With 80 seconds left in overtime, Lindsay Eastwood scored her first goal of the season to give Syracuse (1-3, 1-2 College Hockey America) its first conference victory against Lindenwood (1-4, 0-1), 5-4, Friday in St. Charles, Missouri.

SU recovered from a two-goal deficit with under 10 minutes left in the third period, netting three goals in a 2 minute and 7-second span. But the Orange lost their lead with less than four minutes left. Eastwood’s goal 3:20 into overtime helped SU avoid its worst CHA start since its inaugural season in 2008.

Syracuse opened the game attacking with seven shots on goal in the first eight minutes, all of them saved by Lions’ goalie Jolene deBruyn. And when a Shelby Calof hooking penalty gave Lindenwood an early advantage, the Orange didn’t allow a shot on the power play.

With two minutes left, SU capitalized on its first power-play of the day off of an Abby Moloughney goal, the first of her collegiate career. The Orange’s defense persisted in the first, outshooting LWU 21-8, and Moloughney’s score put SU on top.

But Lindenwood responded on its first shot of the second period. A Cierra Paisley goal, her first of the season, from Taylor Kirwan tied the game at one apiece. The Lions followed their first score with a quick power play, but after three-straight shots they fell short.

A minute after that advantage was wasted, the Lions recovered and beat SU goalie Ady Cohen again off a goal from Courtney Ganske. A power play 12 minutes into the period gave Syracuse a chance to equalize, but after recording six unanswered shots, it couldn’t score. Lindenwood converted two-thirds of its on-target shots in the second, turning its 1-0 deficit to a 2-1 lead.

The Lions made the game 3-1 after a Jada Burke goal halfway through the third, but the Orange weren’t finished. SU and LWU traded shots for the next three minutes with the Orange down two. Eventually, SU’s Jessica DiGirolamo found the back of the net to cut the lead to one.

Thirty-seven seconds later, Emma Polaski responded, netting her first score of the season to tie it at three. Lindenwood’s Maddison Stitt was penalized with tripping during the goal, and the Orange entered the next two minutes up a player.

After a Sierra Burt shot, SU’s captain Allie Munroe controlled the puck. The defender wound back her stick and scored on deBruyn with less than 30 seconds left in the power play. The goal gave SU a 4-3 lead.

But with under 4 minutes left in the period, Lindenwood responded with a Taylor Girard short-handed goal to tie it back at 4-4. Time was ticking down with less than two minutes left in overtime when Eastwood scored her first goal of the season, giving the Orange their first victory of the season.

The Orange outshot LWU, 72-37, dominating on the offensive end in the third period. For 50 minutes of play, it looked like SU would spoil its shot output. But it didn’t.

Published on October 19, 2018 at 10:41 pm

Contact KJ: kjedelma@syr.edu | @KJEdelman