Syracuse left its season opener with positive momentum for the first time ever. The Orange defeated St. Cloud State last Friday, the first season-opening win in the program’s four-year history.

Despite a 4-0 loss to No. 4 Minnesota in the second game of the East/West Showcase Saturday, SU still feels it carries momentum into the second weekend of games. Elite teams such as the Golden Gophers tend to play at a much faster pace. But Syracuse adjusted to that pace and has a chance to carry that into this weekend.

‘We just need to carry, keep the pace up from what we’ve played and keep it going and don’t lower it so we’re ready to play,’ Cara Johnson said.

The Orange (1-1) hopes to bring some of that momentum into this weekend’s slate of games in New England. SU plays at Northeastern on Friday at 3 p.m. and at New Hampshire on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Last year, SU opened its season at home with a tie against the Huskies at Tennity Ice Pavilion. At the time, it was the best season opening performance in program history. Syracuse followed that up with a win at home over the then-No. 8 Wildcats.

Despite the Orange’s familiarity with the foes, SU isn’t focusing much on what it needs to do to prepare for the two in particular. Syracuse didn’t even hold its first film session on the teams until Thursday, instead opting to focus on what it learned Saturday against Minnesota.

‘It’s a benchmark for where we’re at as a team, where we need to be at the end of the year if we want to contend and get into the final eight this year and win a (College Hockey America) championship,’ SU goaltender Kallie Billadeau said. ‘It’s a little eye-opening, awakening thing.’

Syracuse learned it can’t let its goaltender get worked as hard as Billadeau did against the Golden Gophers. Minnesota took 50 shots in the 4-0 victory over SU, with Billadeau making 46 saves. SU needs to get the puck out of the zone much quicker this weekend to avoid being outshot by a margin as large as the 50-10 advantage Minnesota held..

‘We definitely need to work on our breakouts and our defensive zone coverage,’ Johnson said. ‘That was a huge theme from last weekend.’

One major benefit the Orange has going for it against Northeastern is how similarly the Wildcats play to the Golden Gophers. SU can focus on what it did wrong against Minnesota and simultaneously be preparing for Friday’s foe.

‘Northeastern’s very skilled and they’re fast they’ve got some real good young players,’ Flanagan said. ‘They’ll do a lot of things. They’ll try to be creative offensively, so we just have to be prepared. They’ll have the speed that Minnesota had.’

New Hampshire will provide a more unique challenge. UNH plays in the Whittemore Center, an Olympic-size rink, a rarity in NCAA hockey. Olympic size rinks are the same length as North American ones, but are 15 feet wider.

‘There’s always the obstacle of the ice,’ Flanagan said. ‘Lake Whittemore there is just such a huge ice surface. You’ve got to contend with that. Plus, they’re a real quick fast team.’

A major positive from last weekend’s games was the play of SU’s two goaltenders, Jenesica Drinkwater and Billadeau. Drinkwater was one of three Syracuse players named to the CHA Weekly Honor Roll after making 32 saves in a win over the Huskies. Billadeau’s 46 saves in a loss to the Golden Gophers were the third most in program history.

Allie LaCombe and Lisa Mullan were the other two Syracuse players named to the Honor Roll. LaCombe was 18-of-33 on faceoffs over the weekend and Mullan scored the game-winning goal against St. Cloud State.

The trio of Honor Roll players was one of the highlights of the weekend for the Orange, but ultimately it is what went wrong that teaches SU the most.

‘All that pressure, we didn’t handle it very well early in the game, but we got better,’ Flanagan said. ‘It’s very humbling to go out and play a team that can just dominate you.’

dbwilson@syr.edu