Featured Image Courtesy of Syracuse University Athletics

Victoria Klimek — an Orangeville, Ontario native — is in her Senior season with the Syracuse Orange.

“Everyone always laughs about it,” Klimek said about the coincidence of her hometown sharing the name of the collegiate team she would eventually play for. “I remember when I first got contacted by Syracuse and started talking to them, we were all like, ‘that’s meant to be, it’s a sign.’”

The Orange Senior’s decision to join the Syracuse squad of course did not rely fully on a naming coincidence. When Victoria was in the early processes of the college scouting stage, Syracuse was one of the first schools to get in contact with her. When she stepped on campus, she knew it would be a place of great experiences.

Jumping to the present, the experience has been more unique than anyone could have expected. 

Like most activities, the Coronavirus has thrown a wrench into any normalcy that was expected. The Orange have already had six postponements this season. This could easily get a team down, but the Syracuse squad is actively working against that.

“There’s so much uncertainty, you just can’t let postponements and game cancellations and stuff affect you,” Klimek said, “We’re going to be working in practice an extra couple of days and keep getting better.”

Instead of just sitting around on what can be an extremely frustrating moment, the Orange have been taking advantage. The focus shifts away from what could have been, to what they can now work on.

Postponements forced Syracuse into a week-and-a-half long break. They decided to work on their flaws as a team.

“All of our chances,” Victoria said referring to the team’s two games against Robert Morris are, “a lot of perimeter shots, low percentage chances. We’re just shooting and no one is in front of the net.”

The Orange would end their postponement-created break by traveling west to take on the RIT Tigers. Syracuse won the game 3-0.

Klimek herself has been having a fantastic season. The Orange senior has notched five goals and three assists in her first ten games, greatly outpacing

her previous seasons.

This offensive explosion, according to Klimek, comes down to confidence.

“I have a lot of confidence out there,” she said, “I feel like sometimes I never really utilized some of my key strengths such as my speed and like getting to the net… recently I’ve just been playing my game and not really worrying about anything else.”

Victoria Klimek has also been central for the team in its leadership on and off the ice.

“You don’t really need [a letter] to be a leader,” Victoria said, “anyone on the team can be a leader.”

Klimek sees herself as a mentoring figure on the team. As a Senior, she’s able to guide younger players with whatever issues she’s seen herself in before.

Her leadership, according to Klimek, does not just end in her word. On the ice, she believes in leading by example to help further the team in its goals.

What are those goals?

“Everything falls back on winning our conference championship, that’s obviously the main goal,” the Orange Senior said.

While Klimek is keeping her options open for the future, one potential goal is the National Women’s Hockey League.

The NWHL has become a prime destination for Syracuse graduates. Five Syracuse alumni are currently in the league.

One of those players is 2019-20 captain, Lindsay Eastwood. Over her career with the Orange, she collected 74 points in 139 games as a defender.

“People relating her to Syracuse and then to her professional team,” Victoria Klimek said, “eventually is going to get a lot more attention I think. Right now it’s still early and because of COVID things are different, but I definitely think it’s going to have a positive impact.”

Professional leagues such as the NWHL have been influential in not just creating a next step in the career of playing hockey, but also in the whole team’s structure.

“It gives people like me, players in college hockey,” Victoria said, “a new goal.”

As a Senior, Victoria Klimek’s time at Syracuse is starting to come to an end. “Now that I’m a Senior you really realize how quickly it goes by. I would say my mindset has changed a little bit. I’m thinking so positively and making the most of my last semester here,” Klimek said.

John Smark