Last fall, Syracuse hosted Bemidji State for its season opener. A go-ahead goal in the third period sealed the game for the Beavers, SU’s second straight season-opening loss.

“We actually played pretty well,” Syracuse head coach Paul Flanagan said. “It was back and forth, good hockey.”

But “good hockey” wasn’t enough for SU, which went on to lose or tie the next five games. This season, Syracuse has a chance to rewrite its beginning when it travels to Bemidji, Minnesota, to play the Beavers on Friday. Trying to avoid another slow start, senior Megan Quinn said the team remains focused on the little things could turn season-opening struggles into wins.

“(We’re) just working hard and doing what we can do,” Quinn said. “We’re a good team, so we’re really relying on each other.”

One thing the Orange has this year is momentum. In both the previous two seasons, Syracuse fell short in its exhibition games. A 2-1 victory over the University of Ottawa on Sunday gave SU the assurance it needed entering the regular season.

“It was good for the freshmen,” senior goalie Abbey Miller said, “because they haven’t really played at the college level yet, and I think they gained a lot of confidence.”

Hockey doesn’t allow much time to practice before the season starts. Prior to Sunday’s exhibition, the team had only run through power plays in the few days before. The shortness of the preseason not only leaves some players rusty, but it allows for little time to build chemistry. This is why Flanagan prefers to start the season out on the road, he said.

“Whether they want to or not,” Flanagan said, “they’re on a plane together and they got a four-hour bus trip from Minneapolis to Bemidji, so it should be good.”

Flanagan pointed out that, at least from a strategic perspective, the preparation for this year’s opener with Bemidji State has not changed, though SU’s strategy has. The Orange, Flanagan said, has worked on the “mental aspect” and seizing opportunities because last season “we struggled to score early.”

“We know we’re going to have to make adjustments as we go along,” Flanagan said. “We’ll take it one period at a time.”

Published on September 27, 2017 at 7:25 pm

Contact Brandon: bross02@syr.edu