When the Orange hits the ice this weekend for a series against Quinnipiac, it will need to be able to stop one of the best players in women’s collegiate ice hockey, Kelly Babstock.

The junior forward for Quinnipiac already won Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey Player of the Week two weeks in a row, and was also named to the preseason All-ECAC First Team. In her junior season, she’s already racked up 100 career points.

“She’s really good,” junior defender Brittney Krebs said. “She’s quick and has a good knowledge of the ice. She’s going to be tough to battle against, but we’ll do our best.”

The Orange knows that due to the presence of the hard-to-stop forward, playing solid defense will be critical this week. For the Orange to have any chance to win this game, it needs to figure out a way to at least slow her down.

The captain of Syracuse’s defense, Jacquie Greco, will be facing a familiar foe in Babstock. The two have been in national camps throughout the years. As a senior, Greco said she has heard about the things Babstock has done on the ice for several seasons.

As a veteran player, Greco has experience dealing with talented opponents on the ice, and knows the team needs to keep it simple on Friday and Saturday.

“Sometimes playing simpler is better against really good teams,” Greco said. “We’re just going to tell our defense, ‘Be simple. Don’t play the body. Don’t try and fish for the pucks or you might get beat around.’”

While no specific game plan has been formed to stop her yet, head coach Paul Flanagan has a general idea of what the Orange must do to stop her.

“When we’re on defense we need to try to get to her and stick with her as much as you can,” Flanagan said. “For our defensemen, as a group, to just have an awareness that you can’t give her a lot of space and time to do things.”

Part of the reason Babstock has so much talent is because of her family’s hockey background. Her brother, who played ice hockey, influenced her to play the sport and her father mentored her.

Babstock said without her father, she would not be playing at the high level she’s been playing at this season.

“My dad was the one who taught me everything and I give him all the credit because if it wasn’t for his skills he had and the knowledge of the game he gave to me I don’t think I would be where I am right now,” Babstock said in an email.

Babstock’s coaches have also been instrumental in her being able to expand her talent. They taught her skills in practice to help her continue to improve into the player she is now.

“Practice,” Babstock said. “Just practicing and learning from my coaches of the various different situations is what improved my skills.”

Now Syracuse is going to look to limit some of her skills and scoring opportunities.

The Orange played well last week, beating Penn State twice in back-to-back shutouts. This performance and Syracuse’s tough performances in its first two games — both losses — gave Flanagan confidence in the team he has seen so far on the ice.

Come Friday and Saturday, Flanagan knows this team will have to work hard defensively to have any chance of beating Quinnipiac and Babstock.

“This early into a season, you try to identify a culture of the kind of team you’re going to be,” Flanagan said. “This team knows we’re going to have to be a hard-working team. We’re not good enough to take a night off. We have to consistently be a hard-working team, stay positive and stay focused. I think we can play with anybody.”

Published on October 18, 2012 at 1:49 am

Contact Ryan: rlraigro@syr.edu