OSWEGO, NY — In the first weekend of the new decade, Men’s Hockey welcomes in three out of conference teams to the 2020 Pathfinder Bank/Oswego State Hockey Classic. The 14th edition of the four team tournament is set to begin this Friday as the Lakers look to defend the title. This year, the competition is set to feature three nationally ranked programs, #9 University of New England, #10 Oswego, #14 Williams College, along with Saint Mary’s University traveling in from Minnesota. The Lakers, who currently sit atop the SUNYAC conference with an overall record of 7-3, will face the Saint Mary’s Cardinals at 7 p.m. on Friday in the semifinal round. The 3-5-1 Cardinals look to build on their win over Gustavus Adolphus College back on December 7th, while Oswego looks to bring home some recent success that was found on the road. #9 University of New England and #14 Williams college will face off before hand at 4 p.m. which will feature an offensive talented group from UNE against the defensive Ephs of Williams college. Tickets are being sold online for each day, WTOP 10 also has you covered all weekend with coverage of all four games from the Marano Campus Center.
-
Oswego State women’s hockey with two impressive performances this weekend
OSWEGO N.Y. — It was an exciting weekend for women’s hockey here at Oswego. The Lakers hosted the Buffalo State Bengals Saturday night in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena in hopes of staying undefeated. They did just that and won in dominant fashion with a final score of 8-1. The Lakers offense was electric combined with their spectacular defensive performance. Despite this impressive victory, the Lakers found themselves down by 1 at the end of the first when senior Angelina Cruzzal put the Bengals on the board. From there the Lakers were relentless, not letting their opponent score another goal. Freshman Mack Hull scored her first goal as a Laker tying it up early in the second. Less than 2 minutes later, sophomore Kyleigh Grugin scored with an assist by Emily Gustafson. Morgan Shines added to the lead with 10 minutes left in the second. The Lakers were on a tear in the third period scoring 5 goals and shutting the Bengals down. Goals in the third from Rachel Corbett, Kyleigh Grugin, Morgan Shines, Sophia Kyrkostas, and Mia Conboy sealed the victory. With this dominant win the Lakers kept the undefeated streak alive with a record of 3-0 heading into Sunday’s contests.
The Lakers hosted SUNY Potsdam today in an overtime thriller resulting in a 4-4 tie. It was a battle from start to finish, with both teams refusing to lose. The Bears started off strong, scoring the first two goals of the game. Kaylee Merill put the Bears on the board with an assist from Emily DellaNeve. Stephanie Dunlap added to the lead shortly after. The Lakers were still very much in this game and proved it when Amanda Zenstein scored immediately following the face off. Cheye Kennedy then tied it up for the Lakers with four minutes remaining in the first period. The action continued in the second period as Potsdams’ Stephanie Dunlap scored her second goal for the Bears. The Lakers answered back minutes later with a goal from sophomore Kyleigh Grugin. With less than two minutes remaining in the second Potsdams’ Emily DellaNeve scored to break the tie. Fans were in for a showdown in the third. Amanda Zenstein found success once again with a goal early in the third period on the powerplay. From there it was a defensive battle until the end of regulation. With a tie game, the two teams were headed into overtime. Despite many close calls, neither team was able to seal the win and this game ended in a tie with great effort from both sides.
After this weekend, Oswego currently holds first in the NEWHL with three points posting a 1-0-1 conference record. The Lakers will travel to SUNY Cortland Friday with more conference points on the line in the NEWHL. Puck drop is set for 5:00 p.m. in Cortland.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY SHELBY PEPLOWSKI, WTOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
-
Women’s Hockey defeats Buffalo State on Senior Day
OSWEGO, NY — Women’s Hockey played their final home game of the regular season this past Saturday as the Lakers took home the 3-2 victory of Buffalo State. The win came off of goals in all three periods as Morgan Shines tied the game at 1-1 towards the end of the first period. Eryn Stewart would secure a goal in the second period to put the Lakers ahead. Emily Gustafson would net one in the third to give Oswego the two goal lead before the Bengals got on the board with a little over eight minutes remaining. Rachael Farmer would make 18 saves in the victory to give the Lakers their 14th win of the season. Oswego travels to Canton for their final game of the season where if the Lakers are victorious, the team will secure second place in the standings, and host Morrisville in the semifinals in the NEWHL playoffs. Puck drop is in Canton at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
-
Oswego State athletes earn academic honors
OSWEGO, NY ━ Over the past couple of weeks, Oswego State teams and student athletes have been rewarded with academic honors from organizations in their given sport. These awards were given out by national associations that are highlighting the work of collegiate athletes inside the classroom instead of on the field, track, ice, or court during the 2019-2020 seasons. Most of these groups are made up of college coaches across the United States that make these requirements for the honors.
On July 29th, the women’s volleyball team received the Team Academic Award from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). This honor is given to volleyball teams that hold a grade point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale over the course of a whole academic year. The Lakers, who finished with a 3.43 team grade point average, were one of eight SUNYAC teams out of the ten institutions to receive the honor from this past year. This is their second time receiving the honor in the past three seasons under head coach JJ O’Connell.
The Oswego State indoor women’s track and field team was honored with the All-Academic Award for their achievements in the classroom during the 2019-2020 academic year. The Lakers received the award from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association for having a team grade point average of 3.21 which is above the 3.1 benchmark set by the organization. The team was one of four SUNYAC institutions to receive the honor, and one of 209 colleges nationally. Senior Catarina Burke received the All-Academic Award individually as the athlete qualified for the 2020 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in high jump along with having a grade point average above a 3.30 during the semester.
On July 23rd, the National Association of Basketball Coaches released the student athletes that would be getting named to the 2019-20 Honors Court. This award is given out to men’s basketball players who exceed a grade point average of 3.2 at the end of their 2018-19 academic year. Seniors Tim Marshall and Brandan Gartland, along with junior Liam Sanborn were all named to the Honors Court. This is the second time for both seniors as the pair were awarded the honor in 2018-19. This is the team’s second time in two years with three players being named to the prestigious group.
The men’s golf team also received academic honors from last season as two players were named All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). Senior Eric Schliecher and sophomore Ryan Fecco both received the awards after meeting the criteria of having a career grade point average above 3.2 and having a stroke average under 79.0. These two individuals helped the team to three tournament wins and a third place finish in the Fall Empire 8 Championship.
Two players from the Oswego State women’s ice hockey team were recently selected by the American Hockey Coaches Association for the All-American Scholar award. On August 17th, the AHCA announced that seniors Kate Randazzo and Eryn Stewart received the honors after exceeding a 3.75 GPA the fall semester. These accolades put the finishing touches on two historic careers for the two graduates. Randazoo finished second on the Oswego career assists list and in the top-10 in total points, along with being a two year captain for the Lakers. Stewart would conclude her collegiate career inside the top-10 in points, goals, and assists. The women’s hockey team finished 16-7-4 this past season and lost to Plattsburgh in the Northeast Women’s Hockey League Championship.
Congratulations to all the student athletes who received these academic honors along with the Oswego State teams that received overall academic awards. WTOP 10 will continue to update Oswego fans on the continuing development of COVID-19 and how it affects the Oswego State Lakers.
