Syracuse vs Lindenwood Preview

The Orange women's hockey team is back on the road.

The Syracuse Orange women’s ice hockey team is back on the road, as they begin a two game weekend series against the Lindenwood Lady Lions in a College Hockey America divisional matchup. This is the second series meeting of the season between these two teams, with Syracuse winning the first two games at home 4-1 and 4-3 on November 4th and 5th.

Both teams are going into this series hoping to snap extensive losing streaks. The Orange have lost their last six contests, with their latest game being a 4-1 loss to Cornell on January 17th. The Lions, meanwhile, have lost ten straight, and are coming off a 3-2 loss against Mercyhurst on January 14th. There are three major plotlines to look out for.

The first is the goalies, as Arielle DeSmet of the Orange and Natalie Ferenc of the Lions have given up the most goals in the CHA. However, DeSmet also has the most saves in the CHA with 575, and currently sits at 1,999 career saves, one away from becoming the 14th goalie in CHA history with 2,000 career saves. Ferenc, meanwhile, has had a down year so far, as she is the only goalie in the CHA with a save percentage under .900, with .893.

However, the Lions have the most blocked shots as a team in the CHA with 358, averaging over 16 blocks per game. The Orange ranks last in the category, averaging over nine blocks per game, for 212 total on the season.

The second is the offensive power play goals. Both teams have struggled with scoring on the powerplay, as the Orange have only 13 power play goals on the season in 76 tries, ranked third in the CHA. The Lions, meanwhile, have only six power play goals on the season in 71 opportunities, which is last in the CHA.

However, the Orange rank second in the CHA with penalty kill percentage with .857 percent, and the Lions are last in with a .740 percentage. In their last series encounter on November 4th and 5th, Lindenwood had no power play goals in six tries across the two games, while Syracuse had two goals in five power play opportunities. Expect this to play a role in the divisional matchup.

The final aspect to look out for are the players to watch out for. Lions forward Morgan Neitzke has been the bright spot for Lindenwood, as she ranks fourth in the CHA in goals with 11, fourth in goals per sixth in points, and first in shots per game. Syracuse forward Lauren Bellefontaine is three points shy of becoming the fourth person in team history with 100 career points.

The series begins on Friday, January 20th. Game time starts at 8.p.m.