OSWEGO — Men’s Hockey gets back to the ice this Saturday in their last exhibition game against the Nazareth Golden Flyers. After handling the CCHL Carleton Place this past Saturday, the Lakers look to play their first NCAA opponent of the season. Oswego State is 8-2 overall against this UCHC team ever since the colleges faced off for the first time in the 2012-2013 regular season. Senior Derek Brown looks to continue his point streak after tallying three goals last time out. Golden Flyers Head Coach George Roll will return to the Marano Campus Center once again after formerly being the Laker’s Head Coach from 1996-2003. Puck drop will be at 7 p.m. this Saturday during Family and Friends Weekend. WTOP10 will have coverage of this match up starting at 6:30 p.m. with Hockey Night in Oswego.
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Oswego State Softball Team Splits in Doubleheader Versus New Paltz
OSWEGO, N.Y — The Oswego State Softball team went 1-1 against the New Paltz Hawks on Tuesday, dropping the first game 9-3 before winning the second 6-2. With the win in the second game, the Lakers cut their win streak and gain momentum heading into the next conference doubleheader.
The first game started slow as neither team scored until infielder, Julia Mastrup, scored in the 5th inning and put the Hawks up 1-0. New Paltz then followed that with a 6-run 6th inning and put the games out of reach for Oswego. Three players scored for Oswego, including Madelana Wrubel, Leah Czerwinski, and Jessica DuPoint. The Lakers, desperate for a win, did not disappoint in the second game however.
Oswego kicked off the rematch with a 2nd inning home run by senior utility player, Taylor DuBois. The game was stagnant for the next three innings until Kelly Marmor tied the game with a home run in the 6th inning. Though, that would be as close as the game got. The Lakers exploded in their 6th inning at-bat, scoring 5 runs and capitalizing on poor pitching. New Paltz’s Katie Quagli would score off a Rhionna Bian RBI in the final inning, but it would be too little, to late. Five Lakers scored runs with Taylor DuBois totaling 2 runs off of 2 hits and 3 RBIs. Oswego also got great play out of their pitching core of Madison Hoeflich and Fiona Higgins who had 14 combined strikeouts on the day.
With the end of the season quickly approaching, Oswego will have to have play nearly perfect in their final few games in order to have a chance at the postseason. The Lakers will have the opportunity to improve in conference play as they take on the Brockport Golden Eagles in a doubleheader on May 1st. Game 1 is set to start at 12:00 p.m. while game 2 has a 2:00 p.m. start time in Brockport.
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Men’s Hockey opens preseason with win
OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Oswego State men’s hockey team took to home ice for the first time since they beat SUNY Cortland in the SUNYAC semi-final last season. A preseason matchup against the Stevenson Mustangs was an opportunity for both teams to get their legs underneath them before they start regular season play in two weeks time.
The first period saw senior Eric Green get the start in goal for the Lakers. Both sides would get shots off on net, but it would be the Mustangs who struck first in the game. Liam McCanney would send one five hole and into the back of the net for the first goal of the season with just under 11 minutes remaining. The Lakers would quickly answer though. A pass from Quinn Warmuth toward the slot, would be deflected in by Tyler Flack for the Lakers first goal with just over nine to go in the period.
The second period was a goalie battle. The Lakers would switch goalies, junior Richie Parent becoming the Lakers net minder in the second period. Parent made a few excellent saves, and showed off his stick handling abilities as a goalie. Stevenson made their goalie change halfway through the second period. All three goalies that played in the period didn’t allow a goal, and the sides went into the second intermission still tied at one.
In the third period, the Lakers gave their third goalie on the roster, new freshman recruit Cal Schell, his first opportunity wearing the green in gold on the ice. Just as Richie Parent had in the second period, he didn’t allow the Mustangs to get one past him, but the Lakers got themselves the lead. Their second goal came less than three minutes in. Coming off a faceoff, a pass went back to Quinn Warmuth in also the same spot as last time by the blue line. He again threw it into the slot, and the puck would go off the skate of Conor Smart and into the back of the net. Oswego’s final goal would come late in the third. Just as Stevenson was pulling their goalie to have a 6-5 and try and tie the game, the Lakers would have a two-on-one opportunity. New transfer Thomas Rocco would pass the puck behind the lone defender to Tyler Flack who just tapped it into the empty net for the game sealing third and final goal.
The Lakers walked away with a victory 3-1 showing good promise before the challenging season ahead. They will play one final preseason game before the start of regular season play. A matchup with Carelton Place of the CCHL on Saturday October, 22 in the Deborah F. Stanley Ice Arena.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHELLE QUIACHON, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
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Lakers Fly Past Cardinals in SUNYAC Tournament Berth
For the 19th straight season, the Oswego State Lakers have clinched the SUNYAC Tournament and what a better way to do it than on Valentine’s day. The Lakers defeated the Cardinals on Friday night during their six point victory thanks to a combined, 43 point effort from seniors Brandon Gartland and Joe Sullivan.
Plattsburgh kept it close throughout the first half while using their best rendition of ‘Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better’. Each time the Lakers grabbed a bucket on one end, the Cardinals always had an answer. Oswego held the lead by four points or less through the first ten minutes of the contest but three minutes later, with an already shallow selection on the bench, Plattsburgh Head Coach Mike Blaine had some decision making to do following the injury of Forward Jeremy Eisenmen. Eisenmen went down hard after crashing the boards and was clutching his left knee. He was able to put pressure on it but would not return to the game.
In his absence, Matt Bernhard, a 5’10” stud off the bench, executed a perfect first half of shooting off the bench. Aside from his one missed free throw, he shot 3-3 from distance and 4-4 from the field ending with 12 of the Cardinals 34 points at halftime.
Brandon Gartland shot five for eight from behind the arc in the first half, good enough to lead the book with 15 points at the break. Joe Sullivan was a vital part of the first half for the Lakers tallying nine free throw attempts and sinking five of them. Sullivan struggled to find his rhythm early on but that would change going into the second half.
General Joe flipped the switch coming out of the locker room scoring 12 of his 21 in the second frame. Sullivan shot 5-13 in the second half and ended with 8 rebounds and 8 assists to add onto his impressive scoring performance. Coach Leone was happy with his big man’s performance.
“Joe plays hard every night,” Leone said. “He’s a senior and he is doing what we would hope seniors do at this point in their senior season. I’m really pleased with the things he did tonight. He deserves it.”
However, Gartland went in the opposite direction having a rather quiet second half. He scored just seven points adding his total to 22 without a single three pointer in after the break. “They were sticking a little tighter to me,” Gartland expressed. “Other people were making plays and we were still scoring.” For what he lacked on the offensive end, he made up for on the defensive end with four steals and a couple big time stops down the stretch.
Plattsburgh got into some foul trouble five minutes into the second half when Erik Salo was charged with his fourth personal. Now with Eisenmen injured and Salo playing restricted and cautious minutes, the only other options off the bench were Marlon Todd and freshman Lamont Hough Jr. who never saw the floor.
With six to go, the Lakers turned on the after-burners going on an 8-2 run in a minute and 28 seconds taking a 69-61 lead with 4:05 remaining. The Cardinals never came back from this lead, falling short to the Lakers 75-69. It came down to protecting the ball tonight and Plattsburgh was not proficient in that category. Averaging 15 turnovers a game, Coach Blaine’s Cardinals exceeded that margin with 16 and 11 of those turnovers came in the second half.
Coach Jason Leone was excited about clinching the SUNYAC tournament for the ninth time in his nine years as the head coach of Oswego State but recognized that there was still work to do following Friday night. “We’re in the playoffs,” Leone expressed. “So now we are in a battle to try and get a home game. Every game has a significant meaning from here on out.” With Potsdam traveling to Laker hall at 4:00 pm for the second game of the back to back, the Lakers have a win under their belt and look to continue their winning ways after Improving to 16-5 on the year.
