Stephanie Grossi walked out of Syracuse’s locker room without any socks, her bare feet touching the cold concrete of Tennity Ice Pavilion.

The bizarre sight caught the eye of Syracuse head coach Paul Flanagan, who asked his star forward what happened to her socks.

Grossi said she lost them, and then declined her coach’s offer for a new pair.

Grossi, Syracuse’s leader in points (12) and assists (nine) has it in her nature to defer. Just nine games into the season, she’s cemented herself as a pivotal piece to Syracuse’s (4-5, 2-1 College Hockey America) attack and has drawn comparisons to a quarterback for her innate passing ability.

Off the ice, Grossi is laid back and casual, dancing in the locker room and cracking jokes with her teammates, but it’s been a work in progress to translate the more carefree demeanor to the ice. After working through an early-season scoring drought, Grossi is finally starting to find her footing with a simpler approach.

“I just think we have to guard against her thinking too much,” Flanagan said. “She’s a very cerebral player, very intelligent person … She’s just got to keep it simple.”

Sometimes, Grossi can get stuck in her own head, placing pressure on herself when she’s not scoring or making a play. For Flanagan, it’s a matter of making sure she doesn’t get too caught up in herself, but rather let things unfold before her.

Whether planted in the corner or streaking down the wing, the forward has what “you can’t teach:” the ability to look ahead and find someone before the play develops.

Left-handed, Grossi will often look down into the corner on the power play. She described herself as a “backdoor option” near the post, and so far this season, has recorded an assist in all but two games.

“Instinctively, she’s a passer,” Flanagan said. “She’s a playmaker … she’s happy in her role, I think, in terms of garnering points.”

But through the first five games of the season, Grossi had failed to register a goal, and Flanagan suggested it had begun to weigh on Grossi’s mind. On Oct. 21 against RIT, Grossi opened the floodgates and registered a hat trick.

First, she deked the goalkeeper. Then she “undressed” a defender. Both shots soared into the upper corner of the net with pinpoint accuracy.

“She just has what coach Paul (Flanagan) calls a killer instinct,” Alysha Burriss said. When she sees the puck, like her eyes light up and she’s ready to go.”

Since her big game against RIT, Flanagan said that Grossi has started to settle down. The weight has been lifted, and Grossi’s play is finally emulating the looseness exhibited in the locker room, where she’ll spontaneously burst out into song and dance.

Her scoring troubles seemingly behind her, the sophomore has found her voice in the locker room and her ability on the ice. It “carries over,” she says. Her ability to score is evidenced by what she does when she’s at her best.

“The trick,” Flanagan said, “is keeping it going.”

Published on November 3, 2015 at 11:41 pm

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