As each game went by, Lisa Mullan could see her team was missing something. While the Syracuse forward was sidelined with a knee injury, the Orange wasn’t displaying the grit Mullan prides her game on.

‘I noticed we were getting softer and softer, but still, we were playing good but just needed that one piece,’ Mullan said.

Turns out that missing piece was Mullan. With the senior back on the ice after recovering from that injury, Mullan has brought toughness to a Syracuse team that can no longer be described as ‘soft,’ especially to those on the opposing side. Mullan has been an enforcer that teammates are happy to have skating on their side. If the opposition pushes around any SU teammate, the forward makes sure to respond accordingly.

But for 11 games this season, teammates didn’t have the comfort of knowing Mullan had their backs. SU head coach Paul Flanagan said the element Mullan currently provides was missing while Mullan was absent from the lineup.

And although it was tough for the team, it was even more difficult for Mullan to cope with.

‘It was definitely the hardest. Hardest part of my hockey career watching,’ Mullan said. ‘I didn’t know watching would be that hard. It’s not something you ever get used to, and I think it made me a lot more grateful to play.’

Mullan admits she needed some time to get used to throwing her body around when she first returned.

But it didn’t take too long. She’s always been accustomed to being the bully on the ice.

Mullan, who is among the tallest on the team at 5 feet 9 inches, said the role as an enforcer isn’t one she tried to get on purpose, but a responsibility that always seemed to fall in her lap.

That’s no different for her in her senior season at Syracuse. Her importance to SU was clear in the Orange’s two matchups against Cornell this season. Although the Orange couldn’t keep up with the nationally ranked team, losing both contests to the Big Red, Syracuse was far more physical the second time around with Mullan on the ice.

And now it’s not only Mullan pestering opponents. Freshman Shiann Darkangelo and sophomore Sadie St. Germain have followed her lead, taking a more physical approach against other teams in recent games.

‘I get in someone’s face, and it pisses the other team off. They’ll get in someone on our team’s face and pisses everybody else off,’ Mullan said. ‘I think it just helps a lot for everyone to emotionally be in the game when we’re tough and in there and getting it, we’re giving hits.’

Junior Jacquie Greco said there are times when even other Orange players get in Mullan’s face, resulting in even stronger play out of Mullan.

But sometimes Mullan’s emotions boil over on their own. Unlike men’s ice hockey, in which hitting is allowed, checking in women’s ice hockey is prohibited. Any sort of body check is a penalty, an infraction that has sent Mullan to the penalty box throughout her SU career.

When Mullan goes a bit over the top, that’s when Flanagan has to rein her in, she said. But it’s a sentiment the head coach has had to express a lot less this season for the matured senior, even if she wishes the women’s game was more similar to the men’s game.

‘It always feels good to hit someone, but I guess I got to hold back,’ Mullan said.

Instead Flanagan said she understands her role and that she can’t use her aggressive style by hitting opponents, but by driving through them to create open space for her teammates.

But no matter what Mullan does to intimidate enemies on the ice, teammates know she’s ready and able to protect them.

‘You know if somebody’s going to hit you, Mully’s out there,’ Greco said. ‘She’ll have your back, so it’s good.’

dgproppe@syr.edu

 

Published on January 23, 2012 at 12:00 pm