Women's Hockey | 10/30/2019 10:07:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY -- A week ago, the players on RIT women's hockey team weren't feeling all that great about themselves.

As of Monday, the same was true for the Syracuse University women's hockey team.

Ah, but how winning changes everything. And, because of that very recent winning, two teams with a markedly different outlook will be battling for College Hockey America early season positioning this weekend.

The Tigers (2-5-1) play the Orange (1-9) twice, at Syracuse at 7 p.m. Friday and then at the Gene Polisseni Center at noon on Saturday.

RIT's two victories came on home ice last weekend against Brown University. The Tigers won 6-0 on Friday behind the 37-save goaltending of junior Jessi O'Leary (Woodstock, New Brunswick/Notre Dame Hounds) (Woodstock, New Brunswick/Notre Dame Hounds) and then defeated the Bears 4-2 on Saturday as freshman winger Rachel Goff (Naperville, IL/Chicago Mission) (Naperville, Ill./Chicago Mission) scored two goals and assisted on another.

The Orange lost their first nine games before a Tuesday victory at Union College.

Now it's back to CHA play for both squads, and the renewal of a little New York State Thruway rivalry. Syracuse leads the all-time series 9-18-3 but the Tigers went 3-0-1 against the Orange a year ago.

"Syracuse won the league last year, so you want to knock off the champion, and we had some success against them last year, so most certainly they're going to be pushing hard to change that," RIT coach Chad Davis said.

The Tigers come into the weekend on a bit of a roll. They swept the weekend set with Brown, outscoring the Bears 10-2. O'Leary, making her first start since February of her freshman season, was very good in goal, and a host of players contributed to the offense.

Goff scored three goals and assisted on two and graduate student Logan Land (Turkey Point, Ontario/Holy Trinity Catholic) produced two goals and assisted on three. Four of her points came on power plays.

It was exactly what the doctor ordered for the Tigers. Or at least what Davis was hoping would happen.

Brown was playing its first two games of the season, so the Tigers had the advantage of continuity and game action. Plus, the Bears hadn't won since November of last season.

But when you've started 0-5-1 yourself, you're not extending pity to the opposition. The Tigers vaulted to a 4-0 lead in the first period and cruised to their first victory, although O'Leary did face 37 shots.

"The first period was fun," Davis said, "and I think we needed to feel that enjoyment of the game again. You have to have those confidence-building games."

O'Leary is scheduled to start again. The junior goaltender played all 60 minutes in both games last weekend. Until last Friday, her only ice time was a 25-minute relief stint on Oct. 19 in a 6-0 loss at Mercyhurst. Last season, she played just 9 minutes and 53 seconds in relief, and she hadn't started game since February of her freshman year.

Having gone winless in the first three weekends, the coaching staff opted to rest 2018-19 CHA Player of the Year Terra Lanteigne (Hatchet Lake, Nova Scotia/Charles P. Allen) and give O'Leary the start.
O'Leary and the Tigers responded, and she'll get the nod against Friday.

"She's really been working hard and we were seeking some success, and I just had a gut feeling that she was going to play well," Davis said. "The thing she has been doing is bringing a lot of energy, and I thought we played off that.

"After getting two wins and seeing the team rally around her, I think she deserves the opportunity."