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When Marielle McHale was walking to a Syracuse lacrosse game last spring, she was surprised to get a call from her former ice hockey coach Britni Smith. McHale was just a few weeks removed from what she thought was her final collegiate hockey game. But Smith had other plans.

While McHale already used up a medical redshirt for her fifth season, she still had one more year of eligibility due to COVID-19. When Smith was constructing her roster, she knew she wanted the forward to return to SU.

“She’s someone that when we’re looking at building our vision of our culture and our program, we wanted her to be a part of that foundation and a part of making sure that we get these first two years right,” Smith said.

For McHale the decision was easy. She had felt weird working out “without a purpose.” As long as her graduate program was possible to complete alongside another year of hockey, she was in. The decision changed the Syracuse women’s hockey record books. When the sixth-year stepped onto the ice for the 165th time during SU’s 4-1 loss to Mercyhurst Saturday, McHale moved past Victoria Klimek for the most games played in program history.

“If you would have asked me my freshman year I probably would have said you’re crazy if you had asked me would I come back my sixth year, but here I am,” McHale said.

In her first year at SU, McHale skated in all but four 2018-19 games. She contributed to the Orange’s first College Hockey America tournament title.

The championship-winning team was built similarly to the 2023-24 roster with youth and experienced players, where McHale served as an alternate captain. As a freshman, McHale learned under upperclassmen Allie Munroe, Brooke Avery and Lindsay Eastwood — all of whom went on to play professionally. The team tried to create an environment where “everyone can be friends,” according to Eastwood.

From that point, a championship standard was set for Syracuse. But SU and McHale were met with obstacles a season later.

In the second month of the 2019-20 season, McHale suffered a concussion. She was ruled out for the season in late October. After this, McHale struggled with the loud sounds of practices and games. It wasn’t new for her, as she experienced concussions in high school at Williston Northampton School (M.A.).

Beyond the struggles of McHale’s ongoing head injury, she and the rest of the team were sent home due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic a few months later. But for a recovering McHale, she said it was possibly the “best thing that could have ever happened to me.”

In Florida, McHale’s dad, Michael, encouraged her to go on walks and bike rides. With extended time off, McHale had more time to train for the upcoming season.

Though the effects of the pandemic were still felt, McHale and the Orange won their second CHA title in 2022. As the team was celebrating the second conference title in program history, the biggest transition in SU history was simultaneously happening. Paul Flanagan, who was at the helm of the SU program for all 14 years, retired.

With a brand new coaching staff, McHale took on a leadership role like she’d seen teammates hold in her first three years with the program. As the team faced a mass exodus and entrance of players after the 2022-23 season, it relied heavily on McHale’s leadership. Smith said McHale was an easy choice as an assistant captain for the 2023-24 season.

“She’s taken a much larger role this year, not only in her minutes played, but also she’s playing second-line center for us,” Smith said. “So her ability to shut down other lines on other teams and play a larger role in those areas (has grown).”

As her role on the ice and in the locker room grew, McHale balanced a student-athlete schedule contrarian to most student-athletes. As a graduate student, she balanced an assistantship, internship and school work with hockey.

After 165 Division I hockey games, McHale’s athletic career has come to an end. But she hopes that her time with college athletics continues. In SU’s locker room, she often helped her teammates make their academic schedules. McHale met with the hockey team’s academic coordinator Justin Vaught, who recommended her to do a Certificate of Advanced Study in intercollegiate athletic advising and support. Now, McHale wants to become an academic coordinator.

“Syracuse was always in the back of my mind when I was going through the recruiting experience in high school, and then when I got here I immediately fell in love with it,” McHale said.

Published on February 22, 2024 at 12:36 am