In Friday’s exhibition game against Guelph, Syracuse’s offense seemed to be a bit unorganized. Players threw pucks at the net, with little to no semblance of order.

“The girls were just trying to get shots on net,” head coach Paul Flanagan said. “It was kind of a point of emphasis to just get shots on net to get some rebounds and get some ugly ones.”

The Orange showed its youth against University of Guelph, and Flanagan said the team will improve with time. SU opens the season on Friday at 7 p.m. at Northeastern and follows it with a 2 p.m. matchup with New Hampshire on Saturday.

Flanagan expects that as the season goes along, more and more structured plays will take form.

“It is a work in progress,” Flanagan said, “I would like to think some of the veterans will be a little more selective than just throwing it on net. I still understand if you’re a rookie just getting a shot on net until they get that confidence.”

Against Guelph, Syracuse registered 34 shots but only tallied three goals. This, Flanagan says, may be a result from the lack of power play success.

“We spent a lot of time on the power play,” Flanagan said “Just kind of breaking things down. Trying to keep it basic and moving the puck quickly.”

Syracuse is coming off of a 20-15-1 record last year, but has six freshman forwards this season. So, the Orange will rely heavily on veterans such as captain Margot Scharfe and winger Nicole Ferarra, Flanagan said.

In Friday’s matchup, Syracuse will face Northeastern, a team that went 23-11-2 on the season and made it all the way to the Women’s Hockey East Association title game. The Huskies have also cruised to four straight winning seasons, meaning it will be a tough matchup for sure, Scharfe said.

In its last three matchups against Northeastern, Syracuse is winless. The Orange was outscored 14-8 and lost the last two games 5-2.

SU’s other opponent, New Hampshire, is a less decorated program, but the Orange will still need to find better chances, something that the team struggled with last week, Flanagan said.

Neutral zone play is key to getting out in transition, which is one thing he wants to work on heavily in practice to create breakaways and odd man rushes to the net.

These breakaways on offense can help Syracuse get off to a quick start to the season.

“I think if we are smart on a breakout, we can find the stretch person,” Ferarra said. “Breakaways will definitely be a possibility.”

Although Syracuse has never beaten Northeastern, there is no shortage of confidence brewing in the locker room.

“I think they can be a little bit overconfident when it comes to playing us,” Scharfe said, “so I think we can be pretty good underdogs this weekend.”

Published on October 3, 2013 at 1:02 am

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