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College Hockey America named Syracuse’s Mae Batherson Defenseman of the Month for October. The senior has earned two weekly honors this season, one coming after a series with Merrimack. She followed it up a couple weeks later with her play at the Adirondack Ice Breaker tournament at Lake Placid, helping Syracuse to a third-place finish. The monthly award is the second of her career after winning CHA Rookie of the Month in February of 2020. 

Batherson leads SU in assists this season with seven, already equaling her total from last season. Five of her assists came during SU’s nine-game stretch this month in which they went 2-6-1. Against RIT, Batherson controlled the puck in the Syracuse defensive zone. With a defender closing in, Batherson picked her head up and saw a wide-open Madison Primeau who darted towards the blue line. The defenseman roped a pass to Primeau through the neutral zone, whizzing by multiple defenders to hit her in stride. Primeau took the space that she had, finishing a one on one, to give Syracuse a 4-1 lead over RIT. Batherson’s assist was her second assist of the game, her second multi-assist game of the month. 

The senior recorded 12 blocks during October, and is second on the team with 13 total, trailing only Hannah Johnson who has 18. In the CHA opener, Batherson led the SU backline to its first shutout of the season in a 1-0 win. Batherson has yet to record a goal this season but remains aggressive on offense with 25 shots.