Lucy Schoedel said the theme of the Syracuse women’s ice hockey team this year is, ‘making due with what we’ve got.’

For a fledgling Syracuse team riddled with question marks, at least the Orange knows what it will get from its goaltender.Schoedel, a junior transfer from New Hampshire, has started each of the first five games in goal for the Orange, stopping 151 shots in the process with an 89.9 save percentage.

Considering the barrage of shots opponents have fired at Syracuse, Schoedel’s role has been pivotal for the Orange. She’s managed to keep a mixed-bag Orange team competitive in four of its five games.

When it comes to the unique situation this year’s group of SU players have been put in, Schoedel must play a huge role. So far, she’s met the challenge head on with what head coach Paul Flanagan refers to as ‘quiet confidence.’

‘When you have a young team, the strength of your goaltender can be a real calming influence on the rest of the team,’ Flanagan said. ‘Getting a solid goaltender is a great place to start in terms of having to find a team. It was very comforting when Lucy was the first to commit to the program.’

Flanagan compared the inking of Schoedel to ‘signing a big-time quarterback.’

Yet if you were to look back at this situation this time last year, it would seem highly unlikely that Schoedel would be donning an SU jersey on the ice this season. As a matter of fact, when Schoedel did commit to the Orange, it was ironic considering her relationship with Flanagan.

When Schoedel was 14, Flanagan coached her at a USA festival. He then recruited her as the head coach at Saint Lawrence when Schoedel was in high school. The two didn’t cross paths again until December. Schoedel was looking to transfer out of New Hampshire.

‘All I wanted to do was play more hockey,’ she said.So she called Flanagan inquiring about transferring to his old school, St. Lawrence. At that time Flanagan told Schoedel no goalie spots were available.

But they would finally unite in Syracuse.

Flanagan said Schoedel was drawn to Syracuse because of its ‘proximity to her home town, Ithaca, N.Y., and the allure of the No. 1 spot on the depth chart.’

Ironically, Schoedel discovered the opportunity at Syracuse not by herself, but with the help of a future teammate, Gabby Beaudry.

‘Gabby came up to me after we played (Boston College), and she let me know Syracuse was starting a program, which was the first real time I began thinking about coming to SU,’ Schoedel said.

Not soon after, Schoedel committed to the Orange. And last spring she played with some of her future teammates for the first time at Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion – a ‘surreal’ moment, she said.

Since that day, Schoedel has emerged as a leader of the mixture of what Flanagan called a ‘United Nations’ group of players. Then again, the junior was once named team captain of her Ithaca High School’s boy’s ice hockey team.

Going forward, Syracuse will need Schoedel’s goaltending skills to keep it in games and eventually get the program’s first win. ‘I think that our first win is just around the bend at this point,’ Schoedel said.

aolivero@syr.edu

Published on October 15, 2008 at 12:00 pm