Paul Flanagan called his team together at practice Tuesday at Tennity Ice Pavilion and diagrammed a drill on his white board. He showed his players exactly what to do.

After watching his team fail to execute the drill correctly, the Syracuse head coach brought the team together again. He wasn’t happy with the half-hearted effort.

‘You bring them back in and say, ‘Guys, you’re just taking shortcuts, and you’re just trying to cheat and make it easy on yourself,” Flanagan said. ‘And that’s what we have to avoid.’

Flanagan is hoping Syracuse (11-15-4, 5-6-1 CHA) can avoid a letdown this weekend against fourth-place Robert Morris (5-19-5, 2-8-3) in a College Hockey America matchup in Moon Township, Pa. Following a tough series with No. 5 Mercyhurst and with a possible playoff preview looming with Niagara later, this weekend could spell trouble for SU.

Especially because the Orange has played inconsistently all season. Flanagan believes his team brings a different mindset to the ice depending on its opponent. SU has taken shortcuts against lesser competition that hurt the team when it needs to play a top-ranked team.

Syracuse was burned by its lackadaisical play once earlier this year.

After being swept by Niagara in late January to fall to third place, Syracuse traveled to Detroit to take on last-place Wayne State. The Orange had outscored the Warriors 8-3 in a two-game sweep in December but only managed a 1-1 tie in the series opener. In need of some wins, settling for a tie in that situation against a struggling team was a disappointment.

With just four games left in the regular season, SU is in a similar position this weekend. The team needs to start building its confidence for the conference playoffs. Syracuse should find success this weekend facing a Robert Morris team it swept in the first series this year.

The Orange will try to learn from its past mistakes heading into this weekend. Most specifically, that means bringing a consistent level of energy to the ice for every game.

Junior forward Lisa Mullan said the team has lost focus at times throughout the season. But SU is prepared for this series.

‘Sometimes we’re thinking, ‘Oh, we don’t need to try as hard because it’s not as good of a team,” Mullan said. ‘We’ve learned by now that we have to come with the same mentality every game.’

With the Mercyhurst series still fresh in its mind, Syracuse hopes to carry over its effort from last weekend. Flanagan was pleased with the team’s play in both games against the top competition despite losing twice. Mullan said SU can’t go easy on Robert Morris.

‘We want to try and have the same mindset and come at them like they have the same skill as Mercyhurst,’ Mullan said. ‘Bring the same intensity.’

Flanagan said the team will need that intensity this weekend. He believes the bottom four teams in the conference — which includes Syracuse — are all even. Any team can win on any given day.

The head coach told his team to ignore Robert Morris’s record because the series won’t be easy. The Colonials will have plenty of motivation in its last home series of the season because of Senior Day. If SU doesn’t match their energy, it could be another disappointing weekend.

‘I expect them to defend their turf, and their younger players are gonna play for their seniors,’ Flanagan said. ‘We have to get ourselves every bit as motivated and more.’

Flanagan wants to see his team play with pride this weekend, too. The Orange can’t keep taking moral victories from battling better opponents in losses. He said his team needs to get back in the win column.

After using a limited rotation last weekend, Flanagan plans to use the bench more. He expects more players to step up and make some plays for a struggling offense.

Senior forward Julie Rising said even this late in the season, the Orange needs to be told to take every team seriously. After Flanagan’s speech at practice, SU shouldn’t need another reminder. And with the conference playoffs just two weeks away, Rising said the team can’t let its guard down anymore.

‘We can’t take any shifts off,’ Rising said. ‘We can’t afford to this late in the season.’

rjgery@syr.edu

 

Published on February 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu