Sam Press is entering her third year of college. At least, that’s the way Press and Syracuse ice hockey coach Paul Flanagan think of it at times. Press is the freshman who has lived away from home for five semesters. She is the freshman who has endured practice days ending at 8:30 p.m., retreating to dorms.

Been there, done that, for the first-year player out of The Hotchkiss School. The only part of adjusting the first-year Syracuse forward needs to worry about is the SU-specific technicalities her head coach outlines for all first-year players.

But she is really not a first-year player. Flanagan inherited someone with experience. Yet still, Press has to worry about getting on the collegiate ice. Time with SU is still something she is foreign to.

‘She’s battling each and every day and trying to get into the lineup,’ Flanagan said. ‘Her job is to make our job a little more difficult in terms of who we’re putting in our combination with our lines. Ultimately, who ends up in the lineup on any given night.’

For Press, a Minnetonka, Minn., native, spending her last two years of high school at Hotchkiss, a boarding school in Connecticut, was nothing short of a college experience. She was more than 20 hours away from home, with demanding course work and a sports schedule, finishing up her day at around 8:30 p.m. during the latest practice sessions.

‘My first year at Hotchkiss, it was definitely harder,’ Press said. ‘I was away from home and homesick, but once I came here, it was almost like a routine thing because I had (already) been away from home. (At Hotchkiss) I had so much homework and a schedule and hockey every day after school.’

At Hotchkiss, only 20 percent of those who apply are accepted. The campus is 810 acres, which includes athletic facilities comparable to those at Syracuse, in addition to holding a baseball stadium, another ice rink, and a boathouse and lake for those inclined to sailing at the prestigious school.

Syracuse goaltender Kallie Billadeau, a fellow Minnetonka resident and a friend of Press, said Press has an inherent upper edge on other incoming freshmen, thanks to her time at the private school.

Press recognizes this ‘upper edge’ and hopes it will contribute to adjusting to the style of Division I hockey. With nine other freshmen part of a program that is built to win now and with specific depth at Press’ forward position, she will have to earn every minute of playing time she gets.

Although Press hasn’t played yet this season, the hard work and ambition are certainly there.

‘It’s definitely hard to earn ice time because everyone is working so hard, everyone is pushing each other,’ Press said. ‘There’s a lot of depth on the team, so finding ice time, you just got to keep working, and everybody’s got to pull their own weight.’

At first, Flanagan had reservations about how Press’ slighter build would match up against bigger, stronger players day in and day out, but the coach has been pleasantly surprised. Flanagan has recognized that, thanks to her work over the summer, Press has begun to learn how to use that slight 5-foot-5-inch build.

Hotchkiss hockey coach John Cooper, who notes that Press had to improve her game when she first came from Minnesota to Hotchkiss, said Syracuse should expect a proven work ethic from Press. She was forced to learn elements of that at Hotchkiss.

Cooper also attested that Flanagan knows how to develop hockey players. Cooper and Flanagan crossed paths during their time at St. Lawrence — Flanagan was a coach on the men’s team and Cooper was a student assistant on the women’s team.

And now, they both have their handprints on an SU freshman who is hoping to break into the starting lineup, thanks her time with Cooper. It just remains to be seen when.

Said Press: ‘It made it, definitely, a lot easier to come here.’

dgproppe@syr.edu

 

Published on October 12, 2010 at 12:00 pm