Syracuse University
Colgate
No. 10 Orange Rings in New Year Against Colgate
12/30/2009 11:10:54 AM | Ice Hockey
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The No. 10 Syracuse Orange ice hockey team will ring in the New Year when it hosts Colgate on Saturday, January 2 at 4 p.m. at Tennity Ice Pavilion. The Orange is hot off its two-game sweep of Princeton last month, which led to its first national ranking in program history. It is ranked No. 10 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and is receiving six votes in the USCHO.com poll, landing right outside the top 10.
Head coach Paul Flanagan earned his 250th career win with SU's second victory against Princeton on Saturday, December 12. In the team's second season, Flanagan and his Orange have achieve a .605 win percentage and has already surpassed last year's win total of nine. This season, Syracuse has faced off against No. 2 Minnesota and No. 3 New Hampshire. Its strong strength of schedule is 10th in the nation according to the KRACH ranking. KRACH is a statistical ranking similar to the RPI.
Last Time Out
The Orange swept its weekend series against Princeton prior to the holiday break. In the first meeting between the schools, junior assistant captain Stefanie Marty scored two goals and two assists in its 4-3 come-from-behind victory. Freshman standout Isabel Menard added the teams third, while junior Julie Rising scored the game-winner midway through the final period.
In Saturday's contest, sophomore Lisa Mullan scored the game-winning goal with 1:09 remaining in overtime to lift the Orange past the Tigers, 1-0. Despite being outshot, 25-14, in the first three periods, senior goaltender Lucy Schoedel was able to turn away all shots and keep the game scoreless for 60 minutes. The SU penalty killing unit was perfect on all seven occasions, while the Tigers also held the Orange scoreless for all seven power-play opportunities.
Syracuse-Colgate Series
Colgate is Syracuse's oldest opponent as it was SU's first game in program history. The Orange is 0-2 against Colgate, but has never hosted the Raiders at Tennity. In its first meeting, sophomore Megan Skelly had a team-high two goals, but the game resulted in a 4-3 outcome. Earlier this season, four players scored in the 4-3 loss, including Marty, Rising, Skelly and senior defenseman Brittaney Maschmeyer. The Orange is 6-1 against ECAC opponents this season, making Colgate the only team in the conference it has a loss against.
Scouting the Raiders
Colgate is 4-12-3 this season after splitting its weekend series against Brown and Yale. The Raiders defeated Brown, 4-2, and lost, 3-0, to Yale the following day. Colgate outshot Yale, 43-17, in the game, while goaltender Lisa Plenderleith made 14 saves. The Raiders are led by Katie Stewart (10g, 9a), while Ali Edell heads the defense with two goals and seven assists. Three goalies have shared time in the net this season, including Plenderleith (.875 Sv%, 3.41 GAA), Kimberly Sass (.857 Sv%, 4.31 GAA) and Jocelyn Yokow.
