Paul Flanagan has been harping on one thing to his team as it prepares for a road test against No. 10 Ohio State this weekend. The SU ice hockey head coach wants to see the Orange compete consistently for an entire game.

Flanagan felt his team didn’t compete every second last weekend against Union. That was clear during the first period of Friday’s game, in which SU only outshot its opponent 5-4. The second period was much different as the Orange built an 18-1 shot advantage. Syracuse (4-2-1) went on to win both games on the weekend, which saw the freshmen class gain valuable experience.

The young team learned it must compete at a high level from the time the first puck drops to the final horn. There is no time to breathe easy at the Division I level.

‘We can’t just turn a light switch. You can’t turn it on and off,’ Flanagan said. ‘That’s what we’ve been kind of doing.’

The Orange could get away with the letdowns against a struggling Union team. But if SU isn’t ready this weekend against a Top 10 opponent in the Buckeyes, the outcome will be different.

Senior captain Stefanie Marty knows the team has to play at a higher level to compete with Ohio State (4-2-0).

‘Union, we knew if we just play our game we will win,’ she said. ‘If we make a lot of mistakes, (Ohio State) will beat us. We really have to be ready.’

Marty would rather be playing against the best teams in the country. She said the team likes playing the underdog role.

‘I think in general, the team and I like that more, we don’t have anything to lose,’ Marty said. ‘We can just go after them.’

If SU pulls off the upset this weekend, it could go from underdog to ranked. The team received one vote in the latest USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll.

The momentum from last weekend earned the team some recognition. But for the Orange, the road to becoming an elite program starts this weekend.

‘I think we can be in the Top 10, and these games are what we have to win to be up there,’ Marty said.

Junior forward Lisa Mullan said the team is pumped up to prove itself against another top program.

‘It’s our first really long or far-away road trip, so they’re going to be a pretty tough team, she said. ‘It’s going to be a battle.’

Flanagan expects a hard-fought game with OSU in the first ever meeting between the programs. His St. Lawrence teams played OSU four times earlier in the decade. Flanagan was also an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s National team under OSU head coach Jackie Barto, so he knows this weekend’s opponent is tough.

OSU jumped out to an undefeated record before dropping its last two to current No. 1 Wisconsin last weekend. He said the Buckeyes have a powerful front-line that can score goals in bunches. Like SU, the Buckeyes start a freshman goalie (Lisa Steffes), and Flanagan wants to exploit that inexperience with an aggressive approach on offense.

In order to generate those chances, the team will have to compete for 60 minutes.

The head coach just wants to see consistency in his team’s effort. He said if his team can do that and his goalie makes plays, SU can keep it close. And in a close game, anything can happen.

With a strong effort, the Orange would move another step closer to the Top 10. For now, Flanagan just wants to see progress. He hasn’t started dreaming about the national rankings just yet.

‘We’re not putting a lot of pressure on this group — ‘You got to win’ or the end-all be-all of everything,’ Flanagan said. ‘We want to win, but I think before that we just need to compete.’

rjgery@syr.edu

 

Published on October 27, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu