Syracuse’s offense, on the brink of its first goal, needed a little push to gain the lead. That push came 11:56 seconds into the first period as forward Jessica Sibley skated from the blue line and crashed into a Lindenwood defender behind LU’s net.

As Sibley muscled the puck away, SU defender Larissa Martyniuk skated her way in front of the net. Noticing her teammate get into position, Sibley passed the puck in between the sticks of two Lindenwood defenders. Martyniuk’s ensuing shot gave the Orange the goal it had been searching for.

Sibley, fatigued from skating halfway across the ice, mustered enough energy to skate into the arms of Martyniuk in celebration.

For the second game in a row, the Syracuse offense erupted for four goals. The Orange (2-4-2, 2-0-0 College Hockey America) followed a familiar script on Saturday at Tennity Ice Pavilion as it defeated Lindenwood (0-6-0, 0-2-0), 4-0, just like it had done the day prior.

In its first two conference games Syracuse scored eight goals. In its previous six nonconference games, it had seven.

“The season continues to evolve; we are learning a bit more about ourselves,” SU head coach Paul Flanagan said. “We are making smarter decisions and doing this quicker.”

In the second period, leading by two goals, Syracuse continued to challenge Lindenwood goaltender Jolene deBruyn. SU defender Dakota Derrer’s shot hit off of deBruyn and was loose in front of the net. After taking one bounce on the ice, forward Alysha Burriss fought through traffic and blasted the puck by deBruyn.

“We sustained pressure from one shift to the next,” Flanagan said. “We carried the momentum.”

Syracuse out-shot the Lions 36-15 and nine SU players recorded at least a point. Flanagan lamented all four SU lines and preached the importance of setting the tone early. In the first 10 minutes of the game, SU had 16 shots before Martyniuk scored.

“I felt pretty comfortable that we had established that this was going to be our game.” Flanagan said.

Orange goalie Abbey Miller had her second shutout in as many games as she recorded 15 saves. In the waning seconds of the third period, defender Megan Quinn began to jump up and down on the SU bench. When the buzzer sounded, she skated across the ice and hugged Miller, her teammates right behind her.

“When you’re having fun while you’re playing, it makes everything that much better.” Miller said.

After facing its worst start in program history, SU has begun to turn its season around. Music could be heard through the walls of the SU locker room as the players celebrated.

“Last week and the week before we were looking at the negatives,” Martyniuk said. “Now we are kind of looking at the positives.”

Published on October 29, 2016 at 9:22 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez