As the women’s ice hockey team prepares to open its season on Sunday, the idea in the minds of players and coaches is simple: improvement.

Last season marked the inception of Syracuse’s ice hockey program and starting from scratch was no easy task.

The Orange went 9-16-3, but showed flashes of building a foundation for the future. It will have its first chance to prove itself this season when it takes on Guelph Sunday at Tennity Ice Pavilion

When the players arrived on campus last year, they had heard about each other, but that was it. They had no concept of what offensive and defensive strategies they would be using, or even who was on what line. Hence, the team’s 9-16-3 record may not have accurately reflected their talent. Six of the losses were by one-goal.

‘We didn’t really have a foundation,’ sophomore Megan Skelly said. ‘It was brand new, everything. This year we have veterans on the team, so the freshmen that are coming in know what to expect.’

Skelly was the team’s leading-scorer last season with 11 goals, and she recorded the first goal in Syracuse history just nine seconds into its first game against Colgate. Playing in all 28 games as a freshman, she has earned a higher level of respect and a position of leadership on the ice.

‘It’s a big respect thing,’ she said. ‘I don’t take it lightly. I think there could be a lot of goal-scorers this year, but I just have to have a good attitude and sort of lead by example.’

On the other end of the ice, senior goalkeeper Lucy Schoedel is one of the team’s most experienced players. A transfer student from the New Hampshire, Schoedel was able to bring with her an understanding of college hockey. The players could lean on her for advice and look to her as a calming influence in-goal.

‘I think I have a leadership role that gives me the opportunity and the responsibility to set a good example for the rest of the team and represent our program,’ she said. ‘We figured out that we were capable of a lot more than we thought we were, and our potential is sometimes unseen even by ourselves.’

And that brings SU to this season. With a season under its belt, the team may be poised for a competitive campaign.

Earlier this week, players stayed up to 30 minutes after practice trying to improve. Goalies Schoedel and sophomore Stephanie Jones worked together on outlet passes and clearing the puck down-ice. Others worked on precision passing by practicing the angles off the boards, and forwards worked to improve their shooting accuracy.

‘We had a collection of, what we phrase ‘The Misfits,’ a collection of girls that didn’t have a place to go or were looking for something better,’ Flanagan said. ‘So I think they kind of jumped on that bandwagon of, ‘We’re probably not going to out-skill teams, but we’re probably going to have to outwork them.’ And that was kind of our M.O.’

With another challenging schedule, SU will have to show improvement to beat its win total from last year. The Orange opens its season at home against Guelph on Sunday, and then it faces what could be its toughest foe of the season: Minnesota. The team travels to Minneapolis for two games against the perennial powerhouse Golden Gophers.

‘I think we could get to the Frozen Four,’ Skelly said. ‘I’m not saying this year or next year, but I think we can get there. The coaches are amazing, and we have a great staff behind us. I think that if we keep getting some good recruits in and we keep building our program, then we could definitely compete and finish first in our league and go to the Frozen Four.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on September 23, 2009 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13