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Syracuse’s 2024-25 campaign was a tale of two halves. Retaining just 10-of-23 players from last season, SU’s revamped roster was sprinkled with incoming freshman and graduate students. The newcomers showed chemistry from the get-go, but separate nine and eight-game losing streaks buried Syracuse in a 7-20 hole.
Then, the Orange turned their season around. Winning six of its final seven games, Syracuse finished 11-9-0 in conference play and clinched the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Hockey America Tournament.
Following its first playoff victory since Feb. 26, 2022, over No. 6-seeded Robert Morris, SU fell in the AHA Semifinal to No. 2-seed Mercyhurst in three games. Despite coming short of its third conference championship, the campaign was the Orange’s best of head coach Britni Smith’s three-year tenure.
Here are the numbers behind Syracuse’s (15-23-0, 11-9-0 AHA) 2024-25 season:
1,238 total saves
In her sixth and final college season, Allie Kelley set numerous personal records.
On Jan. 17 against Penn State, Kelley’s 41-save performance slotted her into first place on the all-time NCAA career saves list. Less than a month later, on Feb. 14, she also took sole possession of SU’s program career-saves record in a loss to Mercyhurst.
“We definitely do our homework in the recruiting process,” Smith said after Kelley eclipsed the NCAA all-time saves mark. “We make our phone calls, we watch our video. (Kelley) checked the boxes on everything.”
Usually forced to defend against long stretches of offense, Kelley faced an average of 36.2 shots per game and thrived under the heavy workload. For the fourth consecutive year (dating back to her time at Saint Anselm), she finished with an above .900 save percentage as a starter.
Dakota Dorsey | Design Editor
14.76 blocks per game
Whether it meant using a stick, shoulder, shin pad or helmet, Syracuse showcased great ability to block shots on defense. While this was often masked by Kelley’s success, cutting off shooting lanes proved vital in the dying moments of SU’s conference wins.
Among Syracuse’s players, nobody exemplified this statistic more than freshman defender Jessica Cheung. With 81 blocks, she finished with 18 more than the next-closest player and set a program record for the most in a single season. The total also ranked second in the AHA behind RMU’s Allyson Hebert (107).
Meanwhile, four other Syracuse players notched over 40 blocks this season, contributing to SU’s combined 561 — a new program record.
“(Blocking shots) is something that maybe you don’t see on the box score, and that’s a big part of our program and our culture that we’re very happy with,” Smith said following SU’s loss to Cornell on Jan. 14.
20.40% power-play percentage
Through seven games, Syracuse’s power play was on track to become its best in program history. Running mainly through players on the points, the unit opened the season with a 4-for-13 (30.8%) conversion rate, ranking sixth in the nation and best in the AHA.
Following its historic start, SU’s player-up group fell back to Earth. Still, the Orange’s power-play opportunities remained part of its offensive game plan. Led by Bryn Saarela’s six, Syracuse notched its most power-play goals (22) in a season under Smith.
To open the season, SU’s unit notched four power-play goals in its first four games. Even after falling into a six-game slump, the special teams group returned to form for the rest of the campaign. With three players (Saarela, Jackson Kinsler and Charli Kettyle) racking up four-plus power play goals, the Orange converted at least once every three games from Nov. 11 until the start of the AHA Semifinal.
“Special teams is important, so to be able to have two power-play goals and be perfect on our penalty kill in game one gives your team momentum,” Smith said after Syracuse’s season-opening win over Stonehill on Oct. 4.
47 goals allowed in nonconference play
Syracuse posted one of its best conference records in recent memory in 2024-25. But against non-AHA opponents, the Orange limped to a 2-12-0 record.
With Penn State being the only ranked team in the AHA, Syracuse rarely played teams within the upper echelon of the NCAA. So, squads like then-No. 10 Quinnipiac, then-No. 5 Colgate and then-No. 4 Minnesota Duluth outscored Syracuse 26-6.
Despite failing to hold its own against the top teams in the nation, Smith said she believes the one-sided losses are still beneficial. In the long run, SU’s coach sees the ugly results as opportunities to test the Orange’s defensive unit against some of the country’s best players.
“We’re not gonna outscore those types of teams,” Smith said after the Cornell game. “We play a gritty, defensive-style game, and I think that’s what we’ve come to find in our games against top-10 teams.”
Syracuse surrendered four-plus goals to nonconference foes on seven different occasions this season. The margins built character, but they also proved the program still has to improve before it can become a true NCAA contender.
The post Data Dive: Analyzing the numbers behind Syracuse’s 2024-25 campaign appeared first on The Daily Orange.