The puck past by senior goaltender Jenn Gilligan after the first shot on goal and just 1:08 played, and things rolled on from there as the Orange (5-7-1) were defeated by the Cornell Big Red (2-4-1) at the War Memorial Arena.
"It's always hard when the first one goes in, especially on the first shot a minute into the game", Gilligan [11] said after the loss. "Clearly by the stats I didn't get the ball rolling with five goals on [13] shots. We need to be better all around, starting with me in net. It was one of those games where, no matter what you try to do, the puck just goes by you."
After a weak first period, the Orange played an amazing second frame, holding Cornell to just one shot while keeping possession in the offensive zone for most of the 20 minutes. The only thing they failed to do, however, was score during that time.
"It started with our defense being much more aggressive", Orange head coach Paul Flanagan [12] said following the defeat. "We were moving the puck well and I thought we had three of four Grade-A chances in the second to really get back in it. On many evenings, there's a lot of puck luck where you get that bounce and it ends up on your stick. But we didn't have any tonight, and you can't count on that. We have to manufacture more rebounds and opportunities by our shot selections."
The third period was even, with both teams exchanging 2 goals. The Orange finally got on the board 11 seconds into the 3rd, but Cornell responded four minutes later, killing any chance Syracuse had of coming back. Goals were exchanged 15 minutes into the third, finalizing the 5-2 score in favor of the Big Red.
"I give [Cornell] credit for finishing on their three goals in the first period", said Flanagan. "We certainly didn't play much defense and I felt bad for [Gilligan]. We had a lack of energy and lack of focus. We just weren't ready."
The Orange will look to rebound on Wednesday when they travel to Rochester to take on RIT. Syracuse returns home on November 27, where they play the UND Fighting Sioux in a double header. The game on the 27th will be played at the War Memorial Arena, and the match on the 28th will take place at Tennity Ice Pavilion.
