Syracuse Ice Hockey Blown Out in AHA Semis Game #2

After a dominating performance, sometimes there’s no other way to put it. One team just looked flat-out better. That was exactly the case in Syracuse Ice Hockey’s (15-22, 11-9 in AHA) 4-0 loss to Mercyhurst (19-15-2, 13-6-1 in AHA) in Game 2 of the AHA Semifinals. In their win, the Lakers more than doubled the Orange’s shots on goal total, which was a mere 16. Now with the series tied up at 1, both coaches know exactly how they want to approach tomorrow’s do-or-die matchup.

“I think they’ll handle it well. All year, nothing’s come easy for them. And they seem to thrive when their backs are up against the wall. So they’re having that situation again tomorrow. And I think they’ll play well.”

“Yeah, the biggest thing was just leave tonight where it is. Make sure that when we take those jerseys off, our focus goes to tomorrow and making sure that we show up ready to play. You know, like I said earlier, it’s a privilege to be able to wake up tomorrow and be playing another game. So making sure that tonight’s all about what do we need to do to be ready to go. And obviously, as coaches, we’ve got some work to do to see if there’s anything we can clean up in certain areas. But we’ve been the team, I think, with our backs against the wall a lot this season. So this is not new for us. This is a space that we’re very comfortable in and we’re excited for the challenge tomorrow.”

After a rollercoaster first two games, it all comes down to game three tomorrow. One team’s season will end and the other will travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State in the AHA Championship next Saturday. Reporting from the Mercyhurst Ice Center, Ben Chadwick, Citrus TV.