DeSmet Shutout Paces Syracuse's First Regulation Win This Season
After a hard fought 3-3 tie, and an eventual shootout victory over Holy Cross in the third-place game of the Ice Breaker Tournament in Lake Placid, the Orange returned to home ice for CHA Conference action. Their opponent this evening, an interstate conference rival in the RIT Tigers.
Graduate netminder Arielle DeSmet came into this contest standing alone at second all-time in saves for the Syracuse Women’s Hockey program and carried that positive momentum into this one. The Orange were also coming off a shootout win that saw three different goal scorers in Lauren Bellefontaine, Tatum White, and Mik Todd all each earning a goal against Holy Cross. It was evident that this team needed to carry over the offensive momentum.
The first period saw the only goal of the contest and it came from the captain herself, Lauren Bellefontaine, as she was able to bury a rebound past RIT sophomore netminder Sarah Coe. The rebound came courtesy of a shot from the point by sophomore defender Terryn Mozes. This goal comes in a first period where Syracuse seemed to be the better team, as their jump from the opening puck drop was inspiring, as one could tell that the team knew that this was a game that they did not want to get away from them.
The second and third periods shared their similarities, as both DeSmet and Coe were making save after save, each keeping their respective school in the contest. However, the first star of the game had to be the Syracuse penalty kill unit. The Orange were a perfect four-for-for defending the man advantage, as Coach Smith’s side were able to keep a solid structure in front of DeSmet, even generating a few scoring chances shorthanded. DeSmet earned a well-earned 25 saves, whereas Coe earned a hard fought 26.
The Orange seemed to be generating a lot of chances that started from shots from the point, hence tonight’s goal from Bellefontaine. Coach Smith was asked about implementing the point as an emphasis for their offensive chances.
“We’ve been stressing a lot on maintaining possession, making sure that we’re not a one-and-done team,” Smith said. “So, tonight, finding those second and third opportunities is definitely something that was nice to see.”
After an all-out battle between both goaltenders, Arielle DeSmet was asked about what goes through her mind when both goalies are standing on their heads.
“It’s always a lot of fun going back-to-back on big saves…intense and just a lot of fun in general,” DeSmet said. “It brings the energy up overall in the game.”
The Orange and the Tigers meet again on Saturday, this time in Rochester from the Gene Polisseni Center at 7:30 p.m.
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