It was bound to happen eventually. The Syracuse ice hockey team had been knocking on the door of victory in its first five games.
Playing against the best programs in the nation, the Orange (1-4-1) suffered three one-goal setbacks. But at last, Saturday afternoon against Providence - yet another highly touted opponent - SU prevailed, 3-1, to earn its first victory of the 2009-10 campaign.
For head coach Paul Flanagan's second-year squad, it was the most significant win in the program's short history. Providence received the most votes of any team not ranked in the Top 10 last week.
"It all came together," junior co-captain Julie Rising said. "We were hoping it would come together sooner than that, but it all came, so I was happy about that."
Syracuse's other co-captain, junior Stefanie Marty, powered the Orange over the Friars (3-2-1), with a pair of second-period scores. After surrendering a goal early in the third period, sophomore forward Janelle Malcolm put the game out of reach with any empty-netter in the game's final minutes.
In its opening five games, SU held a lead for just 27 minutes. The lone lead came over the course of the first two periods against No. 3 New Hampshire, a game that SU eventually lost, 2-1.
Building up a 2-0 edge at Providence gave Syracuse the confidence it needed to hold on for the win, following so many close defeats to start the season.
"It was pretty frustrating," Rising said. "Because we had teams so close, like one-goal games, but it's just patience."
Though he didn't lose patience with his team, Flanagan made an in-game adjustment during the Orange's 3-2 loss at the Huskies (2-3-1) Friday that would help his team get the win the next day.
Looking for more cohesion on the ice and willing to mix things up, the coach moved freshman forward Isabel Menard to the same line as Rising and Marty. The switch paid dividends: Menard assisted on both of Marty's scores against the Friars.
"Sometimes, so much of it is chemistry," Flanagan said. "They had played earlier in the year together. We just kind of rekindled that. You get a goal and start feeling better about yourself and start playing better."
A year ago, the Orange opened its inaugural season by losing its first six games, before finally topping Quinnipiac. However, none of its nine wins from a year ago came against an established program, like Providence.
SU is hopeful that its first win of the season is only the beginning of what will eventually become a fruitful and successful campaign. Now that Syracuse knows it is capable of not only being competitive against top teams, but is also capable of winning, the team feels more confident.
"We've come close against some great teams," Flanagan said. "But for us, hopefully, that (win) is just the beginning. We could finally celebrate after a game. You just want to build on that. So much of it's about confidence, especially for the younger players, just feeling better about themselves."
However, Flanagan doesn't expect his team to be over-confident following just a single win. After all, the road won't get any easier for the Orange, which faces another tall task this weekend against a talented RPI (2-2-2) squad. The schedule will continue to present challenges throughout the season.
Sophomore forward Janelle Malcolm, who is tied with Marty for the team lead in goals with four, said the Orange had already been gaining confidence from its performance against the likes of New Hampshire and Minnesota. But at this stage for the young program, win or lose, it is all about improving.
"Obviously we want to win games," said Malcolm. "And hopefully we'll get lots of wins, but it's about getting better. And we are."
jgnolan@syr.edu
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