Megan Skelly dejectedly watched as the Mercyhurst players celebrated by thrusting the College Hockey America championship trophy high above their heads.

The sting was a familiar feeling for the deflated Syracuse team, which lost to the Lakers in the title game for the second consecutive season.

‘During the game I actually thought we were going to win. It was such a heartbreaker,’ Skelly said. ‘It was so hard to watch them get a trophy, standing there and celebrating on the ice. We’ve had some very chippy, tough games, and to see them win for so many years definitely fuels the fire.’

SU (10-21-3, 1-8-3 CHA) is set to renew its rivalry with Mercyhurst (22-6-3, 8-1-3 CHA) when the team travels to Moon Township, Pa., to square off against the top-seeded Lakers at noon Friday in the first round of the CHA tournament. Mercyhurst has won all nine conference championships since the CHA began in 2002, so the Orange needs a well-balanced effort to spark an upset and end the Lakers dominant run.

Head coach Paul Flanagan has had reason to cringe when his team faces Mercyhurst. The Orange has never recorded a win against the Lakers in its four-year program history, going 0-17-1 all-time against the Lakers. SU’s narrow 5-4 loss in last year’s CHA tournament championship was one of the closest games it has ever played against the Lakers.

The heartbreak remains with the SU players. Visions of the hoisted, beaming trophy remind them of what could have been. But the Orange geared its anger toward its struggles this season to try to avenge its losses to Mercyhurst and finally dismiss its bad fortunes.

Junior defender Jacquie Greco said Syracuse will use that championship loss as a source of motivation when the puck drops.

‘Every time we play Mercyhurst we use that (anger) to our advantage,’ Greco said. ‘We know how they play, we hate how they play and we would like nothing more than to beat them, especially in a playoff game when it really counts.’

The rivalry between the two programs has raged all season. During a regular-season matchup Feb. 10, emotions quickly escalated.

With time winding down in the third period and a probable 6-2 win at hand for the Lakers, senior Kelley Steadman reached over and ripped off an SU player’s helmet as she skated to the net. The Orange immediately retaliated and a scuffle broke out.

It was a cheap play by Steadman. But Flanagan said that his team will need to prove its toughness by taking those blows and earning the respect of the Mercyhurst players.

‘The penalty was a complete lack of sportsmanship on their part, but our team has to garner that respect,’ Flanagan said. ‘We shouldn’t be worried about what they might do. Instead, we need to worry about taking care of business ourselves. We need to beat this team.’

Strategically, the Orange will rely on short bursts of momentum to capitalize against the Lakers. That starts with sacrificing their bodies on defense. Blocked shots by defenders and big saves from sophomore goaltender Kallie Billadeau are small things that SU must do to win.

Beating Mercyhurst for the first time in program history will require the ultimate sacrifice. But Skelly said her moment of celebration against Mercyhurst is long overdue.

‘I’ve wanted to beat Mercyhurst for four years,’ Skelly said. ‘To beat them would be a huge relief. It’s like a stepping stone for the program of the future. We’re only focusing on one game at a time, but if we can get a win, it would be amazing.’

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Published on February 29, 2012 at 12:00 pm