Paul Flanagan wanted something different.

He played ice hockey at St. Lawrence for four years. He worked as an assistant coach on the men’s team for 10 seasons. He then took over the reigns of the women’s team for another nine seasons.

Flanagan was happy there. It came with the success. Three NCAA tournament appearances with the men’s team. Five Frozen Four appearances with the women’s team, including four straight from 2003-07. A 230-83-24 record at the helm of the Lady Saints to go along with numerous coaching awards.

For Flanagan, everything was good. But he craved something new. So when Syracuse asked him to take over the infant program it was starting following the 2008 season, he decided it was the challenge he had been waiting for.

‘I had been at St. Lawrence for 20 years, and I had 20 great years there,’ he said. ‘But this was just an opportunity to start a program, start it from scratch and try to put my print on it, so to speak. … Maybe I was just getting a little antsy. We had had a lot of success, and maybe that challenge was just kind of pulling at me a little bit.’

Less than three years later, Flanagan’s prints are all over the program. So much so that his team is ranked No.2 in the conference. Yes, there were struggles in the beginning. Lack of numbers and adequate facilities hurt the young Orange. But there has already been a vast turnaround. Syracuse enters its third season vying for a College Hockey America conference championship, which, Flanagan said, puts the team in the mix for an NCAA tournament berth.

And the players believe it all starts with their head coach.

‘He is the face of the franchise,’ junior forward Lisa Mullan said. ‘I think that’s why we’ve gone past anyone’s expectations, because he knows who to bring in and he knows how to use what he’s got, to work with what he’s got. And he uses every single skill and asset in every single player he has.’

Then and now

First-year expectations for the Orange were low, to say the least. Mullan said some of the bigger goals included not getting scored on and not looking like a first-year team.

But with 20 players on the roster and no home locker room or workout facility to be found, not looking like a first-year team was a little tougher than it sounded.

‘First year, I think it was a struggle just to get through the season,’ junior forward Megan Skelly said. ‘We had lots of obstacles in our way. We didn’t have (facilities). We were shoved in a box.’

And that all showed on the ice. Six losses by three goals or more. Ten games scoring a single goal or being shut out. A final record of 9-16-3.

It was rough. But Flanagan figured it would be.

‘I think that understanding how difficult it is recruiting-wise and how much more competitive it is,’ he said. ‘When I took over the St. Lawrence program, it was two years old, and it was easier back then. It was just a little bit easier to turn something around quicker. I knew this would be more of a challenge, and it would be hard to duplicate that.’

But things got significantly better just one year later, thanks to some new faces brought in by Flanagan. Eight new freshmen and a transfer joined the Orange ranks. And it was more than just added depth. It was quality.

Brittaney Maschmeyer transferred from St. Lawrence to reunite with her old coach for her senior season. She was elected an assistant captain by her teammates and powered the SU defense.

Flanagan also lured in freshman forward Isabel Menard, one of the most sought-after recruits in the nation, by also bringing in her twin sister Talia. They said they didn’t always plan on coming to the same school, but Flanagan knew bringing both in would help pull them to SU.

‘I think we’ve ended up at the same school because we liked it,’ Isabel said in an interview last season. ‘We both like it here, and our role on the team helped us pick this team.’

Talia is still a bit of a project for Flanagan, only seeing limited action in every game last year. But Isabel went on to lead the Orange in scoring, earned CHA Rookie of the Year honors and was a first-team All-League member.

Now entering the program’s third year, Syracuse has a full 25-member roster. Ten incoming freshmen and defensive transfer Ashley Cockell from hated Mercyhurst gives the Orange even more quality depth than a year ago.

And with just over a week of practices so far this year, Flanagan can already see the talent level rising.

‘I notice in our practices just how much more competitive we are and how much more skilled we are,’ he said. ‘Rather than having just a few players that could do certain things who are consistent, now we’ve got quite a few. That’s the big improvement. The numbers, the depth and, I guess, the quality in the numbers just keeps getting better.’

The players can see it, too. And again, they know it’s Flanagan who is responsible.

‘I think without him, we wouldn’t have the recruits we have today,’ Skelly said. ‘He draws in a lot of the players just because of his reputation as a good coach.’

Making a statement

Last February, the Orange hit its low point of the season with a 1-0 loss to CHA bottom-feeder Robert Morris. To Flanagan, it was simply not acceptable. The end of the year was fast approaching, with playoffs just around the corner. Yet the team still had no energy in the home game against its conference foe.

He had to do something to make sure his team got the point. So he called a team meeting the next morning before the Orange’s second game with Morris. Flanagan announced Skelly and forward Janelle Malcolm, two key contributors to the Orange offense, would not dress for the game that afternoon.

‘It was definitely a shock when that happened,’ Mullan said Tuesday, looking back on the decision. ‘But I think everybody understood that it was a wake-up call to everyone.’

And wake up the Orange is exactly what it did. Syracuse won the game that afternoon, coming from behind for a 3-2 victory over the Colonials.

Flanagan acknowledged after the game that it could have gone differently. SU could have lost, and questions about that decision could have come up. But the Orange players have too much faith and too much belief in what their coach does for them to lose confidence in him.

‘It sucked, obviously,’ Skelly said. ‘But everyone looks up to Coach, and they expect him to make the best decision. We have that trust in him when we come to the rink every day.’

And that faith in Flanagan does not simply start by being a member of the Orange. He builds relationships with all his players, so he knows how to handle each individual.

‘Figuring out an athlete’s personality or trying to get to know an athlete’s personality is pretty important, because it matters on the bench,’ he said. ‘Sometimes it matters how you approach that person, whether it’s constructive criticism or just any type of feedback that you give them. Sometimes it’s nice to know and understand what they’re all about.’

And the players can see it. They notice he greets everyone when they walk into the team locker room before practice. They notice how he handles each player a little differently.

He won’t ever let laziness or mistakes go unattended. He will stop practice and yell or briefly pull his players aside. Players can set up a meeting with him, whether to discuss what they need to improve upon or to simply talk about school. And it helps him coach up every individual to the fullest.

‘He sees things in players that other coaches don’t,’ Mullan said. ‘He can see potential in players. He has a really good knack for what to do when. When to get us fired up, when to make us scared, when to make us have confidence. He’s really good with that.’

And even in a situation in which Flanagan decides to make a statement to his team, like he did last February prior to Syracuse’s second matchup with Morris, the Orange players’ confidence in him never falters.

‘He’s the best coach in the league,’ said former SU-goalie Lucy Schoedel after SU’s win over the Colonials. ‘Honestly, the best.’

Leaving his prints

Entering this season, the expectations are drastically different from what they were just two years ago. The Orange is set on a CHA title and beating out conference rival No. 3 Mercyhurst. Surviving the season as an infant program is no longer the biggest worry.

‘I think we’re over the, ‘Oh, we’re new,’ stage,’ Mullan said. ‘That’s not an excuse anymore. We’re here, we’re in the league, and we want to be noticed.’

The confidence is there, and with it comes the excitement. The forward lines have another year of experience with each other. Syracuse came close to knocking off Mercyhurst twice at the end of last season, but fell just a little short.

Flanagan has brought in even more quality depth this year. He has gained the trust of his players and has their full confidence in him.

He came to Syracuse looking to leave his mark on a new program. In his mind, he has left a few prints, with more to come.

And in his players’ minds, he has done so much more.

‘Without Paul Flanagan, I don’t know what the program would even be like or that there would be one,’ Skelly said. ‘I think the program wouldn’t be nearly as close, or nearly as prestigious for our third year without him.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

Published on September 26, 2010 at 12:00 pm