Ice Hockey

Burriss quickly adapts to Syracuse hockey with speed, coachability

Bryan Cereijo | Staff Photographer

Though she has to think and study more now, Syracuse's Alysha Burriss has had little trouble adjusting to college hockey.

Before Alysha Burriss even played in her first game with Syracuse, she was already placed at left wing on the second line and given a position on one of the team’s power play units.

“You get that opportunity from the coaches early on and it’s up to the athlete to make or break that situation,” SU head coach Paul Flanagan said. “It’s either, ‘I’m going to do good things and stay on this line or stay on the power play’ or ‘if I’m not successful, they’re probably going to have me on the third or fourth line.’”

Fourteen games into the season, Burriss has made the most of the opportunity.

She is tied for third on the team in points with four goals and five assists. Her three goals in four conference games lead the team and she’s recorded a point in each of SU’s (3-6-5, 2-3-1 College Hockey America) last five games.

While Flanagan attributes Burriss’ early success to her vision and instincts, her teammates credit her speed and drive.



“We knew particularly with Burriss, she had a real good line mate that they scored a ton of points last year in the (Provincial Women’s Hockey League), it’s U-19 hockey,” Flanagan said. “So, she got a lot of assists just by making smart plays and she scored her share of goals.”

Last year, Burriss scored 51 points in 36 games for the Durham West Junior Lighting, but she wasn’t sure how effective she would be in her first collegiate season.

It only took her two games to earn her first assist and three to net her first goal.

Burriss is pretty good at listening to advice, but sometimes has to be told the same thing a few times, junior defender Nicole Renault said. Flanagan said she’s very coachable and is good at taking constructive criticism.

“After the game we’ll watch some clips and we’ll kind of point out, ‘Should’ve done this instead,’ or after a shift I’ll come off and they’ll be like, ‘See when you did that, you should have done this instead,’” Burriss said of her coaches pointing out flaws in her defensive zone coverage.

One of Burriss’ biggest assets is her innate ability to see the ice, Flanagan said — something players frequently struggle with.

In the final seconds of an Oct. 19 draw with Connecticut, Burriss saw forward Jessica Sibley crashing toward the goal. Burriss sent the puck toward Sibley, who tipped it into the net and tied the game with .1 seconds remaining.

Sibley and Renault said Burriss’ speed helps her get open for passes and she gets to loose pucks.

In a tie with Northwestern on Oct. 10, Burriss beat two opponents to a loose puck in front of the net and buried it for Syracuse’s only goal of the game.

“She’s always moving, trying to get open,” Sibley said. “She wants the puck. She wants to score.”

But Burriss said because of the speed of the game and the physical strength of the players, she has to be smarter and quicker with the puck than she’s used to. She can’t skate through an entire team anymore.

“I’ve been doing OK, I think,” Burriss said. “I think I can do more sometimes or I can do better. I’m still learning a lot. I’m new at this.”

Jack Rose, [email protected], staff writer, contributed reporting to this article.





Top Stories