Syracuse has never beat Mercyhurst. But if there was ever a time to break that streak, it’s now.

Mercyhurst sits in first place with 26 points, but Syracuse, fresh off of a two-game sweep of the Rochester Institute of Technology, is nipping right at the Lakers’ heels with 25 points. The pair of wins over RIT extended SU’s season-high winning streak to eight games and clinched at least second place in the conference. But SU is gunning for more: head coach Paul Flanagan’s 300th career win, first place and home ice in the conference tournament.

And the Orange is talking like it’s ready.

“This weekend is huge,” senior forward Holly Carrie-Mattimoe said. “I think we’ve all been marking this weekend on our calendar, and me and (Jacquie Greco) have never beaten Mercyhurst and none of the girls here have, so it’ll be huge.”

On the ice, Mercyhurst (22-6-1, 13-3-0 College Hockey America) is a tough, driving team. The Lakers skate bravely in small areas, willing to pay the price, Flanagan said. Syracuse (18-11-1, 12-3-1 CHA) has to make them pay.

“They do some things very well and certainly have a physical aspect to their game,” Flanagan went on to say. “We need to be tough around the net, both offensively and defensively, one of the things we are trying to prepare our team for.”

Earlier in the season, Mercyhurst swept Syracuse in a two-game set by a combined score of 5-1.

While the Orange struggled to score in those games, it had six one-goal wins during its eight-game streak, highlighting its defense-first mentality with plenty of late-game dramatics sprinkled in.

“The defense has been great,” junior goaltender Kallie Billadeau said. “Sometimes when a team is on a roll like this you get the lucky bounces, and this team really hasn’t ever had that, so it’s nice to be on the other side for once.”

As if to add any more pressure for the Orange this weekend, Flanagan is going for his 300th career win of all time. While he brushed it off when asked about it, saying he doesn’t pay attention to all of that, Greco said she wants to get Flanagan No. 300 this weekend.

“You see coach (Jim) Boeheim with 900-plus wins and it’s just another stepping stone to our program,” Greco said. “We need to show women’s hockey that we are a program up-and-coming and going to be in the top 10 for the next couple years, so there is no better time than now.”

Before Flanagan took the head coaching job at Syracuse in 2008, he led St. Lawrence to five NCAA Frozen Four appearances, beating Mercyhurst 12 out of 14 times along the way.

But now, he stands behind the Orange bench and coaches a team that has never beaten the Lakers. While he described the frustration of being on the other end of such a streak, Flanagan just wants his team to relish playing Mercyhurst, and refrain from the oh-no-not-them-again mentality.

“We have to embrace they are the team we have been chasing,” said Flanagan. “We can’t dwell on the past. We have got to move forward. A sweep this weekend, wouldn’t that be nice?”

With all of the storylines surrounding this weekend’s series, one thing is certain – if the Orange is ever going to beat Mercyhurst, there is no better opportunity to prove they can than now.

“I don’t think there could be a more perfect time than this weekend. It is the most important series we’ve ever had against them,” Greco said. “We’ve come so close so many times. We owe a big beating to them.”

Published on February 14, 2013 at 1:52 am

Contact Bryan: bwrubin@syr.edu