Heading into last weekend, Syracuse ice hockey head coach Paul Flanagan talked about his young program taking steps as it grows older. About improving as the program expands beyond its first two seasons.

Last year, the Orange finished fourth in the College Hockey America conference and won nine games in its inaugural season, leading to a first-round exit in the conference tournament.

Just a year later, SU finished third in the CHA and doubled its win total. The Orange was nationally ranked for the first time, coming in at No. 10 in both polls in the middle of the season. And last weekend in the CHA tournament, Syracuse won its first-ever playoff game before suffering a 3-1 loss to Mercyhurst in the championship.

Now, with the second season in the books, Flanagan said he thinks the team could continue to grow next year. Syracuse (18-17-1, 8-8 CHA) will lose three key players from its defensive unit, including goalie Lucy Schoedel, who has started every game in the Orange’s history. But none of the forwards are seniors this year, meaning everyone on the offensive end will be back from a vastly improved offense.

Flanagan believes that the experience the team gained this year will be a huge help for Syracuse when next season begins.

‘I think the big thing probably is, collectively, just getting that experience, getting into some playoff games and learning how to fight for a championship,’ he said in a phone interview Tuesday. ‘Overall, we had the eighth-toughest strength of schedule in the country. We played some pretty good teams. … I think that we battled pretty much all year, and I think that really helped us, too.’

This year, Syracuse’s roster was filled with freshmen and sophomores making major contributions. Arguably its best-scoring line was composed of two freshmen, Isabel Menard and Holly Carrie-Mattimoe, and a sophomore, Lisa Mullan. Menard finished the year with the most points on the team (37) and Carrie-Mattimoe and Mullan ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

That line may be one of the most dynamic in the country come next year, should Flanagan keep them together. And now they have a full year of game experience that includes a couple game-winning goals, among other highlight-reel scores.

‘It’s good to find a line, especially with two freshmen,’ Mullan said earlier this year. ‘Hopefully we can carry that on for the next three years.’

All that experience and chemistry that the young players built up this year will help Syracuse take the next step in Flanagan’s plan. He wants the Orange to get to 20 wins and work its way into the NCAA tournament conversation.

But in order to do that, he said, there is a smaller step SU has to take — winning close games. Eleven of Syracuse’s 17 losses this year came by one-goal margins. Although the new faces were a key part of the Orange’s improvement, a more experienced team may have been able to turn some of those close games into victories.

‘We’ve got to learn how to win those one-goal games,’ Flanagan said. ‘I mean, we won quite a few games, too, by one goal, but that’s the big thing, winning the one-goal games. … If we can take half of those one-goal losses and turn those into victories, now you’re into 20-plus wins, hopefully.’

Winning close games could be tough, though, with the loss of the three seniors. Replacing Schoedel and defensive leaders Brittaney Maschmeyer and Gabby Beaudry could be a daunting task.

But Schoedel said earlier in the year that this season’s success was all about the younger players.

‘They’ve been amazing,’ she said. ‘They’ve had some pretty influential games. Without their performance in those games, our success, the Top 10 wouldn’t have happened — hands down. They’ve made some huge differences for us this year.’

And Flanagan feels that his team can get even better next year, especially with another season together under its belt.

‘I would think that we’ve made a bit of a name for ourselves and that we’re not just some second-year team that nobody pays any attention to,’ he said. ‘As evidenced by our record and all those one-goal games, I think that indicates that no one’s taking us lightly.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

 

Published on March 9, 2010 at 12:00 pm