Megan Skelly and her Syracuse teammates waited diligently for the sound of head coach Paul Flanagan’s whistle as they lay on the ice during Monday’s practice.

When it blew, the already winded Orange players muscled themselves to their feet and skated full speed across center ice, repeating the drill several times at the sound of each whistle.

‘We could have thrown in the towel and finished the season off just having fun, but we know we can do better than that,’ Skelly said. ‘At this point, we’re improving on things that we have control over, like mental toughness. And when we outwork teams, we win.’

It was an atypical Monday morning practice for SU (9-20-3, 0-7-3 College Hockey America), especially considering the 13-day layoff that the team faces before playing its last two games against Niagara. But Flanagan used the ice time as a way to remind his players that it’s going to take extra hustle, increased intensity and a constant focus on the smaller aspects of the game to keep Syracuse’s goal of a championship still within reach.

SU’s struggles in the four-team CHA have been no secret. The Orange hit rock-bottom this past weekend when it was defeated twice in dominating fashion by No. 6 Mercyhurst, stretching its record in conference play to a dismal 0-7-3.

The pair of losses delivered embarrassing blows to Skelly, who had high expectations for this youthful Orange squad entering the 2011-12 campaign. After two consecutive seasons in which the SU program displayed large strides of improvement during Skelly’s sophomore and junior years, the senior captain was disappointed with the team’s poor performance up to this point.

‘It’s hard anytime you’re going through a slump, especially when you play with so much confidence,’ Skelly said. ‘But one thing we can control is our effort, and when we go out there and give it everything we got, good things will happen.’

The pressure to win will certainly build for the Orange players as the days dwindle closer and closer to the conference tournament March 2. And if SU fails to record two victories against Niagara next weekend, it will receive the fourth seed in the CHA tournament and likely play Mercyhurst, a coach’s worst nightmare.

But to counter the agonizing pressure, Flanagan stressed to his players the need to stay focused on the next game, not the tournament that lies ahead.

‘The players have faced pressure and all types of frustration this season, and they’ve handled it well,’ Flanagan said. ‘From here, our mentality is just to win one game at a time. As tough as this season has been in terms of getting wins, we can still get back to the CHA championship game.’

Flanagan designed Monday’s practice to show his team that they won’t be taking the next two weeks of rest lightly. If the Orange is serious about competing for a coveted spot in the NCAA tournament, the team must prove that it is willing to work hard each and every time it steps out onto the ice.

Freshman forward Julie Knerr said having this week off will be vital for SU in regaining its confidence. SU’s halt in progression this season has left the team in search of its competitive edge, and it’ll need to find it if it wants to make noise come tournament time.

‘We’re a hard-working team, that’s who we are,’ Knerr said. ‘We don’t have any individuals that are going to score all our goals. We’re a whole team that needs to play together in order to win.’

And the Orange will need to rely on its senior leadership when it instills that playoff mentality. As Skelly continues to lead by example with her play on the ice, Flanagan hopes the motivation from the upperclassman will provide a timely spark, such as a big goal, when the Orange needs it most.

But Skelly said she won’t be satisfied until the Orange is conference champion.

‘The last two years have been such heartbreakers, so I think we’re all ready to go out there and play,’ Skelly said. ‘It all comes down to one game. It’s not a seven-game series. It’s one-game series. And anything can happen.’

awmirmin@syr.edu

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Published on February 13, 2012 at 12:00 pm