With time running out in overtime Friday, Syracuse needed a near miracle. Luckily, an SU trio was able to provide it.

Ashley Cockell raced down the right side of the ice and sent the puck toward the net. The desperation shot went through a crowd of players and hit off Brittney Krebs’s stick before it was deflected into the net by Kelsey Welch with 2.7 seconds remaining.

The miracle shot — the only shot taken in overtime by either team — gave Syracuse a much-needed 2-1 win over Niagara and set off a wild celebration. The Orange bench quickly rushed the ice to mob Welch near the net. The celebration continued for SU after a 4-2 victory Saturday to complete the sweep.

Syracuse head coach Paul Flanagan said his team was filled with self-doubt after blowing leads and settling for two ties against Robert Morris a week earlier. A tie wasn’t good enough for SU in its final regular-season series. The Orange needed to win.

‘We’re kind of getting sick of the ties,’ Flanagan said. ‘For us to get back and get that ‘W’ was huge for the psyche of our team.’

The feelings of self-doubt crept into his players’ mind during the third period Friday. On a power play with less than eight minutes remaining, sophomore Isabel Menard had an open net and a chance to give the Orange a two-goal lead. Menard’s shot from in close hit the top post and sailed over the net.

Menard jumped in shock that she missed. She said the team could feel the momentum shift.

‘It was tough. I had the whole net, but I hit that post,’ Menard said. ‘It was a bit, ‘Oh no, not again.”

The missed opportunity left the door open for Niagara, and the Purple Eagles tied the game on a power play with 6:01 left. After ending regulation tied, Flanagan thought his team was headed for a third straight tie. But the bounce in overtime bailed out the Orange and changed its luck.

Syracuse carried the momentum from Friday into Saturday and broke out of its recent scoring slump.

The Orange entered the third period Saturday trailing 2-1 and struggling offensively. Flanagan said he urged his team to attack the net instead of passing the puck around the perimeter. The head coach also changed his team’s forecheck, or its defensive strategy in its offensive zone.

In the second period, SU used an aggressive 2-3 forecheck. The system creates pressure by bringing the defenders into the zone to chase the puck and leaves one forward out top to defend breakaway opportunities, Flanagan said.

After failing to create turnovers with the system, Flanagan told his team to sit back and wait for Niagara to make mistakes in the third period.

‘When they had possession and we’d back off a little bit, and sure enough they coughed it up,’ Flanagan said. ‘I think that paid off for us.’

The change resulted in more scoring chances for SU. The Orange capitalized and scored three goals in less than five minutes in a decisive third period.

Sophomore Holly Carrie-Mattimoe tied the game with a power-play goal that floated just inside the right post. Less than two minutes later, the senior Cockell scored the go-ahead goal. Menard’s second goal of the game banked off the right post to give SU breathing room with more than seven minutes left.

After five straight games scoring two goals or less, Flanagan was relieved to see his team’s offense break out.

‘When’s the last time we scored more than two?’ Flanagan said. ‘That’s where we’ve been struggling.’

Syracuse last scored three goals against Wayne State nearly a month ago. The four goals were the most SU scored in a game since it notched five against Robert Morris on Jan. 14.

The big weekend came when the Orange needed it most. Carrie-Mattimoe said the sweep gives the team momentum going into its rematch with Niagara this Friday in the College Hockey America semifinals.

‘We’re pumped,’ Carrie-Mattimoe said. ‘You can hear us in the dressing room. We’re ready.’

Flanagan said the lucky bounce in overtime Friday was what his team needed to end its struggles. He said it gave his team the confidence it lacked in recent weeks.

‘That fortuitous bounce at the end off that stick,’ Flanagan said, ‘I just think it’s an infusion, a jolt of confidence.’

rjgery@syr.edu

Published on February 27, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu