Special Teams and Goalie Play Spark Victory

Friday, January 19

University Park, PA

6:00 pm

Syracuse University

5-18-2, 2-8-1

Penn State

13-11-1, 8-3-0

Syracuse

Penn St.

Photo by: Sue Cornelius Edson

1/19/2024 9:56:00 PM | Ice Hockey

Box Score

Series Details: at Penn State Saturday, Jan. 20 (2 pm)
Location: Pegula Ice Arena, University Park, Pa.
Watch: B1G+
Live Stats
Twitter: @CuseIce
Syracuse: News | Roster | Schedule | Notes

Syracuse scored three special teams goals en route to a 3-1 victory at Penn State on Friday night in the first game of a College Hockey America series in University Park, Pa. Defenseman Alexandria Weiss tallied a power play goal in the first period and forwards Darci Johal and Tatum White recorded power play goals in the third to pace the Orange (5-18-2 overall, 2-8-1 CHA) offense. Syracuse goaltender Allie Kelley posted 41 saves, marking her fourth consecutive game with 40-or-more saves.

"I am so happy for and proud of this group. We played a tough, gritty game from start to finish," said head coach Britni Smith. "Our special teams were great, AK was dominant in the crease, and we just kept chipping away. We took a penalty with just under two minutes remaining and there was really no panic on our bench. Everyone was dialed in and determined to get the job done. And they did just that."

The second game of the series is Saturday, Jan. 20 (2 pm, B1G+) at the Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pa.

In the first period, Weiss fired a shot from the blue line into the top right corner of the net to give the Orange a 1-0 lead at the 7:29 mark. Kate Holmes and Rachel Teslak set up the scoring play passing the puck from point to point on the power play. Penn State (13-11-1, 8-3) tied the game six minutes into the second period on a goal by Mya Vaslet.

Syracuse re-took the lead less than four minutes into the third period on Johal's shorthanded goal. Teslak set up the play when she fed the puck to White in the Orange defensive zone. White sent a pass up ice to Johal as she skated into the into Penn State's zone. Johal beat PSU goaltender Josie Bothun with a fake and then buried the puck in the back of the net for her first career shorthanded score and the game-winner. Johal has scored a goal in the last four consecutive games.

White added a second Orange shorthanded goal with eight seconds left in the game when she gathered a loose puck off of her own blocked shot in the Syracuse defensive zone and sent the puck up ice into PSU's empty net. It was White's second career shorthanded goal.

Kelley had 18 of her 41 saves in the third period and increased her season total to 835. She ranks third on the Orange single-season saves record list and 16th on the CHA single-season list. She is the 18th CHA goaltender to record 800 saves in one season. Kelley also boosted her career saves total to 3,058.

For complete coverage of Syracuse ice hockey, follow us on Facebook (/CuseIce), Twitter (@CuseIce) and Instagram (@CuseIce)