BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Oswego State Lakers traveled west on the thruway to take on the Buffalo State Bengals Wednesday afternoon. The action started early in this matchup as the Lakers scored twice before the second minute of the game. The first goal came off the foot of Kieran Gilroy a minute and twenty-two seconds into the game. Just thirteen seconds later Liam Rothar would score giving the Lakers a 2-0 lead. The goal was assisted by Chris Smith. The action didn’t stop there. Ten minutes later Buffalo State cut the Lakers lead in half. No other goals in the first half. Oswego goalie Matt D’Arpino made two saves in the first.
The second half didn’t have any goals, but did see plenty of action. The 66th minute saw competing red cards. Oswego’s Matthew Sprague and Buffalo State’s Ayden Cristales each received red cards causing both teams to go down ten men. Oswego would receive two more yellows in the game, with the Bengals receiving one. The game ended 2-1. Despite the win, the Lakers ended up being out shot 16-8, and outshot in shots-on-goal 5-3. Matt D’Arpino ended the game with a total of four saves.
The Lakers are now 5-6-2 (2-3-2 SUNYAC) and have 8 points. They are sitting sixth in the SUNYAC, the final playoff spot.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHELLE QUIACHON, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
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Men’s basketball: SUNYAC preview
OSWEGO N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball completed their season last weekend. One of the most dominant season’s in program history saw them lose only two games all season and only one in conference play. Their first loss came to Nazareth on November 23 and their second coming February 11 to New Paltz. Between the two losses, seventeen straight wins. They finished the season ranked seventeenth in the country, at their highest they were ranked fourteenth. They finished with a record of 23-2, 17-1 in conference play.
On Friday, they are set to play the New Paltz Hawks once more. The two teams play for the third time this season, and the for the second in the Max Ziel Gymnasium. The first time the two sides met was January 29 in Oswego, The Lakers came out victorious 82-53. Devin Green led the Lakers that day with thirteen points, including 4-7 from three. Kaleb Cook and Christian Simmons both contributed eleven. The second matchup was just two weeks ago, this time in New Paltz. In a game that most thought Oswego would walk away with just as they had almost every other game this season, New Paltz shocked Oswego and grabbed a one point victory. Jeremiah Sparks led all Lakers that night with fifteen points. With a rematch on the cards, and both teams looking to win the season series, the winner of the final matchup gets to move on to the SUNYAC Final, to play the winner of Brockport and Oneonta.
The Lakers were led this season by Sophomore guard Jeremiah Sparks and Junior guard Devin Green, both averaging 11.4 points per game. Julien Crittendon and Christian Simmons were the only other two Lakers to average over 10 points per game, 11.0 and 10.4 respectively. Devin Green was the fourth best three point shooter in the country this year, hitting threes at a 47.45% clip. Sparks and Green were also the teams rebounding leaders at 5.8 rebounds per game each, with Brendon Mulson right behind 5.7. What made Oswego stand out this year, was their team defense. Oswego allowed a measly 59.4 points against per game, the fourth best defense in the nation. They also held teams to a 37.2 field goal percentage, the fifth lowest in the nation.
The Lakers, led by head coach Jason Leone, are looking to win the tournament and get a bid to the NCAA tournament. The winner of Friday’s matchups will play in the SUNYAC championship game on Saturday. All games are being held at SUNY Oswego. WTOP10 will have coverage of all three playoff games, and any potential NCAA games played at Oswego.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MATT HERNANDEZ, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
SUNYAC BRACKET COURTESY OF SUNYAC WEBSITE
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Men’s Hockey Season ends after Whiteout PT2
OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Oswego State men’s hockey team’s season came to a head on Saturday night. A SUNYAC Championship bout against the programs biggest and longest rival, the Plattsburgh Cardinals, in the Deborah F. Stanley Ice Arena. The squads finished one and two in the SUNYAC regular season standings, and were playing for the fourth time this season. The Lakers were leading the series 2-1, but the second win over the Cardinals didn’t count for SUNYAC standings as it was in a winter break tournament.
It took just two minutes for the Cardinals to find the back of the net. Plattsburgh’s Adam Tretowicz stole the puck from an Oswego defender, skated across the face of the goal, and buried it in the top left corner. From there it was a very back on forth first period, and also a very physical one. Plenty of big hits across the middle and against the boards, some of which resulted in penalties. The first penalty of the period was a goalie interference call against Connor Sleeth who checked Plattsburgh goalie Eli Shiller who was out of his goal. The second penalty was against Ryan Dickinson for elbowing, both penalties were killed by the Lakers. Plattsburgh Jacob Modry took a cross checking penalty with less than a minute left in the period. At the end of the first the Cardinals were up 1-0. Shiller made six saves in the first period, Cal Schell had four.
The second period was goalless, but wasn’t lacking in action. The period started with the Cardinals killing the penalty. The Lakers took the next penalty, and killed it. In the fifth minute, both squads took rough calls, meaning it was 4-on-4 for the whole 2-minutes. Once again the special team’s units came up big for both squads. Another two penalties against the Cardinals were called during the period. Shiller made another six saves in that period, while the Schell had seven.
In the third period, the Cardinals took another early penalty, but once again killed it. Both teams weren’t effective on power. play in the game, Plattsburgh being 0-3, Oswego going 0-4. The Lakers were the most productive in the third period, with 15 shots on goal, more than doubling their shots output, from 12 to 27 total in the game. Despite that it was Plattsburgh that doubled their advantage with less than four minutes in the game. The Lakers didn’t go down with out a fight though and with less than a minute a slap shot from Tommy Cahill finally go the Lakers on the board. From there they pulled Cal Schell, but couldn’t get another in the net. The Cardinals captured their first SUNYAC title since 2017. Shiller finished the game with 26 saves, while Schell made 18 total.
Oswego finished their season 17-9-1 (12-4-0 SUNYAC). In the final national poll they are ranked 12. Senior forward Alex DiCarlo finished with a team high 13 goals. Junior Forward Shane Bull finished with with the team high in assists (19) and points (28). Freshman goalie Cal Schell finished the season 2.13 GAA and a .923 SV%. The Lakers lose eight seniors to graduation, D Troy Robillard, D Quinn Warmuth, F Tommy Cahill, F Thomas Rocco, F Garrett Clegg, F Alex DiCarlo (A), G Eric Green, D Ryan Bunka (C).
IMAGE PROVIDED BY ERIN BLANK, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
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Sparks and Cook shine as Oswego men’s basketball defeats Clarkson to move to 3-0
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball team continued their stellar start to the season on Tuesday, defeating Clarkson University 82-67 to move to 3-0 on the season. With this win, the Lakers extended their win streak versus Clarkson to six, dating back to 2015.
It was a close, scrappy game from whistle to whistle. Junior guard Kaleb Cook started the game off hot, scoring 13 points in the first half. Despite the strong defensive effort of the Golden Knights, Oswego went into halftime up 34-28. Five minutes into the second half, Oswego went up by double digits with buckets from Brendan Mulson (12), Jeremiah Sparks (10) and Julien Crittendon (10). Throughout the rest of the game, both teams traded baskets, which kept the game within reach for Clarkson. Though at the end or regulation, Oswego was able to prevent a comeback and win 82-67. Sparks finished the game with 18 points, 3 assists and 8 rebounds while Cook and Crittendon finished with 15 points apiece.
Oswego will look to carry this momentum into their next game against Nazareth College on Nov. 23 before their first SUNYAC game of the season the following week. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Max Ziel Gymnasium.
Photo provided by William Rogers, WTOP-10 photography department
