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Bryn Saarela glided down the right side of the ice as Syracuse trailed Boston University 3-1 on Oct. 26. As she crossed the blue line, Saarela threaded the needle to Maya D’Arcy. The pass went under a defender’s stick and landed right on the tape of D’Arcy’s stick before it redirected past goaltender Mari Pietersen. In the moment, Saarela couldn’t help but feel a sense of Déjà vu.

Seven months ago, while playing for Holy Cross, Saarela assisted on a similar goal against the Terriers when she led the Crusaders to their first-ever Hockey East Tournament playoff win on Feb. 28.

Following four seasons at Holy Cross, Saarela transferred to SU for her final season of college hockey. As a freshman, she joined the Crusaders in their second season as a Division-I program in 2020. Over the next four years, she was consistently one of Holy Cross’ top scorers, totaling 21 goals and 31 assists.

Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Saarela never found herself too far away from the rink. Living just minutes from the University of Denver, she had easy access to the team’s practice arena during the week. There, she learned how to skate when she was 4.

When she reached middle school, Saarela committed to her first travel club, the St. Louis Lady Blues, an affiliate of the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues. The team’s schedule was overwhelming for Saarela at first. The Blues held practice almost daily and played between five to six games every weekend.

Though she adjusted to the workload, Saarela wanted more. After two seasons with the Blues, she convinced her family to move to the East Coast — a hockey hotspot. So, the Saarelas moved to Massachusetts while Saarela was a freshman in high school. She continued to hone her craft against the top teams in New England at Williston Northampton School, an independent preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts.

Just as Saarela had hoped, college coaches started taking notice of her speed, shooting ability and hockey IQ.

Among those coaches was Holy Cross head coach Katie Lachapelle. The Crusaders had become a D-I program in 2018 and Lachapelle was looking for top-level talent to add to the program. By the end of Saarela’s junior year, she agreed to take on the challenge of helping Holy Cross establish itself as a contender.

“We had known who she was for a very long time because in my eyes she was a high-level kid,” Lachapelle said. “Our D-I program was extremely new then, so us being able to get her was a pretty awesome feeling.”

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When Saarela arrived, Lachapelle thrust her into a role with the Crusaders’ top two lines. Saarela quickly became a key component to Holy Cross’ power play at right wing because of her ability to set up players in front of the net. Saarela’s production was also boosted with the help of her former high school rival, Millie Sirum, who she often found at her left wing.

After competing against each other for the past four years in New England, the pair quickly built chemistry on the ice. In an early season matchup against New Hampshire on Dec. 30, 2020, the duo combined for three goals and three assists in a 5-2 victory. Saarela and Sirum finished the COVID-19-shortened season tied as the Crusaders’ points leaders (12), and cemented their spots as top-line wingers.

“We kind of always had chemistry from the beginning,” Sirum said. “I think we really pushed to that next step for Holy Cross’ program with our chemistry and the way that we brought extra talent to the team.”

For the next two seasons, Saarela continued to strengthen her bonds across the lineup. But it wasn’t until her senior season that Saarela found her voice as a veteran presence for the Crusaders, when she was voted a team captain.

“I thought it was a really cool experience because if girls like me enough to vote for me as captain, then I feel like I was doing something right,” Saarela said. “It was a really nice feeling to hear that the girls wanted me in that position.”

Knowing Holy Cross didn’t accept graduate student-athletes, Saarela wanted to leave everything out on the ice in her final season donning its purple and white sweater.

The forward led the Crusaders to a program-record eight wins at the D-I level in 2023-24, including their playoff win over BU. Saarela also served as a consistent distributor, recording a team-high, and career-best, 11 assists.

“I think that class (of 2024) was a really special class that took us (as a program) to another level, and Bryn was a huge part of that,” Lachapelle said.

Now, as a veteran presence at Syracuse, Saarela looks to continue leading by example and help the program take its next step forward in D-I, just as she did at Holy Cross.

Published on October 29, 2024 at 10:06 pm

Contact Matthew: mgray06@syr.edu