Syracuse makes history on Wednesday night in Hamilton, N.Y. when it faces off against Colgate for the Orange's first game in program history. Colgate returns 18 letterwinners from a team that went 12-17-5 last season.
Syracuse Set to Make History Wednesday Night
9/30/2008 7:00:00 PM | Ice Hockey
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse University women’s ice hockey team will play its first game in program history against the Colgate Raiders on Wednesday, October 1, at 7 p.m. The Orange ice hockey squad will be the 22nd Division I varsity sport Syracuse University sponsors. Syracuse became the fifth member of the College Hockey America league on March 6, 2008, joining Mercyhurst, Niagara, Robert Morris and Wayne State.
Head Coach Paul Flanagan
Syracuse head coach Paul Flanagan (Canton, N.Y.) will lead the way for the Orange ice hockey program in its first season. Flanagan was the head coach for the St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team since 1999, compiling a record of 230-83-24. The Canton, N.Y. native led the Saints to the women’s NCAA Frozen Four Championship five times in nine years, tying him for the most appearances in the country. Flanagan’s four-year run (2003-07) of Frozen Four emergences is also tied for best in college hockey. In 2001, Flanagan was named the ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year and the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Coach of the Year. Last season, Flanagan was named an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s Select and National teams that competed at the Four Nations Cup in Sweden in November and he won a gold medal at the World Championship in April held in Harbin, China. Flanagan rounded out the national coaching staff with Ohio State’s Jackie Barto and Plattsburgh State’s Kevin Houle.
Division I Experience
The Orange will benefit from eight players who have transferred from other Division I programs. Senior Nikki Leone (Trenton, Ontario) came to Syracuse from Quinnipiac to help out the defense. Junior goaltender Lucy Schoedel (Ithaca, N.Y.) and sophomore forward Stefanie Marty (Nussbaumen, Switzerland) will don the Orange after skating with the University of New Hampshire last season in its Frozen Four appearance. Sophomore forwards Keeta Koalska (Forest Lake, Minn.) and Julie Rising (Millbrae, Calif.) trekked to Central New York after competing with Bemidji State University. Sophomore forward Cheyenne Bojeski (Hamilton, Ontario) played in 33 games with CHA member Mercyhurst in Erie, Pa. last season. Boston College offered junior blue-liner Gabrielle Beaudry (Cortland, N.Y.) to bolster the defense. Sophomore forward Rebecca Gordon (St. Catharines, Ontario), comes from Clarkson University located in Potsdam, N.Y.
Newcomers
Syracuse welcomes 11 fresh skaters to the 2008-09 lineup. The newcomers include Katelyn Bero (Akwesasne, N.Y.), Kelly Dimmen (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Nicole Feltes (Rolling Meadows, Ill.), Steph Jones (Thornhill, Ontario), Kylie Klassen (Winkler, Manitoba), Janelle Malcolm (Edmonton, Alberta), Taylor Metcalfe (Oakville, Ontario), Lisa Mullan (Victoria, British Columbia), Megan Skelly (Taber, Alberta), senior Rachel Tilford (Birch Hills, Saskatchewan) and junior Alison Lee (Los Altos, Calif.).
Checking Out Colgate
Syracuse makes its debut in the college hockey world against its neighbor to the east - Colgate University located in Hamilton, N.Y. The Raiders have had women’s ice hockey since the 1996-1997 season and became a Division I entity in 2001. Colgate returns 18 letterwinners from a team that went 12-17-5 last season. The Raiders posted a 9-9-4 ECAC Hockey mark and lost in the quarterfinals to Dartmouth. Colgate returns its top three scorers from last season in seniors Sam Hunt, Elin Brown and Kiira Dosdall along with the healthy return of junior Katie Stewart. Hunt collected 22 goals and 14 assists for 36 points last season. Brown tallied 27 while Dosdall collected 17. Stewart posted 27 points as a freshman in 2006-07 she missed good a portion of the 2007-08 season to injury, but has returning in full health. The Raiders will look to one of three goaltenders to backstop them Wednesday. Either senior Elayna Hamashuk of sophomore Lisa Plenderleith will get the start. Hamashuk had a 1-3-1 record last season with a 2.78 goals against average while Plenderleith went 11-14-4 with 2.50 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.
Coaching Ties
Colgate head coach Scott Wiley is a 1993 graduate from St. Lawrence University. Flanagan not only spent the last nine years coaching in Canton, N.Y., he earned his degree from SLU in 1980.
Following its first historic game, the Orange travel to Madison, Wis. to battle the #2 Wisconsin Badgers on Friday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 4 at noon. Wisconsin will celebrate its 10-year anniversary at the Kohl Center the weekend Syracuse comes to town.
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