Ice Hockey Releases Tentative Schedule
4/28/2009 10:00:21 AM | Ice Hockey
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse women's ice hockey program, breaking into its second season, released its tentative 2009-10 schedule. The Orange will play 16 home games at Tennity Ice Pavilion and go on the road for 18 to round out its 34-game regular season slate. Syracuse will play 16 College Hockey America league games along with 18 tilts against teams from the ECAC, Hockey East, Ivy League and WCHA conferences. The Orange is not shying away from the country's top talent as SU will play seven teams that either finished in the top 10 or received votes in the final poll of the season. SU will also skate against three conference champions.
Syracuse will be put to the test immediately as head coach Paul Flanagan leads his team on the road for the first eight games of the season, including six first-time opponents at the top of the schedule. The first four contests will be against the second, fourth and sixth ranked teams in Division I.
The first two games of 2009-10 will be at the University of Minnesota (32-5-3 | 23-2-3) on Fri., Oct. 2 and Sun., Oct. 4. Minnesota finished as the No. 2-ranked team in the country and was last year's WCHA regular season champion. The Golden Gophers earned a trip to the Frozen Four, losing to CHA-champion Mercyhurst in the semifinal game, 5-4.
Following the Minnesota trip, the Orange pays a visit to New England for its first games against the Hockey East conference in program history. Syracuse squares off at Boston College (22-9-5 | 15-5-3) on Fri., Oct. 9 and the University of New Hampshire (24-6-5 | 16-2-3) on Sat., Oct. 10. New Hampshire prevailed in the Hockey East title game against the Golden Eagles, 2-1, to claim the conference crown, but the Wildcats bowed out to Minnesota-Duluth in the NCAA Quarterfinal game. Once the season concluded, UNH closed out the polls at No. 4 while Boston College weighed in as the No. 6-ranked squad.
The Orange returns to New England for two more first-time Hockey East matchups on Fri., Oct. 16 at Connecticut (19-12-4 | 12-9-1) and Sat., Oct. 17 at Providence (17-16-3 | 13-9-1). The Huskies and Friars tied for fourth in the league, but PC shutout UConn, 3-0, in the Hockey East Quarterfinal game.
Syracuse takes on its first ECAC squad of the season when the Orange travels to Schenectady, N.Y. for a set at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (19-4-4 | 11-8-3) on Fri., Oct. 23 and Sat., Oct. 24. RPI finished sixth in its conference and lost to Dartmouth in the ECAC Championship showdown, 6-1. The Engineers finished with votes in the final poll.
After the eight-game road swing, Syracuse opens Tennity Ice Pavilion when it welcomes Niagara (6-25-5 | 2-11-3) on Fri., Nov. 6 and Sat., Nov. 7 to initiate CHA league play. Syracuse earned its first conference victory in program history against the Purple Eagles on Jan. 30, 2009, 2-1. The Orange has never lost to Niagara in the regular season as SU tied Niagara, 1-1, in the first two tilts and followed it up with 2-1 and 3-1 victories at home. Niagara exacted revenge by upsetting the Orange in the first round of the CHA Tournament, 3-2.
With an idle weekend in between, CHA action continues in Pittsburgh when SU skates into the Steel City for a two-game set with Robert Morris (12-20-3 | 5-9-2) on Fri., Nov. 20 and Sat., Nov. 21. The Colonials were third in the league last season and lost to Wayne State in CHA semifinal game, 4-3, in overtime. The Orange earned its first tie in program history against RMU on Jan. 10, 2009 at Tennity Ice Pavilion last year.
A trip to Colgate (19-14-3, 12-7-3) breaks up CHA play on Tue., Nov. 24. The Red Raiders hosted the Orange in its first game in school history on Oct. 1, 2008. SU opened the crowd's eyes after freshman Megan Skelly scored just nine seconds into the game. Colgate finished fifth in the ECAC last year.
Syracuse settles into an eight-game homestand starting up with first-time opponent Union (2-29-3 | 0-21-1) on Sat., 28 and Sun., Nov. 29. In the ECAC, the Dutchwomen earned one tie in 22 attempts and won only two games total on the season.
Conference action resumes against Wayne State (21-9-2 | 11-5) on Fri., Dec.. 4 and Sat., Dec. 5. The Motor City squad finished second in the CHA standings and lost to Mercyhurst in the league title game, 6-1. Syracuse lost all four games to the Warriors in its inaugural campaign. WSU received one vote in the final poll.
Princeton (18-11-2 | 15-6-1) initiates a five-game streak of non-conference action on Fri., Dec. 11 and Sat., Dec. 12. Princeton, a member of the ECAC and Ivy League, wrapped up its year in third place, eventually losing to RPI in the ECAC Quarterfinals. The Tigers closed out the season receiving votes in the final poll.
Colgate takes its first tour of Tennity Ice Pavilion on Sat., Jan. 2 to finish up the two-game set.
Syracuse plays Cornell (12-14-5 | 8-9-5) on Tue., Jan. 5. Cornell is the final first-time opponent SU meets on the schedule. The Big Red finished eighth in the ECAC and lost to Harvard in the conference quarterfinals.
St. Anselm (16-9-2 | 13-5-1) breaks up the homestand for a matchup on Fri., Jan. 8 in Manchester, N.H. Syracuse clipped the Hawks last season, 3-0 and 4-1. St. A's won the Northeast-10 Conference last year.
Syracuse welcomes Quinnipiac (3-26-5 | 2-15-5) for the final non-conference games of the regular season on Fri., Jan. 15 and Sat., Jan. 16. The Orange won its first game in program history on Oct. 18, 2008 against the Bobcats at the TD Banknorth Sports Center. Quinnipiac finished in 11th place in the ECAC last year.
League play takes over the remainder of the schedule. Mercyhurst (31-6-0 | 16-0-0), seven-time reigning league champions, invades the Salt City on Fri., Jan. 22 and Sat., Jan. 23. The Lakers, who finished the season No. 3 in the country, recorded the CHA's first NCAA Championship game appearance in conference history. Mercyhurst lost to No. 1 Wisconsin in the deciding match, 5-0. In last year's encounters between SU and MC, the Lakers prevailed in all four outings.
SU travels to Detroit on Fri., Jan. 29 and Sat., Jan. 30 for a set at Wayne State and then out to Western New York for two matches at Niagara on Fri., Feb. 5 and Sat., Feb. 6. The Orange closes out its home slate against Robert Morris on Fri., Feb. 12 and Sat., Feb. 13. SU's final two games of the regular season are at Mercyhurst on Fri. Feb. 26 and Sat., Fri. 27.
The 2010 CHA Championship Tournament begins on Thur., Mar. 4 at the City Sports Center Arena in Detroit. The NCAA Quarterfinals starts on Fri., Mar. 12.
Game times are yet to be determined. This schedule is tentative and some dates are subject to change.
