PLATTSBURGH -- Erin O'Brien helped launch the Plattsburgh State women's hockey program and its rise to prominence as an athlete, and now she'll try to do the same thing at Syracuse as a coach.

After serving as Plattsburgh State's assistant coach for three seasons, O'Brien has been named an assistant at Syracuse, which is entering its inaugural season of NCAA Division I women's hockey.

O'Brien said she spent about a week at Syracuse getting to know the campus, and she expects to move there by Aug. 1.

"With a brand new team, there's a lot of enthusiasm around campus and with the staff and the incoming athletes," O'Brien said. "I think whenever there's a new team on board, there's always that challenge (of) how's the first season going to go? Everyone's probably thinking it's going to be tough. And we know it is, but we've got the attitude that anything's possible."

The former defenseman skated for Plattsburgh State for four years, starting in the program's first year, 2001-02. She joined the coaching staff in 2005-06, when the team made its first of three straight appearances in the Division III title game.

"I think being a student-athlete in the beginning of the program at Plattsburgh and seeing how quickly it grew, I'm confident we'll have the same kind of effort and hard work from the staff and athletes," O'Brien said. "We're hoping to be successful in a short amount of time."

O'Brien will work under head coach Paul Flanagan. Flanagan is the former St. Lawrence University coach, and O'Brien said the two knew each other a little bit from the recruiting trail. Flanagan has also worked with Plattsburgh State head coach Kevin Houle over the past year with the U.S. Women's National Program.

"Erin is a perfect fit for our program because of her NCAA playing experience and her coaching experience," Flanagan said in a press release announcing O'Brien's hiring last month. "She will make an immediate impact on our program and will be a role model for our student-athletes."

O'Brien, a Pickering, Ont. native, said she wasn't actively looking for a new position before this opportunity came up, but moving to Division I was one of her career goals.

"Everyone always says, What are you going to do when you're done coaching?' But I don't think I want to be done coaching," O'Brien said. "It was a long-term goal, to someday maybe be a head coach, but to coach at the DI level.

"I was very fortunate to play for Plattsburgh and work at Plattsburgh, and I think working with Coach Houle taught me a lot and prepared me for this move."

O'Brien said her responsibilities with the Orange will include recruiting, strength and conditioning training and travel arrangements. Syracuse will play in the College Hockey America (CHA) conference. The coaching staff, which also includes assistant Graham Thomas, is still recruiting for the upcoming season.

"I don't think we were expecting this, but we have a lot of transfer players, so I think that will be great for the program and bring in some experience," O'Brien said. "We're still looking to fill out the roster, but we're not too far off. I think by August, we'll be good to go, but it will be a busy summer until then."

clewis@pressrepublican.com