Julie Rising poked in a rebound from her stomach to start the scoring for Syracuse. The goal set the tone for an aggressive SU team in a dominant performance Saturday against Connecticut.

The performance was quite a turnaround from the night before.

The Orange came out with intensity Saturday after a lackluster showing Friday against Providence. SU came out flat and appeared to be going through the motions in a 4-1 loss in which the Friars controlled the puck for the majority of the game. One night later, the Orange redeemed itself with a 7-1 victory over the Huskies.

Head coach Paul Flanagan stressed the importance of being mentally prepared to play every game after the loss. Rising, the senior captain who scored two goals over the weekend, was also disappointed with the team’s effort.

‘I think we kind of realized we need to put a lot more emotion in it and really be aggressive,’ she said Friday. ‘We kind of came out a little weak, and I think if we can play a whole 60 minutes really strong, we should be able to beat a team like that.’

The Orange took the message to heart. SU was relentless in the blowout victory over the Huskies. Four second-period goals broke the game wide open. The offensive explosion was the result of a team constantly on the attack as the Orange (2-2-1) outshot UConn (1-4-0), 38-19.

The onslaught of chances made for a memorable night for one SU player.

Sophomore Isabel Menard scored the first hat trick in Syracuse history. She recorded her first goal off a backhanded shot from 15 feet out, which snuck by a screened goalie. Menard found the back of the net again on a wraparound shot later in the period. She completed the hat trick in the third after receiving a pass from junior Lisa Mullan.

After experimenting with Menard on defense this week, Flanagan decided to move her back to her more natural position on offense. The move paid off as Menard led the Orange to a big win.

It wasn’t the only lineup change Flanagan made. The head coach mixed it up to keep his team hungry after Friday’s loss.

‘We made some changes in the lineup, and sometimes just doing that reestablishes focus. Kids start thinking, ‘Boy, I got to work for my spot,” he said.

The team played hard from start to finish. The aggressive play produced a balanced effort that saw 12 players tally points.

Freshman Margot Scharfe scored the first goal of her career to extend the Orange lead to 3-1, just after UConn cut into the lead with a power-play goal. It sparked a flurry of offense that gave the Orange a comfortable 5-1 advantage heading into the final period. Freshman Sadie St. Germain and junior defender Taylor Metcalfe each notched their first career goals in the contest.

The seven-goal outburst came in support of freshman goaltender Jenesica Drinkwater for her first career win. She saved 18 shots in her second start. Fellow freshman Kallie Billadeau blocked 25 shots in goal for SU Friday.

The Orange is still searching for its first winning streak early in the season. Flanagan said the team can’t get too high or too low with a win or a loss. The energy level needs to be there every game.

‘We have to be more consistent, you just can’t be in the ebb and flow of some of these games,’ Flanagan said. ‘We got to stay away from that, we got to look for more consistency from our team and individuals.’

rjgery@syr.edu

Published on October 17, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu