Christina and Allie LaCombe might have different personalities off the ice, but the cousins have a perfect connection on it.

‘(Christina’s) more quiet and reserved, I’d like to say. She’s very introverted. She’s extremely nice and outgoing when you get to know her, but she has to let people in,’ said Allie, a Syracuse freshman forward. ‘And I’m very social and outgoing, and I just make friends easily, so I just bring her with me places and get her to meet more people outside the hockey team.’

Their personalities differ off the ice, but on it the two gel effortlessly. After three years of playing hockey at Eden Prarie (Minn.) High School on the same line, the cohesion has developed to the point where one cousin knows where the other will be even before the plays start. And though Christina is a defender, she and Allie are looking forward to connecting for multiple goals this season on SU, as they did in high school.

The LaCombes will aim to get Syracuse (6-10) on the board when the Orange takes on Lindenwood (1-14) this weekend at Tennity Ice Pavilion. The two teams meet Friday at 7 p.m. and again Saturday at 2 p.m.

Allie said the SU coaching staff realized how well the two played on the ice together. With Christina playing for the Orange last season, Allie was not too far behind.

SU head coach Paul Flanagan said it is not uncommon for siblings or relatives to find a way to play together, even in college. The LaCombe cousins come from a big hockey family, so there was a comfort level that came with the chance to be teammates again.

‘Her decision to come here influenced my decision to come here,’ Allie said.

But for a season, both of the cousins were forced out of their comfort zone.

With Allie and Christina a year apart, last season both had to take the ice without the other. After they played together for most of their high school careers and countless times during family pond hockey, it was an adjustment.

Christina said the transition was hard because she had to find someone else to fill the void without Allie on the ice.

But Allie said it also gave them the chance to grow without always relying on each other. By working on their own skills for a year, both are stronger than ever.

‘Now being here, we play so much better than in high school together,’ Allie said.

With both of them back on the ice again, they hope to continue to produce the way they did in high school, with one feeding the other for a goal and vice versa.

And their chemistry on the ice is apparent to their teammates.

‘A little play here and a little play there, like they’re more aware of what’s going on,’ senior forward Megan Skelly said. ‘They’re better able to read off each other than I would be able to read off them.’

Back in high school, Allie estimates at least 75 percent of her goals came off assists from Christina. For Christina, at least half her goals came when Allie was feeding her the puck.

And with that uncanny ability to read each other, both hope to find more ice time on the same line at Syracuse. Both said they are simply more confident when they’re on the ice together.

‘We were on the same power-play unit for a couple games, and I hope (Flanagan) will put us on again so we can light it up,’ Christina said.

Flanagan said they’ve been on and off the ice at different times for various reasons, but he said he’s hoping to put them on the same line in the near future.

Whether they skate on the same line, it’s still a situation Allie is happy to be a part of. She said she wouldn’t have it any other way.

‘I couldn’t ask for anything more,’ Allie said. ‘Especially being here at such a great school with my cousin as my roommate and my teammate, it’s kind of the perfect situation.’

dgproppe@syr.edu 

Published on November 30, 2011 at 12:00 pm