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Jim Sarosy spoke to Paul Flanagan in 2008 about his desire to host Syracuse ice hockey at the Upstate Medical Arena at The Oncenter War Memorial — the home of the Syracuse Crunch. The conversation sparked a partnership between the AHL team and SU that’s lasted until today.

Flanagan, Syracuse’s head coach from 2008-22, helmed the Orange in their first-ever game at the War Memorial on Nov. 14, 2008. SU has played 13 games in the venue since then, with the last taking place in 2019. Second-year SU head coach Britni Smith worked with Sarosy — the Syracuse Crunch’s chief operating officer — to bring back the tradition.

Now, the Orange are set to face the Rochester Institute of Technology on Feb. 10 at the War Memorial, which will be followed by a Crunch game. Sarosy called it a “no-brainer” to continue hosting SU.

“It’s a nice opportunity for (the Crunch) to highlight the wonderful program that SU has and then hopefully give the athletes kind of a professional feel to their game,” Sarosy said.

SU ice hockey’s relationship with the Crunch has grown past occasionally sharing an arena. Aside from games, Flanagan attended local coach’s clinics and traded coaching philosophies with Crunch coaches. Sarosy and Flanagan also organized fundraisers toward cancer research and had SU players sell raffle tickets at Crunch games, Flanagan said.

“It’s been a wonderful relationship,” Flanagan said. “It’s good that the program is continuing along those lines because not having an (NCAA) men’s team like most women’s programs have, (the Crunch) were kind of our men’s team.”

When Flanagan retired in 2022, Syracuse hired Smith and the Crunch reached out to establish a connection. From there, the Crunch proposed the idea of playing at the War Memorial again and Smith was “onboard right away,” Sarosy said.

“This has been something in the works for a long time so to be able to get there and play at a fantastic facility and continue to build that relationship is exciting,” Smith said.

The game on Feb. 10 will be a “trial run,” Smith said, and SU is hopeful to continue playing there in future seasons.

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Early in the partnership, the Crunch opened opportunities for SU players to intern with them. Kristen Siermachesky and Lindsay Eastwood, Syracuse captains during the 2019-20 season, both interned with the Crunch and played in the program’s most-recent game at the War Memorial.

“It was really cool seeing them and getting them to play in ‘our home,’ which was something that brings a smile to my face,” Sarosy said.

The Crunch have continued to offer SU players internships because it’s a “mutually beneficial relationship,” Siermachesky said. According to Sarosy, their deep understanding of hockey allows them to excel working for the Crunch marketing department. In return, Syracuse players get exposed to the structure of the professional game, making it a “win-win” situation, Sarosy said.

Current SU forward Sarah Thompson interned with the Crunch as a freshman. Through their relationship, the Crunch helped Thompson with her charity endeavors, including her Sticks Together initiative. Now, three SU players — Alexandria Weiss, Gabby Dougherty and Heidi Knoll — intern with the Crunch.

“Having that opportunity to be surrounded by that professional atmosphere at the War Memorial was amazing for me,” Siermachesky said. “I’m super glad that there’s quite a few girls that are able to do that today.”

Plus, holding a Crunch game after SU’s matchup at the War Memorial — a common aspect of the tradition — allows the players to watch professional hockey. Bringing the women’s hockey game to a larger stage also fuels local passion for women’s sports.

“The fact that we could highlight and feature such a product that the SU women’s program has and then followed up by ours is something neat,” Sarosy said. “We want to expose what (SU’s) doing to our fan base and vice versa. People who follow the women’s game, we want to expose them to our product as well.”

SU forward Marielle McHale is the only current SU player who was with the program in 2019. She remembered being struck by the atmosphere inside the War Memorial.

“It was really cool to play in a rink that size and play in a rink that has a lot of history in it,” McHale said. “Everyone gets jacked up to play in a different rink, and it’s home, and we try to get as many people as we possibly can to go.”

For most of the Orange, it will be their first time playing at the War Memorial. Many SU players have been to the arena to watch the Crunch but never to play, which Syracuse captain Tatum White said will lead to an exciting day.

“It’ll be a cool environment and just the people that will be around will be awesome to play in front of,” White said.

Published on February 8, 2024 at 12:33 am