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The 2024-25 season has been one of transformation for Syracuse in several ways. It began in the offseason with 13 of SU’s 23 players departing, giving way to an impactful overhaul of newcomers filling their shoes. They’ve helped guide Syracuse to its most successful season under head coach Britni Smith, entering Friday with 12 wins and winning five straight.

The Orange have reached new peaks under Smith with hoards of new faces. Still, one thing persists for SU across its head coach’s three-year tenure — difficulty at the hands of Mercyhurst. The Orange had lost each of their last 10 games to the Lakers entering Friday’s contest.

While Syracuse turned in one of its most valiant performances of the season Friday night, those struggles continued. SU (12-21-0, 10-9-0 Atlantic Hockey America) came back from down two goals but failed to catch up with Mercyhurst (18-13-2, 13-5-1 AHA), falling 5-3. The Lakers were propelled by Thea Johansson, who scored a hat trick.

The Orange turned in a solid first 10 minutes but ran into trouble toward the end of the first period. With just over four minutes remaining, Mercyhurst caught Syracuse in a line change. Marielle Parks received the puck at the faceoff circle while SU substituted, allowing her to glide into the offensive zone virtually uncontested. Parks worked her way around Maya D’Arcy and buried a goal from the right side of the slot.

A minute and a half later, the Lakers added to their tally. Their forecheck caused a turnover in the Orange’s offensive zone. Henlee Mahoney won the puck and promptly fired a shot on goal. Allie Kelley blocked the initial attempt, but Chantal Ste-Croix buried the rebound. Mercyhurst led 2-0 after the first period.

Offensive struggles highlighted a difficult period for Syracuse, which tallied four shots on target. Across its five-game winning streak before Friday, SU had relied on early success. The Orange scored seven goals in the first period across the five contests and were just 1-14 on the season when failing to score first.

The second period was the opposite. SU found two goals to level the game, holding the Lakers to just five shots.

The Orange found their first via Nea Tervonen. Jackson Kinsler found space on the left wing and found Tervonen in the slot. She redirected the puck past Magdalena Luggin to cut the lead in half. The tally added to Tervonen’s career-best season, her seventh point in her last five games. Kinsler’s assist was her eighth point in her previous five as well.

Syracuse tied things up through another top scorer in Bryn Saarela. She received the puck from Charli Kettyle in the left circle and blasted a slapshot into the top left corner. Saarela’s team-high 16th goal brought SU level late in the second. The Orange carried the tie into the break with three points in the standings still up for grabs.

After a tight first 10 minutes of play, chaos ensued halfway through the period. The two squads combined for three total goals in under two minutes.

Just a minute after Kelley sprawled out to deny a sure go-ahead goal for the Lakers, they found an answer through Johansson. A turnover in SU’s defensive zone allowed Mercyhurst to get another clean shot on Kelley. She batted the first two away, but the puck fell to Johansson in front of goal, who cleaned it up to retake the lead.

Fifty seconds later, the Orange answered on the other end. Jessica Cheung fired a pass into the slot that ricocheted onto Mik Todd’s stick. Todd placed a wrister past Luggin to tie the game once more.

The parity was short-lived, though, as Johansson retook the lead for the Lakers a minute later. SU couldn’t clear the puck from its defensive zone, as Vanessa Upson made a crucial interception at the blue line. She fed Johansson, who capitalized on a one-on-one with Kelley in the slot.

Johannson completed her hat-trick with an empty-netter in the final 30 seconds, bringing the final to 5-3. SU will have to wait another day to attempt to break its three-year-long drought against the Lakers.

It was a disappointing result to a game where Syracuse battled as well as it has all season. The Orange have surmounted a two-goal comeback just once before in 2025, also a loss to Mercyhurst.

Still, it’s a performance Smith and her squad can build on. Having already clinched the AHA’s No. 3 seed, SU may need similar persistence to compete in the conference playoffs.

Published on February 14, 2025 at 9:53 pm

harrispemberton@gmail.com | @HarrisPemb6