freshmen duo of Beishuizen and Batherson. Batherson's lamp lighter came during a 4-on-4 situation that was created by Kelli Rowswell's checking penalty and Summer-Rae Dobson's holding call.

The Orange held the 2-1 lead until the Lakers tied the game thanks to Rachel Marmen's breakaway opportunity halfway through the second. Mercyhurst took the 3-2 lead when Alexa Vasko found the back of the net with two minutes to spare in the period.

Syracuse once again erased the deficit seven minutes into the third when Eastwood sounded the horn off a feed from Emma Polaski and Lauren Bellefontaine. Plenty of chances came from both sides for the remainder of the period, but both goalies stood on their heads to force overtime.

Mercyhurst controlled the puck for the majority of overtime, Syracuse taking just two shots in the period. Senior goaltender Ady Cohen made several huge saves and was aided by her defenders laying out to block a trio of shots, but a wild bounce in the final second resulted in the puck sliding under her to give the Lakers the win.

Mercyhurst keeper Kennedy Blair recorded 27 saves and moves to 11-6-2 on the season. Cohen (4-5-0) made 39 saves in the outing, 13 shy of her personal best of 43.

Up Next
The Orange are on the road next weekend at Robert Morris for a two game conference series. Puck drop on Friday is at 7 p.m., and Saturday kicks off at 3 p.m. Fans can follow along via Stretch TV here.

Save the Date
Fans once again have the chance to skate outside with the Orange as Syracuse is hosting an open skate at the Clinton Square Ice Rink. 'Cuse takes to the ice Monday, Jan. 20 from 4-6 p.m. In addition to skating, fans will have opportunities to collect autographs and giveaway items. Skating costs $3 for adults and $2 for kids.

Up Next at Tennity
The Orange are hosting Youth Weekend Jan. 24-25 when CHA foe Penn State comes to town. The weekend features a pizza giveaway, along with the start of a tournament for EA Sports' NHL 20, the winner of which will receive a copy of the video game.

For complete coverage of Syracuse ice hockey, follow us on Facebook (Syracuse Women's Ice Hockey), Twitter (@CuseIce) and Instagram (@CuseIce).