The Second Half of the Season is Here for Syracuse Women’s Ice Hockey
By Gino Antimarino | @ginoantimarino
Syracuse women’s ice hockey begins the new year with an overall record of 4-14-2 and with three points (last place) in the CHA. But the Orange are not down for the count. As the late Herb Brooks once said, “Great moments are born from great opportunity,” and there are still lots of opportunities for SU to punch its ticket into the CHA tournament come February. However, it won’t be easy…
Harsh Schedule
Of the 14 remaining games this season, 12 of them are against CHA opponents. With that being said, Syracuse is just five points back from third place. On Tuesday, the Orange hit the road for one of the two last non-conference matchups this year against number four Colgate. Syracuse then travels to Erie, PA to battle Mercyhurst this weekend. SU gears up to play three games this week and then again next. Additionally, five of its next six will be away contests. All of this means less practice time, less time to prepare for opponents (quicker turnarounds of games), and long bus rides.
No. 4 Colgate
Back on December 5, Syracuse played number 4 Colgate from Tennity Ice Pavilion. The Raiders stunned the Orange, 9-0. SU gave up four first-period goals and was outshot 65-11. If Syracuse wants to try and reverse the outcome on Tuesday, it needs to do everything in its power to stop one of Colgate’s top point-getters, Neena Brick. The junior has registered 26 points through 21 games this season and she had four goals and five points in December’s affair. Syracuse did a good job of shutting down Colgate’s top scorer, Kristýna Kaltounková, but it needs to have a better start in the first period and make sure the team defense is near perfection. It’s easier said than done, but against a team that scores an average of five goals a game (good for second in Division I), there’s not a whole lot of other options. Furthermore, Colgate can light it up on the powerplay (30 powerplay goals and a near 40% conversion rate are good for first in the NCAA). Syracuse needs to stay disciplined and out of the box as much as it can to avoid giving the Raiders any sort of advantage. Puck drop is on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.
Mercyhurst
The Lakers sit in second place in the CHA with 10 points. Mercyhurst is a team that has good chemistry up and down the lineup and knows how to move the puck. The Lakers have the eighth most assists in D-I (with 96) through 22 games played. Defensive strategies and schemes will be huge for the Orange, not just in the Colgate game, but this weekend, as well. One negative for Mercyhurst is the amount of penalties this team takes. The Lakers average over 10 minutes in the sin bin a game (good for sixth most in the NCAA). Syracuse has a great chance to get its special teams involved and get some good looks on the powerplay later this week. The first game between Mercyhurst and SU is on Friday at 6 p.m. The second matchup is Saturday at 2 p.m.
