In 2015, when Anonda Hoppner was in 11th grade, she wrote in her high school teammate Lindsay Eastwood’s yearbook.

“I hope one day we can play together again,” it read.

Three years later, it happened.

This season, Syracuse added Hoppner as a transfer from Colgate. The forward played 68 games for the Raiders, scoring six goals and tallying 10 assists during her first two seasons. She’s appeared in all three of SU’s games this season, taking three shots.

“(Colgate) had a long season last year,” Hoppner said. “Lots of ups and downs.”

Last year, Syracuse had just made a few cuts and had received Hoppner’s release form, SU head coach Paul Flanagan said. Though hockey played a role, Hoppner decided to seek out SU looking for a city environment. Colgate, in Hamilton, New York, is very small, she said. She wanted something bigger, where she could be more independent. From a hockey standpoint, she felt she hadn’t developed to the best of her ability and wanted to take full advantage of her last two years of eligibility.

Flanagan noticed Hoppner’s size and strength: She’s 5-foot-10 and has a ferocious presence on the ice, Flanagan said. Flanagan contacted Colgate head coach Greg Fargo for insight on Hoppner, but knew Eastwood already had familiarity with her. The redshirt junior played on the same Canada U18 team as Hoppner, and they attended the same high school.

Eastwood said after playing both in high school and on the Canada U18 team together, playing together again was something they always wanted to do. When Eastwood heard the news Hoppner decided to commit, she was ecstatic.

“She was a huge factor, I mean when I was having issues at Colgate and wasn’t happy there, she was definitely one of the first to bring this up to me,” Hoppner said. “You know playing with your best friend and playing with someone that you’ve grew up with, that’s something that I will always want to.”

From what Flanagan has seen, Hoppner’s transition has been seamless.

“We preach that when applicable, we want to have a very aggressive forecheck … She’s got a long reach to get in there,” Flanagan said. “And part of an aggressive forecheck is to get in there with your forwards.”

Flanagan said he expects Hoppner to fill the scoring void left by Stephanie Grossi and Alysha Burriss, who scored the second and fifth most goals on SU last season, respectively. Though she hasn’t scored yet this season, Flanagan expects her to mimic a strong freshman year at Colgate, where she scored five goals and added seven assists.

She said the team has made her transition to the season easy. She thinks she brings valuable experience to the team.

“I’ve seen what it takes to win,” Hoppner said.

Published on October 17, 2018 at 10:35 pm