CHA Storylines: Syracuse University

I am sharing some broad College Hockey America (CHA) storylines, as I see them. I will tackle one team per post, in order of regular season standings from 2017-2018.

For reference, I’ve posted the CHA standings for the past seven years, below. Look how close the race between first and second is, for the past three years (click to enlarge):

Previously we discussed Robert Morris University Colonials, and the Mercyhurst University Lakers. Today it's Syracuse, located 240 miles east of Erie.

Syracuse University Orange

Location: Syracuse, NY

Joined the CHA: 2008

Coaching Staff: Paul Flanagan, Brendon Knight, Julie Knerr

2017-2018 Record: 13-21-2 (CHA 11-8-1 3rd place regular season, Eliminated in CHA Semi-Final)

2018-2019 Non-Conference Opponents: Boston College, Cornell, Clarkson, Princeton, Vermont, Minnesota or St. Lawrence (tournament), Wisconsin, Colgate, RPI. There are some one game series in there which is why there are so many.

The Orange joined the conference in 2008. They are coached by Paul Flanagan, Brendon Knight, and Julie Knerr. Prior to starting the program at Syracuse, Flanagan coached at Saint Lawrence in upstate New York for many years. The Saint Lawrence Saints were a program that Mercyhurst tried and tried to beat, but for as long as Flanagan was there, the program was a step ahead, not just beating Mercyhurst, but making Frozen Four appearances. Gina Kingsbury, current Director of Women's Hockey for Hockey Canada, was a star at SLU under Flanagan.

When Flanagan came to Syracuse I wondered if that ECAC success would translate to a CHA school. So far, although Syracuse has been respectable, they have not achieved the success that Flanagan saw at SLU, and are still looking for their first CHA regular season championship or tournament championship. They are coming off of six consecutive seasons of being over .500 in conference play, and have appeared in six CHA Tournament Championship games, in ten seasons.

Without a doubt, the main storyline at Syracuse is when will this team win a CHA Championship?

This lack of championship is a credit to how good the rest of the league is, and how good some of the individual talent is that has rolled through this league. Syracuse has had to face the likes of Meghan Agosta, Brianne McLaughlin, Nicole Hensley, and Brittany Howard, all individual talents that can take over a game. The lack of championship is also credited simply to bad luck. Just last year in the CHA Tournament, Syracuse took Mercyhurst to OT before conceding. In the title game RMU goaltender Elijah Milne-Price didn't have a great game. Would that have been a winnable game for Syracuse, had they been there? Definitely. Syracuse had beat Robert Morris in regular season play, no reason to not be able to in the tournament.

For a long time, CHA followers would say keep an eye on Syracuse, this is the year. And for good reason. In the past seven years, they have 4 second place finishes in league play, and one of those was only one point off of first. Looking at last year, Penn State gave RMU and Mercyhurst fits, tying each of them three times (and losing once to each of them). Meanwhile Syracuse went 3-0-1 against Penn State. Syracuse took Mercyhurst to OT in the regular season and in the CHA semi final. Mercyhurst prevailed in both cases but Syracuse is undeniably right there in the conversation for winning a CHA Tournament Championship, if not a regular season championship. In non-conference play the Orange got only one win, against Providence who took second in Hockey East.

This is the year I am going to say Penn State will make a leap to third in the conference and someone will drop to fourth. Probably at my peril, but I will say Syracuse will drop. Not because they are getting worse, but because Penn State is taking steps forward. Now, I remember what Ovechkin and the Capitals did when people finally gave up on them, after years of picking them to win. I will be ready and not too surprised if I have to eat my words.


One concern I have for the Orange this year, is their inexperience in net. Their roster only includes two goalies. Former Canada U18 team member Edith D'Astous Moreau was a freshman goalie last year, poised to take over the starting job but she is no longer on the roster. The Orange have defender Allie Munroe though, who recently attended Canada's Fall Festival, and who the Orange will rely on to lead the team. In net the Orange have Maddi Welch (senior) and Ady Cohen (junior), neither of whom has experience as a starter. I expect Maddi Welch to get the starting job against Boston College next weekend, the first game of Syracuse's season.

Why they're fun to cheer for: Because by all intents and purposes they should have a CHA Championship by now. You have to believe it's going to happen sometime, and as a sports fan you don't want to stop believing and have it happen right after.

What they're trying to prove: That a CHA Championship can come back to the state of NY. RIT, the other New York team, and undeniably a less talented hockey team than Syracuse, is two for two in CHA Championship games. That's got to drive Syracuse nuts, and fuel their desire to win.

Why they’ll win the CHA regular season: One thing that may help Syracuse is I expect the top half of the league to trade losses with each other. The Orange don't need to be perfect to win the conference, as RMU and Mercyhurst will have some conference losses for sure.

Why they won’t: No matter how good Allie Munroe is, the inexperience in net could prove costly for a team that already gives up too many goals in league play. Last year, the Orange GF/GA in conference play was 53/43. Mercyhurst, in 2nd place had just five more goals at 58, but almost 20 fewer goals against with just 24 goals against in league play.

The bottom line: Syracuse's goaltending is currently a question. It will determine how the season goes. I don't count them out in short term tournament play, but a CHA regular season championship will be a tall order this year.

CHA Storylines: Mercyhurst University

I am sharing some broad College Hockey America (CHA) storylines, as I see them. I will tackle one team per post, in order of regular season standings from 2017-2018.

For reference, I’ve posted the CHA standings for the past seven years, below. Look how close the race between first and second is, for the past three years (click to enlarge):

After writing about the Robert Morris University Colonials last week, now we go 120 miles north to Erie, Pa, home of the Mercyhurst Lakers.

Mercyhurst University Lakers

Location: Erie, Pa

Joined the CHA: 2002

Coaching Staff: Mike Sisti, Kelley Steadman, Beth Hanrahan

2017-2018 Record: 18-15-4 (CHA 13-4-3 2nd place regular season, CHA Tournament Champion)

2018-2019 Non-Conference Opponents: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Cornell, Union, Bemidji, Ohio State, Colgate

They Lakers' head coach is Mike Sisti, who started the program in 1999. Sisti has led the program to a lot of success over the years; they've done everything except win a National Championship.

Mercyhurst is one of five programs to have had just one Division I head coach - Syracuse, Merrimack, Holy Cross, and Boston University have also only known one head coach in their Division I history (some of which are admittedly short histories). Across all of Division I hockey, only Katie Stone of Harvard has been at the same program longer than Coach Sisti. She has been there since 1994, before the NCAA era even began.

Rounding out the Mercyhurst coaching staff is Mercyhurst alum Kelley Steadman, in her second year, and Beth Hanrahan who recently joined the team after coaching at Lindenwood. Beth played at Providence.

The Lakers are the only founding CHA team still in the league, a reflection of Mercyhurst's commitment to the program, and also a reflection of the fragility of NCAA Division I hockey outside of Minnesota and the Northeast. The Lakers have won 12 CHA tournaments, and won the regular season 14 out of 16 seasons. They received votes in top ten polls last year but only got into it in the final poll of the season, when they earned a #10 ranking after winning the CHA Tournament and losing 2-1 in OT to eventual National Champion, Clarkson Golden Knights.

This year's seniors have so far accumulated two CHA Tournament Championships and one regular season title in their NCAA careers. They look to go out winning, with a body of work exceeding that of the seniors on their arch rival RMU Colonials, who have two regular season championships and one CHA Tournament Championship.

The main storyline for the Mercyhurst Lakers is their plight to reclaim the CHA regular season title, for the first time since 2016. The Lakers inconsistency has cost them in recent years. Last year they dropped their conference opener vs Lindenwood, losing two points that would ultimately be the difference between first in second in league play. After that opening loss, the Lakers were pretty strong in conference play. Most impressively they split two games a piece against Robert Morris, and went 3-1 against Syracuse, including an overtime winner. Like RMU, Mercyhurst struggled against Penn State, going  1-0-3 against the Nittany Lions.

In order to win the conference this year the Lakers will need Nuutinen to keep her game at the level it was post Olympics, and all the Lakers must strive to match it.

Why they're fun to cheer for: Because I'm an alumna. But also because of the longevity of their dominance of the CHA. You keep thinking that at some point they need to fall off, and to some extent they inevitably have, but other than 2017, the Lakers have won something in the CHA every year of its existence. Even last year, the Lakers didn't have a player score more than 29 points, and yet they beat RMU in the Tournament. The Lakers ability to surprise, and gut out wins keeps them interesting.They simply don't have gaudy stats, but to watch them play you can tell they are well coached, talented, and never quit. And they've won because of it.

What they're trying to prove: First and foremost the Lakers want to take care of league play. They want to quell conversation that says the CHA is anyone's for the taking. Nothing is more important than winning the CHA regular season and Tournament. But the Lakers would love to be a staple in the top ten again as well. To be in the top ten they will need to get some wins against ranked opponents, as well as not have any missteps in league play.

Why they’ll win the CHA regular season: It's just what they do. Even if you only look at 2011 to last year, the Lakers have won five out of seven regular season championships. With the talent of Nuutinen leading the way on offense, and a historically strong defense, the Lakers will be tough to beat.

Why they won’t: Special teams often make the difference. The Lakers power play was 5th in the CHA last year operating at 12.82 percent overall. RMU (1st in CHA) was at 20.47%.

The bottom line: I think this team will be better than last years. Like last year, they need to stick together through a challenging non conference schedule, and fight for what will become some special wins. A little more consistency against the bottom half of the conference should generate enough points to win them the conference.

Celebrating the 20th Season

I went back to Mercyhurst this weekend for an alumni event celebrating this year being the 20th year of the women's hockey program. I was excited to go and see old friends and watch Mercyhurst play an exhibition against the reigning CWHL champion, the Markham Thunder.  I was also excited to sleep in, expecting to get so much sleep and rest with a weekend away from my kids. I should not be surprised, but I actually got less sleep and rest than usual, but it was definitely worth it.

A highlight of the weekend was that Mercyhurst retired jersey number 17, worn by CJ, the first captain, and only four year captain in program history. Let me tell you a CJ story. So when I was a freshman, the program was in its third year of existence, second official year of Division I. The team played in a little league called the Great Lakes Women's Hockey Association (GLWHA), along with Findlay University and Wayne State University. In the year before I arrived, the Lakers went 1-1-2 against Findlay in league play, and 4-0-0  against Wayne State. Findlay went 3-0-1 against Wayne State, so Mercyhurst won the regular season and Findlay and Mercyhurst met in the first ever GLWHA championship. Alas, Findlay won that 2001 Conference Tournament  in a 2-1 decision despite being outshot by Mercyhurst. I am told the loss did not go over well. It may have cast a pall over the girls' summer.

Enter me and five other freshmen and one transfer in the fall of 2001, the second season of GLWHA league play. The original seniors (who were only juniors at the time, we actually had no seniors), and the sophomores brought us up to speed on the lay of the land: we hated Findlay (not really, just hockey wise) and had to win this year. It wasn't going to be easy; we respected them, and last year they proved they were better than us in the Championship game. Ok, noted. The message was repeated throughout the year, often delivered by our captain. So we went about our business and had the good fortune to once again win the regular season of the GLWHA. This time we hosted the tourney at Mercyhurst. The tourney was just a one game Championship between the first and second teams in the league, of course, it being a three team league and all.

Ok, so it's Sunday, February 24th, 2002. I'd played on a line with CJ all year, me on the left, CJ at center and another Lyndsay on right wing. It was awesome playing with them. Lyndsay was strong and skilled and fast. CJ was very slight, but played really big and was just smart. She was the first Laker to reach 100 points, and in an era where every freshman class was better than the last, CJ was a big piece of the offence until her very last game, an impressive feat. She pretty much led by example, wasn't exactly a loud rah rah type. She wore her love for hockey on her sleeve, something a few other girls on the team did, and something I had never seen before, but admired. CJ had a little piece of tape on her stick where the blade met the shaft of the stick. On the tape she would write something like "Never Quit." I was never the type to quit but I was also never the type to write it on my stick, and I spent a lot of time that season sitting next to her on the bench, noticing the writing on the tape.

So there we are at home, haven't lost to Findlay all year, playing in the Tournament Championship, and what are we doing? Losing. We were down 1-0, about halfway through the first. End of the first period? Still down. In the second period we had two early power plays but came up empty handed. Now I am not sure when she said it, but at some point I was sitting next to CJ on the bench, and whether it just after a shift or after surveying the scene on the ice, at some point she yelled "we are not losing this game!" There may have been an f word in there but I can't be certain, and don't want to sully her good name, so let's go without. Now I am nothing if not impressionable, and remember I said CJ was not the rah rah type, so to me this was a rather forceful announcement. Could she back it up? Would we back it up? Was CJ having a Mark Messier moment? I thought she was a Gretzky fan. So many things to think about, best to just play hockey, though. Not one word of a lie, CJ set up a goal a couple shifts later. CJ to Randi to me, little tip and in the net most likely. Tied 1-1. No skating down the bench for high fives in those days, it was a different time. But I'm sure I got back to the bench, sat down next to CJ, slightly pleased, and awaited our next shift. All these years later, I remember her words on the bench, and more.

Tied at the start of the third, there were three goals in the first five minutes of the period, leaving Mercyhurst with a 3-2 lead, and eventual 4-2 win, our first and only GLWHA tournament championship. Amazingly, after the GLWHA teams formed the CHA, Mercyhurst has won 12 more conference championships since that time, in a league that has grown in membership and talent. 

Lest you think the GLWHA Championship was the only big game that day, there was another contest going down in Salt Lake City, Utah: Canada vs the USA. Canada was trying to win its first Olympic gold medal in fifty years, America was trying to win on home soil, as was done in Lake Placid twenty two years earlier. The Canadians won, and for us Lakers, most of whom were Canadian, we now had two things to celebrate. Campus was empty, everyone was on break, but as always having each other was enough. We put on Canada gear, sweatpants in a lot of cases, and went out and celebrated.

It is now sixteen years later. I am proud of the success of the program, and am happy that young women continue to get an opportunity to play Division I hockey at Mercyhurst. About 25 of us got together for two nights, one in Canada gear, sweatpants in a lot of cases (at the hotel), and we celebrated.

CHA storylines: Robert Morris University

With the season approaching I am sharing some broad College Hockey America (CHA) storylines, as I see them. I will tackle one team per post, in order of regular season standings from 2017-2018.

In 2018-2019 regular season play, I think any of Mercyhurst, Penn State, Robert Morris or Syracuse could win the regular season, but I don’t care to project beyond that.

College Hockey America is one of four Division I NCAA women’s hockey conferences. It was created in 2002 (same year Hockey East) and is home to teams in Western NY, Pa, and Missouri. At six teams, the CHA has the smallest membership of any conference. Current membership includes Lindenwood University, Mercyhurst University, Penn State University, Robert Morris University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Syracuse University.

For reference, I’ve posted the CHA standings for the past seven years, below. Look how close the race between first and second is, for the past three years (click to enlarge):

 On to the storylines.

Robert Morris University Colonials

Location: Moon Township, PA (Pittsburgh suburb)

Joined the CHA: 2005

Coaching Staff: Paul Colontino, Logan Bittle, Chelsea Walkland

2017-2018 Record: 21-8-4 (CHA 14-3-3, 1^st place regular season, 5-3 loss to Mercyhurst in CHA final)

2018-2019 non-conference opponents: St. Lawrence, Clarkson, RPI, Colgate, Minnesota State, Cornell, Minnesota.

The Colonials are coached by Paul Colontino, who has led the team since 2011. He began coaching women’s hockey in 2000 as a Mercyhurst graduate assistant, then spent time with the North Dakota program before returning to Mercyhurst as an associate head coach, and ultimately getting the RMU head coach job.

Although the era of current CHA membership began in 2012-2013, I go as far back as Colontino’s first year at RMU when considering this era of CHA results. That was a significant year because the Colonials beat Mercyhurst in the CHA Conference Tournament final to win the program’s first ever Conference Tournament Championship. It also happened to be the first time Mercyhurst had ever not won the CHA Conference Tournament, so it was a big deal in the CHA, and a big deal for a first year head coach. RMU defeating Mercyhurst was a taste of what was to come. Years later, the Mercyhurst RMU rivalry is one of the best in women’s college hockey as evidenced this season when both series were splits, and the CHA final ended up featuring RMU and Mercyhurst, yet again.

RMU has had good and bad years since winning that first Conference Tournament Championship, its worst finish being fourth place finishes in conference play, and its best finishes being the past two years with two regular season championships, and winning the conference tournament in 2017.

Although the Colonials didn’t win the CHA tournament this year, their most impressive feat to me was that they didn’t have a single bad loss on their record. Hockey fans will point out that the Colonials played a weak schedule, with only 5 games against teams ranked in the top ten. This is true, but firstly RMU went 1-3-1 in those games against Colgate and OSU (not good, not terrible considering the opponents) and secondly, I don’t think people give enough credit to the consistency that is demonstrated in never having a bad loss.

The Colonials had 8 losses last year – three to OSU (2^nd place in the WCHA), three to Mercyhurst, one to Syracuse, and one to Maine (3^rd place in Hockey East). None of those teams swept RMU; RMU got at least one win against each of those teams too. The Colonials had three ties against PSU (we’ll get to that when we talk about PSU), and one tie against Colgate (National Runner Up). PSU and Syracuse are the only teams in that group that had losing records.  

The polls voters respected RMU’s body of work enough that RMU spent almost the entire season ranked in the top ten, even after Mercyhurst defeated them in the CHA playoffs. It was only after Mercyhurst’s NCAA Tournament showing that pollsters swapped RMU out of that number 10 spot, for Mercyhurst.

Hockeywise, this year’s non conference schedule is tougher than last year, so we’ll get a better understanding of just how good the Colonials are, whether that’s an 8-10^th place top ten team, or an emerging powerhouse that can beat the best in the nation.

Why RMU is fun to cheer for: This team played with a certain cockiness and swagger last year, from the way they move the puck on offense, to their goal celebrations to their twitter account. All are entertaining. 

There is nothing cocky about this particular anecdote, but somewhere out there on the internet is a tweet of Brittany Howard’s overtime goal vs Ohio State, followed by the individual and team celebration. Behind the mass of RMU bodies hugging you see the two Ohio State players that were in the penalty box sadly glide across the ice to the now emptying OSU bench. The juxtaposition is perfection, and it is this sort of thing plus video highlights and game recaps on their team site that you can expect from the RMU social media team. In a world where coverage isn’t easy to come by, RMU is worth following just for that.

The Colonials offense finished third in the nation, averaging 3.7 goals per game, behind only Clarkson and Boston College, something not usually expected from a CHA squad. They are involved with Pittsburgh girls hockey, sponsoring a “little sister” initiative that matches RMU Colonials with young hockey players in the community. Lastly, as far as in game atmosphere, the Colonials play in a small rink with seats that make you feel like you’re right on top of the action and on occasion they bust out the band to build up the hype. Other than the fact that they are a conference foe, this is a fun team for any hockey fan to cheer for.

What they’re trying to prove this year: That they are more than just Brittany Howard. The Colonials have been a member of the CHA since 2005, and are proud of their history and the players who’ve worn their jersey. The most known Colonial is probably US Olympian and Isobel Cup winner Brianne McLaughlin, but it wasn’t until Brittany Howard that the Colonials gained sustained national recognition and earned a bit of hype. Howard’s fantastic and the program is clearly proud of her, but this year they seek to remind us that the rest of the team is pretty good too. The top ten CHA point earners last year included five Colonials, three of who are returning – Kirsten Welsh and Maggie Lague on defense, and Jaycee Gebhard on forward.

Why they’ll win the CHA regular season: This team scored 122 goals last year, 28 more than second place Mercyhurst. Even with Howard gone, they’ve got offensive punch.

Why they won’t: There’s not a ton of separation in the league, and in ultra-competitive league play even the most torrid offense can be stifled. The Colonials struggled in particular with PSU in the regular season, a fourth place CHA team they tied three times.

Next up, the Mercyhurst Lakers. If you made it this far, you might enjoy this little highlight reel here. This is all Howard; we're going to see a different star or stars in the year ahead:

👀👀👀

We think @brithoward3’s heroics in #9 @RMUWHockey’s upset of #5 Ohio State are @SportsCenter #SCtop10 worthy. What about you?! #colonialpride pic.twitter.com/HaN5g68xKz

— RMU Athletics (@RMUAthletics) November 26, 2017

Fresh Slate

17 years ago this weekend, I moved to Erie to go to school and play hockey for the Mercyhurst Lakers. For me, playing college hockey was daunting, it was difficult, and it was mentally exhausting. It was also a lot of fun, and looking back now and ignoring the daily grind, I would even say it was great.

This year's games start in a few weeks, and until then teams will endure practices only. I estimate there are close to 200 freshmen NCAA Div I women's hockey players, spread out across the 35 teams, experiencing their first taste of college hockey right now.

I remember the ritual of walking up the steps of the rink on a fall day, opening the doors to the MIC and stepping from the hot outside temperature, and right into the cool rink. The rubbery rink smell and the cool air were more noticeable in the fall, when I'd been away for a while. I still love going back to Mercyhurst, walking up the steps, and opening the doors to the rink.

Our rink is modest, but it never occurred to me to think it was anything less than perfect. Located just across the parking lot from the Mercy Apartments, if us freshmen lived any closer to the rink we would have been living inside it. It's funny, when I go back there now the rink reminds me of a house that has been made a home. I didn't realize how bare it was in the early 2000's, when the rink was only 10 years old, and the program younger than that. Today, there is actually what I guess you would call rink decor. The trophy case, the Agosta display (which needs updating now for Olympians Nuutinen, Bram and Tanskanen), Conference Championship banners, NCAA Tournament banners, Conference Membership banners speak to the history of a program now entering its 20th year. 

For my first three years, the women's locker room was at the east end of the rink, same side as the concession stand. The locker room had a small entrance with a stick rack on the right hand side. Our sticks hung in horizontal rows. Before the days of one piece composites, in the fall of 2001 you mostly saw composite shafts (Easton Z Bubbles were the cool thing) with wood blades, or a different kind of one piece - an all wooden stick.

Past the sticks, just before entering the main locker room, a piece of paper detailing the practice plan was taped to the door, every single day. Towards the end of the week a scouting report would get taped up there too. We would read the practice plan, then get dressed in the rectangular locker room, operating 10 minutes ahead of time for as long as we were part of the team. Some people arrived early, with time to leisurely get ready and bs before practice. Others rushed in after a class ended, boxed lunch in hand, and scrambled to be on time, no fault of their own. We dressed in our stalls, assigned seating, but it was small enough you were close to everyone, a part of any conversation you wanted to be.

An old TV sat in the corner on one of the stalls. We played Rock 'Em Sock 'Em videos on mute prior to our games, while music of every and any genre blasted. Usually though, country and pop. My junior year, Party For Two by Shania Twain got air time, another year, Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy was big. That sort of stuff. We were tough on the ice, not so much off of it.

In one corner was a little shelving unit with tape and laces, and a heating gun and a screwdriver and such. The was stereo on top of that. We only used clear tape on our socks on game days, I assume because of cost. So we used stick tape on our socks for practice. I had never considered such a thing, but what do you know, stick tape works just as well as clear sock tape at holding your shin pads in place. I bet things have changed by now.

I think there was a water tank next to the corner shelving unit, and a dehumidifier that the rookies were supposed to empty each day when they cleaned the locker room, next to that. The carpet was green, the walls were green with blue and white striping. Light oak colored stalls. My freshman year was the third year of the program so there were only two annual quotes on the wall space above the stalls. If I recall, the quote from the first year of the program was something along the lines of "The first thing we learned, if we want to get anywhere, we have to get there together."

Once our gear was on, Coach would come in to say a few words, and off we'd go. On the way out the first door there was four words listed: Pride Purpose Commitment Excellence. I'd grab my stick off the rack, and go through the second door. Above the second door it said, "Today We Got Better." Well, that was the goal, but God knows it wasn't always reality.

Stick in hand, out of the dressing room, a few steps across the black rubber floor, and onto a fresh sheet of ice. Pucks everywhere, and another day to play hockey.

Go get 'em rooks. Through thick and thin, just keep skating. You will do great. Have fun.