Oswego, N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s hockey team improved to 14-4-1 this past weekend, defeating SUNY Cortland 5-3 on Friday and Fredonia 3-2 on Saturday. With these pair of victories, the Lakers have extended their win streak to six games and are nationally ranked for the first time this season, being named the #13 team in the most recent USCHO poll.
On Friday, the Lakers faced a familiar foe in the Cortland Red Dragons. Following an Oswego powerplay early in the first period, the Red Dragons scored their first goal to take the lead. Soon after, captain Travis Broughman scored his first goal of the evening to tie things up at one apiece. After some back-and-forth action between both teams to begin the second period, Cortland broke the tie once again at the 15:22 mark. It wouldn’t take long for the Lakers to tie things up as just two minutes later, Tommy Cahill found the back of the net, bringing the score to 2-2. Oswego would take their first lead of the evening with 10:22 left in the second period. Garrett Clegg found the twine off an assist by Mac Lewis, his second assist of the game. Though, Cortland would knot things up again just four minutes later. With the game tied 3-3 heading into the final period, the Lakers needed someone to step up to break the stalemate. Broughman, as he has done throughout much of his career at Oswego, was the guy to break things open. With 12:44 left in regulation, the team captain scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal, assisted by Alex DiCarlo and Quinn Warmuth. The Lakers defense was impenetrable through the final stretch. The Red Dragons pulled their goalie with 46 second left on the clock and with an empty net, Broughman was able to secure the hat trick, notching in his third goal of the contest.
On Saturday, the Lakers started the game off hot from the opening puck drop, scoring just 30 seconds into the first period off an Alex DiCarlo goal. Although each team continued to fire shots on net, the score remained 1-0 throughout the rest of the period. After some back-and-forth attempts in the second period, sophomore Tyler Flack opened things up for the Lakers at the 13:26 mark, using a screen to beat the Fredonia goalie for his fourth goal of the season. With seven minutes left in the period, captain Travis Broughman intercepted a Blue Devil turnover and found the back of the net to bring the score to 3-0. However, the Blue Devils responded with a goal of their own less than a minute later, using a two-on-one to beat Steven Kozikoski. To end the period, Oswego took a five-minute major for contact to the head of a Fredonia player.
The Lakers, like they’ve done all night, were able to kill the penalty efficiently. Fredonia was held to 0-3 on power plays. With 9:45 remaining in the third period, the Blue Devils scored off a clear that snuck past a Laker defenseman, bringing the deficit to just one goal. Though, a mighty defensive performance by the Lakers would hold Fredonia scoreless through the rest of regulation. With less than a minute left in the period, Oswego had a chance to score a fourth goal. However, an incredible sliding block by the Fredonia defenseman kept the game 3-2.
Travis Broughman lead the team in points with two (1 goal, 1 assist), while Steven Kozikoski continued his hot-streak as he totaled 24 saves. The Oswego State men’s hockey team will look to carry this momentum into their Senior Night and Pride Night game against SUNY Brockport. Puck drop is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m. in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on WTOP 10!
Image provided by Will Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department
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