Previewing the First-Half of Syracuse Ice Hockey’s 2025-26 Season
By Jared Valentin | @JaredValentin_
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — 207 days after falling to 2-seed Mercyhurst (20-16-2, 13-6-1 Atlantic Hockey America) in the AHA semifinals, 3-seed Syracuse ice hockey (15-23, 11-9 AHA) returns to the ice for the 2025-26 season. With SU losing key pieces in goalie Allie Kelley, who set the NCAA career saves record last year and forwards Bryn Saarela and Tatum White, another trip to the AHA semifinals is far from a guarantee. The Orange battle four ranked squads in the USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll in the first-half of the season while Head Coach Britni Smith departs midway through the campaign to serve as an assistant coach for Hockey Canada for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Playing almost every Friday and Saturday for the rest of 2025, SU has a packed schedule in the first-half of the season.
September 25-26, 2025 | Syracuse vs. No. 5 Minnesota Duluth | Tennity Ice Pavilion
2024-25 Record: 22-15-2 (14-12-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association)
Right away, Syracuse faces one of its toughest opponents when it welcomes No. 5 Minnesota Duluth for a two-game series to open the season. The Bulldogs swept the Orange when the two met up for a two-game series in 2024-25. UMD capped off last season punching its ticket to the 2025 Hockey Championship, where Minnesota Duluth fell to 3-seed Cornell in the Regional Final. However, this year’s squad looks vastly different with eight freshmen, five transfers and only 11 players returning from last season.
October 3-4, 2025 | Syracuse @ Stonehill | Bridgewater Ice Arena
2024-25 Record: 14-19-5 (13-10-5 New England Women’s Hockey Alliance)
Next up, SU hits the road to North Easton, MA for a two-game series with Stonehill, the squad that Syracuse welcomed to open last season. The Orange handled the Skyhawks comfortably in 2024-25, shutting out Stonehill 4-0 in the two games they squared off in. After winning the NEWHA title and making their first ever NC Women’s Ice Hockey Championship appearance in 2023-24, the Skyhawks couldn’t replicate the same success last season, losing two out of three games to 5-seed Saint Anselm in the NEWHA quarterfinals.
October 10-11, 2025 | Syracuse vs. No. 10 Quinnipiac | Tennity Ice Pavilion
2024-25 Record: 22-12-4 (11-8-3 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey)
After its trip to Massachusetts, Syracuse heads right back home and right back into ranked play with two games against No. 10 Quinnipiac. The Bobcats lost one half of their dynamic duo from last year in forward Maya Labad who was drafted by the Montreal Victoire of the Professional Women’s Hockey League. However, Quinnipiac still retains forward Kahlen Lamarche who was second on the team in goals last season with 14, just behind Labad’s 15. The Orange lost to the Bobcats in the two games they squared off in by at least three goals.
October 17-18, 2025 | Syracuse @ Delaware | Fred Rust Ice Arena
2024-25 Record: N/A
SU’s first three opponents are all foes the Orange have seen before. That changes when Syracuse visits Delaware for a two-game series. The 2025-26 campaign is the inaugural season of women’s ice hockey at the University of Delaware. The Blue Hens are the latest addition to the AHA, expanding the conference to seven teams. Delaware forward Kaitlin Finnegan and defender Tiana McIntyre were named the first team captains in program history. Finnegan appeared in four games for Lindenwood last season before transferring, while McIntyre joined the Blue Hens from Quinnipiac. Delaware has appointed Allison Coomey as its first ever head coach. Coomey previously spent seven years coaching for Penn State.
October 24-25, 2025 | Syracuse @/vs. RIT | Gene Polisseni Center/Tennity Ice Pavilion
2024-25 Record: 16-17-4 (8-10-2 AHA)
Six days later, Syracuse takes the ice again in a two-game series with RIT, one contest on the road and the other at home. The Orange and Tigers met not once, but four times last season. SU took three of the four games, with RIT stealing one at home in late January. In that loss, Syracuse scored just six minutes in before RIT answered with two goals in the second period to rally back. After eliminating 5-seed Lindenwood in the AHA quarterfinals, 4-seed RIT was swept by 2-seed Penn State in a best of three series in the semifinals. Five seniors from RIT’s 2024-25 team moved on to play professionally, including forwards Jordan Bear and Kyle Aquaro, defenders Kyla Bear and Mia Tsilemos and goaltender Sarah Coe.
October 28, 2025 and November 25, 2025 | Syracuse @ No. 4 Cornell | Lynah Rink
2024-25 Record: 25-5-5 (16-2-4 ECAC Hockey)
To wrap up October, SU matches up with its toughest opponent of the season in No. 4 Cornell. Last year’s meeting was one to forget for Syracuse. The Orange led the Big Red 2-0 through the first period before everything clicked for Cornell. The Big Red scored twice in the second period and four times in the third to win it 6-3 at home. Cornell’s offense outshot Syracuse 52-14. After the lone contest between the two, the Big Red went on to win the 2025 ECAC Hockey title and make it to the NC Women’s Ice Hockey Championship for the second straight year, where 3-seed Cornell fell to 2-seed Ohio State 4-2 in the 2025 NCAA Women’s Frozen Four. Unlike last year, the Orange and Big Red square off twice this season, with the second duel on Tuesday, November 25.
November 7-8, 2025 | Syracuse @ Lindenwood | Lindenwood Ice Arena
2024-25 Record: 5-26-2 (4-15-1 AHA)
After a date with its rival down the road, SU travels all the way to St. Charles, MO for a two-game series with Lindenwood. Similar to Minnesota Duluth, the 2025-26 Lions squad is significantly different from last year. Lindenwood brought in nine freshmen and three transfers this season. Netminder Lexington Secreto from Ohio State leads the group of additions. Secreto won the NC Women’s Ice Hockey Championship in 2024 and appeared in the national title game in 2025 and 2023. Transfer defenders Pusle Dyring-Andersen from Stonehill and Nicole Pietrucha from Adrian College also join the Lions for the 2025-26 campaign. Syracuse won three out of its four matchups with Lindenwood last season. With a new-look roster, the Lions try to improve from their five-win season in 2024-25.
November 14-15, 2025 | Syracuse @ No. 8 Penn State | Pegula Ice Arena
2024-25 Record: 31-6-1 (19-1 AHA)
AHA play continues for SU after Lindenwood with a two-game series against No. 8 Penn State, the defending conference champions. The Nittany Lions were a team the Orange could never figure out last season, dropping all four matchups and getting shutout in two of them. In fact, Syracuse has been on the losing side of this rivalry for a while. SU has lost 11 of its last 12 games against Penn State dating back to the 2022-23 season. The Nittany Lions retain their four leading goal scorers from last year including forwards Tessa Janecke, Maddy Christian, Grace Outwater and Katelyn Roberts. All four put up double-digit goals for Penn State in 2024-25. Janecke’s 24 goals ranked 9th among all players in the NCAA last season.
November 21-22, 2025 | Syracuse vs. Mercyhurst | Tennity Ice Pavilion
2024-25 Record: 20-16-2 (13-6-1 AHA)
Syracuse has to wait until late November for revenge against Mercyhurst, the squad who eliminated SU in last season’s AHA semifinals. Lakers forward Thea Johannson’s hat trick in game three of the conference semifinals clinched the series win for Mercyhurst before the Lakers fell to 1-seed Penn State in the AHA Championship. That’s been an all too familiar conclusion to the season for Mercyhurst. The last three campaigns have all ended with losses to the Nittany Lions in the conference championship. Johansson led the team with 16 goals in 2024-25 before transferring to Minnesota Duluth ahead of this season. Mercyhurst head coach Michael Sisti returns for his 27th season, continuing his tenure as the only head coach in program history.
November 28-29, 2025 | Syracuse vs./@ RPI | Tennity Ice Pavilion/Houston Field House
2024-25 Record: 14-18-3 (7-13-2 ECAC Hockey)
Similar to RIT in October, Syracuse has a two-game series with RPI where both teams get a home game. The Orange welcome the Engineers in the first matchup before SU heads to Troy, NY the next day for the second game. Last season, Syracuse fell 2-1 in both games with the second loss coming in overtime. Both teams struggled on the road in 2024-25. The Orange went 6-14 in enemy territory and the Engineers ended 3-10-3 away from Houston Field House.
December 5-6, 2025 | Syracuse vs. Robert Morris | Tennity Ice Pavilion
2024-25 Record: 8-24-3 (2-16-2 AHA)
Syracuse welcomes Robert Morris for a two-game series to round out the first-half of its 2025-26 schedule. The Orange comfortably dealt with the Colonials last season. SU won all five meetings between the two, four of them by three goals or more. The most recent battle came down to the wire. Syracuse escaped 6-seed Robert Morris 3-2 in overtime in the AHA quarterfinals. This year, the Orange also have four regular-season games against the Colonials.
Syracuse’s 2025-26 campaign begins Thursday, September 25 at 6 p.m against No. 5 Minnesota Duluth. For all coverage of the first-half of SU’s 2025-26 season, follow @JaredValentin_ and @CitrusTVSports on X/Twitter!
