Syracuse head coach Paul Flanagan knew he had to make adjustments to his offense after his team was shut out on Friday to No. 9 North Dakota. The Orange failed to score more than two goals in five of the team’s prior six games. SU was on the verge of a three-game losing streak.

“Things weren’t really going that well from our game against Colgate and that first North Dakota game,” Flanagan said. “We were looking to shake things up a bit.”

Flanagan replaced his team’s leader in points, Stephanie Grossi, on the first line with “power forward” Jessica Sibley before his team’s second matchup against the Fighting Hawks on Saturday. While Grossi’s quickness mirrored first-liners Melissa Piacentini and Nicole Ferrara’s style of play, Flanagan reasoned that Sibley’s aggressiveness could open up stronger shot opportunities.

As the second period began on Saturday afternoon, Sibley found an opening and got the puck just outside the crease. She pushed for stronger positioning to the right of the net, fighting against multiple defenders until she forced the puck past North Dakota goalie Shelby Amsley-Benzie for the Orange’s first goal.

Sibley finished with three points on Saturday, leading Syracuse (7-9-1, 4-1-1 College Hockey America) to its first victory against a ranked opponent this season. Flanagan plans on sticking with his line change as SU prepares to host conference opponent Penn State (4-9-3, 1-2-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m.

Flanagan encourages his players to bully their way to the goal. Defender Heather Schwarz has worked on using her body to create openings near the net throughout the year, and Flanagan’s adjustments are feeding into Schwarz’s ability to overpower her defenders.

Schwarz scored in a similar fashion to Sibley on Saturday, as she crashed the net for a rebound and forced the puck inside the net for Syracuse’s third goal of the day. She believes the Orange’s new assertiveness on offense plays into the entire team’s physical nature.

“We don’t have really tall players, but we have a lot of people who are willing to sacrifice their bodies,” Schwarz said. “It’s definitely paid off for us against larger teams.”

But Sibley, the newest member of the first line, is the main beneficiary of Flanagan’s revised offensive approach. Sibley currently ranks third on the team with 15 points, but she tied her career high on Saturday with three points.

Sibley’s size lets her protect the puck while getting to “dirty” areas around the net, Flanagan said, while her teammates have to rely more on agility and intelligence with the puck.

“With me being strong, it’s nice to get into the corners and battle (defenders),” Sibley said.

Flanagan debated if he should break up Ferrara, Piacentini and Grossi on the first line, but he felt the rest of the team could benefit from changing styles. The three were able to navigate quickly through defenses, but no other line could match the trio’s speed on offense.

Instead, Flanagan is encouraging a physical style of offense that feeds into the entire team’s strengths. It worked on Saturday against the No. 9 team in the country.

“Typically, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” Flanagan said. “But we needed to do something.”

Published on December 3, 2015 at 1:15 am

Contact Chris: cfthomse@syr.edu