Syracuse Goalkeeper Jenn Gilligan slapped her stick on the ice after making her 12th save of the night.

Leah Bures had just unleashed a wrist shot from 15 feet away that Gilligan collected in her glove.

“I thought she did a real good job,” said head coach Paul Flanagan when asked about his goalie’s play. “She handled the puck well. We’re excited about the experience she brings and she’s been pretty consistent so far.”

Flanagan was happy with his goalkeeper’s 17 save effort as Syracuse (1-1-4) played UConn (2-3-2) to a 2-2 overtime tie on Sunday afternoon at Tennity Ice Pavilion. Gilligan allowed two goals in the second period – one on a power play – but was otherwise solid between the pipes.

Making her return after sitting out Saturday’s 3-3 tie against Providence — she missed three days of practice earlier in the week with an injury — Gilligan stopped a Huskies offense that peppered the net early with 18 of its 19 shots coming in the first two periods.

In a four-on-four situation nine minutes into the second period, UConn’s Sarah MacDonnell played the puck to Theresa Knutson. She failed to score on a backhand shot but buried her own rebound in front of the goal.

Flanagan said he thought the Huskies just caught Gilligan sleeping.

UConn went ahead 2-1 when, from the top of the right side of the blue line, Rebecca Fleming threaded a pass to Emily Snodgrass.

She pushed the puck underneath Gilligan’s right pad and into the left corner of the net. The goal came after sophomore left wing Morgan Blank was called for a two minute holding penalty, giving UConn a power play and the scoring chance.

“Power play goals are always so difficult,” said Gilligan. “Obviously, it’s an extra attacker so there’s a lot of puck movement, a lot of bodies in front, so I’m just doing my best to cover the low ice and it somehow managed to get past me.”

The one shot that Gilligan faced late came on a third-period slap shot from Lum about a foot in from the blue line. Lum gathered the puck and fired a shot that went high on Gilligan’s glove side. The junior goalkeeper snagged the puck with her glove.

Flanagan called the save “huge” as it kept he game within reach for the Orange, allowing SU to tie the game on a last-second goal from Jessica Sibley as regulation expired.

Gilligan credited UConn’s lack of opportunities to her defense and the rest of the players in front of her.

“We came out in the third and showed some character,” said Sibley. “That’s a good thing.”

Published on October 19, 2014 at 10:28 pm

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