Orange Eyes Niagara for Final CHA Showdown

Center Ice

Despite suffering 3-2 and 3-1 setbacks against first-place No. 10/10 Wayne State last weekend, the Orange hung tough throughout all 120 minutes of regulation. With only one point separating Syracuse and Niagara, the Orange and Purple Eagles will dance at Tennity Ice Pavilion for the final CHA series this weekend. After skating to two consecutive 1-1 overtime draws at Dwyer Arena two weeks ago, no love is lost between these two teams as they contend to make a push for a higher seed in the CHA playoffs. This is SU's final conference collision and chance to chalk up some league points while Niagara still has to face the CHA-powers of No. 4/4 Mercyhurst two more times and Wayne State in Detroit.

Knotted Up with Niagara

The last time Syracuse and Niagara squared off; no winner emerged from either decision. Both teams skated to 1-1 overtime ties, notching each squad one point per game. One point separate's these two teams in the CHA standings with the Purple Eagles holding the slight advantage with a win and two ties (four points) to SU's three draws (three points). For the Orange, this is its last chance to make a push in the conference to get a couple more points in league play and in turn, receive a high seeding in the CHA Tournament starting on March 5. Niagara still has eight more league matchups after the battle in Syracuse, including two meetings with No. 4/4 Mercyhurst and a road trip to face No. 10/10 Wayne State. The Purple Eagles close out their conference billet with a home set against third-place squad Robert Morris (nine points). Senior forward Ashley Riggs directs NU's offense charge with 22 points (10 G, 12 A) and the most shots on net with 98. Riggs is currently tied for seventh in the CHA with 1.10 points per outing. Netminder Jenni Bauer has manned NU's net 19-of-21 times this season and has racked up 565 total saves en route to a 4-11-4 record. Niagara has been outscored by a season-total of 43 goals.

Make Room on Skelly's Trophy Shelf

Freshman winger Megan Skelly was named the College Hockey America Rookie of the Week on Monday, January 26. Skelly's award marks the third time she has been pegged as Rookie of the Week this season. In this past weekend's bout with Wayne State, Skelly scored her second short-handed tally of the season on a beautiful one-timer slapshot. The first-year scoring threat also recorded her seventh assist in Friday's tilt, factoring in two of the three goals Syracuse put on the board this weekend. Skelly leads the Orange in points (16), goals (9) and short-handed goals (2). The Taber, Alberta native has manufactured her fourth pointstreak of the season, the most on the team, with an assist on Friday and the man-down marker on Saturday. The CHA recognized Skelly as Rookie of the Week on November 3 for her production against Sacred Heart and at Robert Morris on October 13.

Smarty Marty

Sophomore co-captain Stefanie Marty isn't just carving up this ice season, she's excelling in the classroom as well. On January 26, 2009, Marty was distinguished as the Syracuse University Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week. Marty's decoration is the first time a representative from the ice hockey team was bestowed with the honor this year. Marty, who pulled into a tie for most short-handed points in the league after assisting Skelly on the one-timer, is a finance major in the Whitman School of Management. The Swiss Olympian is second on the team with 10 assists and second tied for second on the team with 14 points. Against Wayne State, she assembled her third pointstreak of the season with back-to-back assists this weekend. She holds a five-game pointstreak, tied for longest spurt on the team, as well as a four-game string of points.

First-Time Flurry

Skelly leads the club in first goals scored in a game with a total of five. Only four other members of the Orange (Jessica Frump, Julie Rising, Janelle Malcolm and Lisa Mullan) have tallied the first goal of the game once this season.

Powerplay Perpetrators

In Friday's affair against Wayne State, sophomores Julie Rising and Cheyenne Bojeski each obtained their second powerplay goals of the season. The last time the Orange dunked two extra-man markers was at home against Robert Morris on January 10. Bojeski was one of SU's powerplay scorers while and freshman Janelle Malcolm was the other. The most powerplay goals the Orange has put away in one game was the backend of the Sacred Heart series when senior Nikki Leone, Rising and Skelly all scored with an extra skater. The other two times SU has put away two powerplay tallies was at Robert Morris on Oct. 11 (Skelly, Mullan) and at Wayne State on Nov. 21 (Klassen, Marty). Freshman Kylie Klassen, Rising, Skelly, Bojeski and Mullan have all attain two powerplay goals this season.

Man-Down Momentum

Skelly's team-leading second short-handed goal of the season on Saturday was SU's first man-down tally since the Orange put away three against Sacred Heart in the home opener. Rising and Marty each netted a short-handed goal while down a skater as did Skelly. Syracuse's starting front line is the only three members to have accounted for a goal while defending the opponents' powerplay.

Lisa Keeps On Loaning

On Friday's game against Wayne State, Lisa Mullan discharged a rocket from the top of the left circle that was perceived by Bojeski in mid-air. Bojeski redirected Mullan's shot through WSU's Delayne Brian's legs for the goal, bestowing Mullan with her team-best 11th assist of the year. The Victoria, British Columbia native is tied for 12th in the entire conference with 0.52 assists per game.

Lucy Layin' Down the Law

Junior netminder Lucy Schoedel started in her 21st consecutive game for the Orange this past weekend, as the Ithaca, N.Y. product stopped 60 total shots in two games. Schoedel has made 570 total saves this season against 638 shots (89.3 save percentage) and is surrendering 3.43 goals per game. Of all goaltenders that have played a minimum of 33% of the team's minutes, she is fifth in the league in goals against average and sixth in save percentage.

Syracuse University Athletics

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