Three games, right after Christmas, that never even counted reestablished hope among Syracuse.

The Orange (4-16-1, 4-4 College Hockey America) lost their last eight games going into the break and lost their first two games since. But in the Theresa Humes Invitational in Montreal on Dec. 28-30, Syracuse won all three games by a combined score of 17-3.

“The first game was just so-so, but the Saturday and Sunday games were against better teams and we played really well,” head coach Paul Flanagan said. “I just think the kids, maybe from a mental perspective, were a little more care-free.”

This weekend brings the conference’s best team, Robert Morris (8-10-4, 6-1-1 CHA), to Tennity Ice Pavilion, for a two game set. But following the winning stretch in the break, senior goaltender Maddi Welch said the Orange are talking more and holding each other accountable in practice — stopping pucks, getting to the net and, for goalies, covering rebounds.

“We’re doing a lot in practice with building our conditioning so we can go the whole 60 minutes,” senior captain Allie Munroe said, “… because we did it in Montreal. We basically played 180 minutes and crushed it, so I think we’ll be better this weekend.”

Those 180 minutes of focus were a product of numerous factors. The Orange had been off since their loss to Colgate on Dec. 8, having had only one light practice on Dec. 27 to get back in tune.

They then got on a bus, traveled to Montreal, and just played hockey, Flanagan said. The team toured the city’s downtown when they weren’t playing. No points were at stake, and nobody even mentioned the losing streak.

Handicapped by multi-goal deficits in the first period of both games, the Orange lost their first two games of the new year.

“Mentally we weren’t prepared in the first period and that’s on me, Flanagan said. “We weren’t ready.”

With only 12 games left in the season, SU is running out of time to save its season. All 12 games are against conference opponents with playoff seeding implications. But SU’s leaders are motivated by their three-day barrage at Tennity Ice Pavilion.

Published on January 16, 2019 at 10:49 pm

Contact Tim: tnolan@syr.edu