Last year, when the team needed motivation, Syracuse adopted the motto ‘BTC.’ When games or practices got tough, it was used as something to rally around and bring the team together.

Over time, BTC took on four meanings, changing based on where in the season SU was, how it was being used in and how the team was playing at the time.

The first meaning of BTC was ‘build the cathedral,’ denoting that players’ acceptance of their roles would add up to a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Then it became ‘be the change.’ By playoff time, it transitioned to ‘break the cycle,’ because the Orange had lost in the College Hockey America championship game in each of the previous two years. But last year, the cycle wasn’t broken, and Syracuse finished second in the conference for the third consecutive season. The fourth meaning, though, has been forgotten by SU’s players.

“I don’t really remember, to be honest with you,” senior Megan Quinn said. “I guess that explains how well it worked out for us, right?”

With conference play underway, Syracuse (4-7-2, 3-0-1 College Hockey America) has changed from its once familiar acronym, and adopted a new phrase instead: “core values.” It stands for a group of three main principles that the team strives to achieve. Syracuse believes that if it can build passion, character and discipline on and off the ice, it’ll reach “peak performance” in games.

The Orange wants to prove that core values is not just a saying — that it will achieve its set standards. The players think that if they incorporate the chosen ideals into their everyday lives, the performance on the ice will follow suit.

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One of the ways SU has chosen to practice its values is by working with Dr. Mark Randall, a sports psychologist. With Randall, who has also worked with the Syracuse women’s basketball team, the Orange has focused on the minutiae in life that can be altered.

“Having these little things that we follow,” sophomore Logan Hicks said, “he’s helped us come together with the coaches and try to get behind something bigger than ourselves.”

Over the summer, head coach Paul Flanagan gave the team a long list of values to pick from. Each player chose their favorite 20 words, a number that was eventually trimmed to 10, seven and finally, three words. Once down to three each, the players voted on which were their favorite, and the three with the most votes were chosen as the core values for the year.

As opposed to past seasons, when the teams’ mottos have been more specific, Syracuse believes that the generality of this year’s phrase will lead to sustained success.

“We’ve never really bought into certain things,” goalie Abbey Miller said. “It was confusing to have set expectations. I think it’ll help us out in the end.”

Along with Randall, the Orange coaches have stressed that to accomplish the values and success on the ice, changes must be made in every aspect of the players’ lives. Increased focus during practice and in the weight room, changes in nutrition and sleep schedule, and better decision-making on campus and in their social lives will result in that success, Flanagan said. Whether it’s a Tuesday afternoon practice or a Saturday night conference game, the need for discipline, passion and character doesn’t change.

Syracuse is reminded every day of what they have to do to be successful, thanks to Randall and Flanagan. But even during player-to-player exchanges in practice, Stephanie Grossi said the values are always present.

“Just bringing them in to every part of our lives and living them,” the senior said, “so it’s not just a saying on the wall, but is really brought off the wall into our lives.”

So far, the team has focused on achieving its chosen core values. But to really succeed this season, it can’t stop at just that. The success in improving its character, passion and discipline must translate into success on the ice, Flanagan said.

Or else, for the second straight season, the Orange’s team motto could be forgotten.

“After a while, you can throw those words out,” said Flanagan. “You can talk about a lot, but we have to have something tangible. We’re trying to hit on all three and fire on all cylinders, so hopefully, it’ll come through.”

Published on November 28, 2017 at 11:40 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34