Stephanie Jones received a text message immediately after the Syracuse ice hockey team’s victory Friday over Union. The text was from former SU goalie Lucy Schoedel, who started ahead of Jones during the program’s first two seasons. Her message: Congrats.

The short message said it all. This win was special for Jones — it was her first career start. The junior goaltender had waited two-plus years for this moment.

‘I’ve been waiting for a while,’ Jones said. ‘It felt good to finally be told that I was going to get a chance.’

The chance meant she would be introduced as the starter. Hearing her name announced was exciting, especially with her father in the crowd and friends and family watching from home online. She wanted to make them proud.

Jones did just that with her strong performance to get the win. She recorded 12 saves and controlled the rebounds to limit Union’s scoring opportunities to just 13 shots on goal in a 3-1 victory.

Head coach Paul Flanagan was pleased with her effort. He said he decided to start Jones to reward her hard work and patience over the last two years.

The junior didn’t see much playing time as the backup to Schoedel, who was the first player to sign with the brand new Syracuse program in 2008. Schoedel transferred from New Hampshire, where she was a backup on a team that reached the NCAA Regionals. Jones only played in five games combined as a freshman and sophomore.

Flanagan said he knows it was frustrating for her at times, but she accepted her role and stayed positive.

‘I think she knew that she was going to be an understudy,’ he said. ‘Probably after she was here for a year or so, I think she felt she would have wanted to play more, but those are just coaching decisions.’

And the coach went with Schoedel. She was among the top goaltenders in the country, and the key to the program’s success. She led the Orange to a winning record last year and earned MVP honors in each of her seasons with the team.

Jones has tried to apply what she picked up from Schoedel to this year’s team.

‘I learned a lot from (Schoedel) in terms of character off the ice,’ Jones said. ‘She was just a great leader and brought a lot of energy to our team, so even though I’m more of a quiet leader, I try to just bring some of those traits back to the team.’

Schoedel, who is now an assistant coach at Wesleyan, said Jones pushed her at practices and gave her pointers in drills and during games that helped her succeed. Jones was a supportive teammate who kept everyone optimistic in the locker room.

Schoedel has moved on, but she stays in touch with Jones. She said she hopes she can still help her, even if it’s through a quick text every now and then.

That brief text after the game had a deeper meaning behind it. Schoedel was celebrating her old teammate’s victory, but she was also saying ‘thank you.’

‘Whether or not she knows it, her attitude was such a huge inspiration to me while I was playing,’ Schoedel said. ‘A teammate like her makes a difference come game time, whether or not she’s starting.’

Jones continues to be a reliable teammate, but she finds herself in a similar situation as a backup to freshmen Jenesica Drinkwater and Kallie Billadeau. Through seven games, her first start is the only game in which she has seen action.

The first start was special, but she knows it was just one game. And a one-game performance isn’t enough to guarantee more starts. She must earn them every week at practice.

‘I think at this point, what coach has told me is just continuously competing in practice,’ Jones said. ‘It’s what I’m trying to do, and stay more consistent and just stay competitive on the shots.’

rjgery@syr.edu

Published on October 27, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu