Syracuse ice hockey falls in home debut

The Syracuse Orange women’s ice hockey team suffered its first loss of the season as they returned to the ice in their home debut.

The 2-1 loss to the Merrimack Warriors marks the first leg of a two-game series between the teams at the Tennity Ice Pavilion.

The Orange struggled to generate meaningful offense throughout a frustrating first period. That would not be a problem for the Warriors. Within four minutes, Merrimack forward Celine Tedenby scored the game’s first goal with the help of an assist from Emily Oosterveld.

Following the first period, the Warriors had 17 shots on goal to the Orange’s three. Graduate goalie Allie Kelley’s outstanding save percentage gave SU a chance to stay in the game. The Orange relied heavily on her ability to defend the goal. In Syracuse’s last game against Post University, Kelley only had to deal with 18 shots on goal. She nearly matched this number by the end of the first period alone.

Kelley would go on to end the night with 56 saves, compared to Merrimack’s Calli Hogarth’s 15. The Syracuse goalie thrives in this atmosphere, however, and said she prefers the chaotic environment she faced.

“Post was much harder for me to stay focused,” she said. “As long as you’re in shape I like these games/ I think our D did a good job clearing the front of the net so I could get easy saves.”

Midway into the second period, a hooking penalty on Natalie Nemes gave Syracuse a power play. Though they didn’t score, the call seemed to shift some momentum in their favor. Suddenly, the Orange regained their ability to execute their offense, move the puck and get cleaner shots on goal. Despite this, Syracuse wasn’t able to convert.

The momentum would spill into the third period, where senior forward Sarah Thompson tied the match for the Orange following an interference call on Celine Tedenby. Graduate forward Kate Holmes assisted on the play.

After 60 minutes and 74 total shots on goal, the game remained 1-1, and the ladies went to sudden death.

The night would quickly end for SU, as Merrimack’s Alex Ferguson found a rebound and an open net in just under two minutes of overtime. Despite Kelley’s astounding performance, Merrimack got the best of the home squad in the first game of the series.

Freshman forward and defending CHA Rookie of the Week Nea Tervonen continued her solid start to her first season as an Orange by leading the squad in 12 faceoff wins, the most for either team.

Syracuse and Merrimack will rematch today at 3 p.m., at the Tennity Ice Pavilion, for the final part of the doubleheader.