As Syracuse lined up to begin a power play in the third period, defenseman Lindsay Eastwood remembered hearing head coach Paul Flanagan scream, “Shots on net!” from the bench. A minute later, Eastwood ripped an ankle-high slap shot from the blue line for Syracuse’s only goal.

Flanagan begged his team to shoot when they got open chances. Syracuse was “holding back” in the attacking zone, Eastwood said. The Orange often carried the puck just a second too long or made one too many passes in search for the perfect shot instead of testing Robert Morris’s goalie.

A night after its first home win of the season, Syracuse’s (5-17-1, 5-5-0 College Hockey America) inability to generate scoring chances cost them Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the RMU Colonials (9-11-4, 7-2-1) at Tennity Ice Pavilion.

“We’re forcing it,” Flanagan said. “So we just got to do things quicker, a little more instinctively.”

Throughout the game, especially on the power play, Syracuse would control the puck in the attacking zone, swing passes around the perimeter but opt against launching shots. On one power play in the second period, the Orange held the puck for nearly two minutes, but only registered two shots on net. Syracuse scored on one of ts five power play opportunities.

“We’re look, look, look, and then we force a pass to someone,” Flanagan said. “Maybe she was open, but a second-and-a-half later, she wasn’t.”

Syracuse’s best chances came at the start of the game, which included junior Kelli Rowswell’s steal in the neutral zone and breakaway shot hitting the crossbar. Syracuse stuck to its game plan by sending pucks deep into the attacking zone and putting pressure on RMU by blasting shots from the perimeter, Flanagan said.

Later in the period, SU held the puck for roughly 1:30 of a power play, but couldn’t find any shooting angles. An Emma Polaski hooking penalty turned the power play into a four-on-four, which the Colonials capitalized on. After that, RMU scored two more unanswered goals before Eastwood’s slap shot.

Compared to last night’s 3-2 overtime win over the Colonials, SU generated less “traffic” in front of the net, and was softer in going to the net during rushes, captain Allie Munroe said.

“We were thinking too much,” Munroe said. “(We) were passive, and we just couldn’t find that lane. I think we underestimate ourselves with our shots, and what was open and what’s not.”

In total, the Orange registered 23 shots on goal, down from their season-average of 27.5. No Syracuse player had more than three shots on net. Polaski, who leads the team in scoring, recorded one shot and spent 14 minutes in the penalty box for hooking, roughing and misconduct penalties.

SU will need to regain its offensive assertiveness and “make better choices” next Friday as CHA play continues against Penn State, Munroe said.

Published on January 19, 2019 at 5:32 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman