Mapping Syracuse ice hockey’s demanding path to 1st-ever AHA title
Syracuse begins its conference tournament path on the road at RIT. Our beat writer details the Orange’s roadmap to the top of AHA. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor
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The Atlantic Hockey America No. 3 seed was within Syracuse’s reach. It wouldn’t take much to lock up a playoff game at Tennity Ice Pavilion against the winner of No. 6 seed Robert Morris and No. 7 seed Delaware, the conference’s bottomfeeders.
But No. 13 Mercyhurst stood between the No. 3 seed and the No. 5 seed, a team that’s plagued the Orange for years.
For the last five seasons, SU has penciled in the Lakers around Valentine’s Day. Syracuse’s last three campaigns have ended against them.
Feb. 14 was one more addition to the heap of Mercyhurst heartbreaks. On Friday, the Orange tied the Lakers and won the shootout, remaining with home-ice advantage. But they fell on their face Saturday, resulting in a 7-0 loss.
SU enters the postseason with its back against the wall. Head coach Britni Smith is at the Winter Olympics, and as road warriors, the Orange’s NCAA Tournament drought will likely extend to four years, unless they can pull off a storied AHA playoff run.
Here’s No. 5 seed Syracuse’s (14-16-4, 10-11-3 AHA) roadmap to winning its first-ever AHA playoffs:
Quarterfinals: No. 4 seed RIT
Saturday’s defeat to Mercyhurst means SU must make the 90-minute drive to No. 4 seed RIT (16-17, 11-13 AHA) in a single-elimination bout. The Tigers are a level match for the Orange, splitting four contests this year.
Syracuse catapulted to 3-0 in conference play with a 5-2 road win over RIT on Oct. 24, 2025. But the following day, the Orange crumbled in the second period of their 4-1 loss. Three and a half months later, on Feb. 6, SU escaped with a 3-2 win, but it fell 4-2 the next day.
RIT bestows a challenge on the Orange, leading the country with 36 power-play goals on a 32.1% conversion rate — the second-best mark in the nation. Syracuse’s special teams has been abysmal, with its penalty kill unit fending off just 74.8% of its opponents’ advantages — the lowest mark in AHA and third-lowest in the country.
A top-heavy offense, the Tigers have five players with double-digit goals, but nobody’s accrued more than 11. Yet, that still tops Orange leading scorer Emma Gnade’s eight.
A differentiator could be SU’s advantage in the cage. Ava Drabyk’s 2.32 goals against average and 92.5% save percentage place third in AHA, while Tigers netminder Sophia Bellina sits in the bottom half, surrendering an average of 2.54 goals a game. Drabyk’s 849 saves rank sixth in the country.
On paper, the Tigers look better than the Orange. But SU proved it can beat RIT twice and is more battle-tested, playing 12 ranked games to the Tigers’ 10. If Drabyk flips the script and Syracuse boasts a strong penalty kill, it has the apparatus to advance.
Zoey Grimes | Design Editor
Semifinals: Likely No. 1 seed Penn State
Syracuse’s path to the conference finals likely goes through No. 1 seed Penn State (29-5, 22-2 AHA). Assuming No. 3 seed Lindenwood handles the winner of Thursday’s game between Delaware and Robert Morris, a Syracuse victory over RIT would make it the lowest remaining seed, setting it up for a trip to the Pegula Ice Arena.
The Orange have lost all four of their meetings against No. 4 Penn State. After ugly 7-0 and 11-2 losses in November, SU recovered. The Nittany Lions dispatched it 4-1 on Jan. 16, yet Syracuse pushed them to the brink the next day in a 3-2 defeat. But a three-game road series against AHA’s top dog doesn’t flash promise.
PSU boasts AHA’s three highest scorers in Grace Outwater (24 goals), Tessa Janecke (19) and Maddy Christian (19). They also flaunt some of the conference’s top passers in Kendall Butze (25 assists), Mikah Keller (24) and Danica Maynard (21).
Penn State has outscored its opponents 147-47, the second-best margin in the nation. Goaltender Katie DeSa — whose 1.36 goals against average tops AHA — is a major reason why.
Syracuse would need to build off its Jan. 17 performance to down the Nittany Lions. A win is unlikely, but forcing a win-or-go-home Game 3 could be viewed as an accomplishment for the Orange.
Finals: Likely No. 2 seed Mercyhurst
There aren’t many universes where SU gets the job done against the Nittany Lions. But in the miraculous event it does, Syracuse would likely meet No. 2 seed Mercyhurst (21-10-3, 17-5-2 AHA) in the finals.
Ultimately, Penn State and Mercyhurst are unavoidable, but SU stands a better chance against the Lakers. Sure, its 7-0 loss Saturday was demoralizing, but it beat Mercyhurst twice in a shootout — the day prior and on Nov. 21, 2025. A narrow 3-2 loss on Nov. 22, 2025, also showed promise.
A top offensive line of Julia Perjus, Sofia Nuutinen and Julia Schalin poses a challenge for SU. They all posted at least nine goals and 21 assists. In goal, Magdalena Luggin also had a stout 2.16 goals against average.
The second-highest scoring offense in AHA would be a struggle to manage, no matter when it comes. But barring some heroics, Syracuse — on the road in at most seven playoff games — would likely fall short. If SU somehow prevails, it’ll lock up an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
