Syracuse Women's Ice Hockey: 2016-2017 schedule released

Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey has released their schedule for the 2016-2017 season.

Last year the team went 19-14-3 and lost in the CHA conference finals for the second consecutive year. The Orange have lost a lot of talent due to graduation, most notably Melissa Piacentini. But this team has been so close to reaching their first-ever birth in the NCAA and are on the verge of climbing to the next level.

To get over the hump, head coach Paul Flanagan has scheduled two exhibition games against the Minnesota Whitecaps, a professional women's hockey team. The Whitecaps are currently independent, but play exhibition games against teams in the National Women's Hockey League.

This is a huge step up for Syracuse and is something they haven't really done before. Getting exhibition games against a pro team could be exactly what they need to propel themselves to the next level.

Besides that the schedule remains nearly the same as last year in terms of opponents because of the amount of CHA games played. Here is the schedule for the season: