Paul Flanagan likes to talk about how his team is more unified this season than it has been in the past, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some competition in Syracuse practices.

‘There’s always an American-Canadian rivalry,’ SU goaltender Kallie Billadeau said.

‘As an American,’ she joked, ‘we don’t like (them).’

When the Orange (5-7, 0-0 College Hockey America) takes on McGill (4-1, 2-1 Quebec Student Sports Federation) in an exhibition game Friday at Tennity Ice Pavilion, it will be taking the rivalry from the practice rink into a real-game situation. The Martlets are regularly one of the top teams in Canada and are currently the top-ranked team in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). Syracuse is facing McGill for the first time since 2009, which was the Orange’s inaugural season.

SU is no stranger to elite teams this season, having played and lost to third-ranked Minnesota 4-0 in the season’s opening weekend and getting clobbered 9-2 by No. 2 Cornell on Tuesday.

‘It’s tough to play teams like this, but it’s a good thing,’ Billadeau said. ‘It shows where you are as a team and where you want to be.’

Despite the Martlets’ Canadian origin, Syracuse doesn’t expect McGill to provide any more unique of a challenge than the other elite teams SU has faced this season. Syracuse has 10 players on its roster from Canada, but Canadians don’t play with any different schemes or strategies than the Americans.

Even with the Martlets’ talent, the Orange still plans to treat the game as an exhibition. Though SU obviously hopes to win the game, Flanagan expects to get some players in the lineup who haven’t played as much this season

For Syracuse to successfully rebound from a loss to the Big Red and defeat McGill, the first priority is finding some way to beat McGill goaltender Charline Labonte.

Another potential issue for the Orange is McGill’s physicality. Though Syracuse has 10 Canadian players, McGill, located in Montreal, is entirely Canadian. Billadeau expects the Canadians’ physical style of play to be notable on the ice Friday.

‘I don’t know (many differences), but they’re physical,’ she said.

Most importantly, though, is learning from the Cornell game. The blowout Syracuse suffered to the Big Red is a valuable learning experience for the Orange, and SU will make adjustments based on the game against McGill.

‘You just take it game by game, period by period, even,’ SU forward Jessica Sorensen said. ‘You break it down even smaller, and that’s when good things happen.’

Friday’s game against the Martlets will usher in a nearly two-week layoff that is much needed for the Orange after a brutal loss to Cornell and the challenge of this Canadian powerhouse.

The time off will allow the Orange to overcome a few injuries that have hampered the team. SU forward Lisa Mullan hasn’t played since the opening weekend, and she can benefit from two straight weeks of treatment.

But first come the Martlets. Though Syracuse’s final real game before a layoff didn’t go the way the Orange had hoped, the fight it showed when it finally got in the scoring column down 4-0 will have to carry over onto the ice Friday against McGill.

‘It doesn’t count for any statistics other than just a chance to play,’ Flanagan said. ‘We can get everybody in. It’s an exhibition game, so we’ll have everybody dress and try to play everybody, and some of the kids that don’t play much are really going to get a chance to play a little bit more.’

dbwilson@syr.edu