With weekend split against Top 10 teams, Flanagan hopes team has learned from big-game experience
In the short term, a weekend against two Top 10 teams yielded a win and a loss for the Syracuse ice hockey team. In the long term, SU head coach Paul Flanagan hopes it will provide dividends down the road.
All because of the early big game experience. This past weekend, that experience came in the form of a win over No. 8 New Hampshire and a loss to No. 9 Boston College.
‘UNH and BC are some of the premier teams over the last seven to eight years,’ Flanagan said. ‘For us, hopefully, (it’s a) chance to show we belong playing with some better teams. Part of the scheduling is to challenge ourselves and get us ready in the preseason for the meat of our schedule, once we get into our (College Hockey America) league.’
Friday night saw SU hold the Wildcats scoreless through 51 minutes, while the Orange took a four-goal advantage through the first two periods. Freshman goaltender Kallie Billadeau saved 26 shots in her first career start, and Syracuse didn’t look back, finishing off New Hampshire, 4-2. Syracuse and BC were tied at two through the first two periods Saturday afternoon, before the Eagles were able to pull away and finish off the Orange, 5-2.
The two games taught SU very different lessons about itself. Flanagan hopes both will be instrumental in learning what it takes to reach the top.
‘There were stretches in the (Boston College) game where we played with such poor fundamentals,’ Flanagan said. ‘But I give them a ton of credit. They were flying. We just looked tired physically and mentally. The lesson there is, we came off a high (Friday) night, but any time you have to get up and play a game 24 hours later, it’s tough. We’re going to learn from it and respond and, hopefully, look much better on Monday at practice.’
Boston College featured Olympic silver medalist Kelli Stack, whose three goals Saturday helped push the Eagles past the Orange. Stack, a member of multiple U.S. national teams and featured in Sports Illustrated, led BC in both goals and assists last season.
Still, there weren’t any excuses from SU following the game. Career accolades aside, junior defender Taylor Metcalfe was less than impressed with the resume of the opposing team’s star player.
‘We had a lot of breakdowns as a team,’ Metcalfe said. ‘And we let our goalie down because she basically played the whole game. But she really played no factor at all. Sometimes you’re just off.’
If Syracuse goes deep into the playoffs this season, the Orange will likely face several more Kelli Stack-types from here on out. SU put out a good showing against some of the better teams in the country and, if nothing else, was able to gauge itself against future competition.
‘When we do our scheduling, we try to arrange our non-league part of it and go out and get the toughest competition you can find,’ Flanagan said. ‘Not only last week, but the next two weekends, where we have some of the better teams of the country coming in.’
So far, the non-league season has allowed SU to rotate two goalkeepers, new players and a number of varying offensive sets. Still in just its third season, Syracuse is now enjoying a few Division I perks, such as its newly furnished weight room, increased media coverage and a friendlier home schedule. But the team says it is staying hungry.
Sophomore forward Isabel Menard, who tallied two assists and a goal on the weekend, echoed her coach’s sentiments about earning respect this season.
And aside from the broader lessons learned about playing against Top 10 caliber teams, there were the much smaller and specific lessons learned on the ice. Menard and Flanagan are just hoping the small things on the ice lead to bigger things on it at the end of year.
‘The only thing is, we have to communicate more and play as a team,’ Menard said. ‘A bunch of zone communications. There’s little things that we need to work on. But I think we’ll get better as we move on.’
