Brian Burrows
Baseball takes series against rivals Plattsburgh
Oswego, N.Y. – The Oswego State Lakers found themselves in a weekend set against school rivals the Plattsburgh Cardinals. The Lakers came into the series on a six game SUNYAC win streak, though were on a three game losing streak after taking back-to-back losses to St. John Fisher the previous Saturday and a mid-week loss to Ithaca. Plattsburgh came in on a four game win streak, including a sweep of the New Paltz Hawks.
Game one of the three game set was on Friday, and saw Kieran Finnegan on the bump for the Lakers taking on Kolby Mordecki for the Cardinals. Oswego took the lead scoring the first run in the bottom of the second on a Jelani Hamer steal of home. Connor Gonzalski grabbed the lead in the top of the third on a two run homer. Owen Parliment tied it straight back up with a solo shot in the bottom of the third. Once again Plattsburgh wasn’t letting Oswego keep the lead, Jack Defayette singling and scoring Adam Wein to give a 3-2 lead. After a couple of scoreless frames, the the Lakers finally grabbed the lead back, Jacob Levine hitting a two-run homer for a 4-3 Oswego lead. The game ended with that score line. Kieran Finnegan pitched seven strong innings, giving up the three runs, striking out 10, and walking two. Anthony Van Fossen pitched the final two innings without allowing a runs, striking out three and grabbing a save. Kolby Mordecki also pitched seven, gave up all four runs, struck out 11, and walked three.
Game two was moved to Saturday morning, due to predicted weather later on Saturday. Chris Santis took the mound for Plattsburgh, taking on Alek Conrad for Oswego. Oswego took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, as Jelani Hamer stole third and then scored on a throwing error by the catcher. In the top of the third, Plattsburgh tied it on a Connor Gonzalski single. The game finally came untied in the sixth. It started with a Jack Defayette two-run double. Two batters later, Adam Wein doubled scoring Defayette, Plattsburgh took a 4-1 lead. The extended their lead to four runs in the eighth on a Nick Cergol RBI single. The Lakers tried to mount a comeback in the bottom of the ninth. With two runners on, Tishawn Featherstone singled scoring both. That brought up the Lakers most dangerous hitter Owen Parliment, who struck out looking to end the game. Chris Santic went 7.2 innings, allowing only one run walking two and striking out five. Adam Veit, who played the first eight innings at shortstop, came in for the ninth, and got the save. For Oswego Alek Conrad went five innings, gave up one run, without giving a walk and striking out three. Larry Citrola was the first out of the bullpen for Oswego, and he gave up three runs, in two-thirds of an inning and got the loss.
Game three of the series was game two of Saturday’s double header. Adam Veit got the start for Plattsburgh after pitching the ninth of the previous game, for Oswego it was freshman Jonah Shearer. This game was a lot different than the other two had been. It started with a five run second inning for Oswego. It started with a Tim Schinto RBI single. Then CJ McCarthy hit a triple that scored two more runs, and then on a throwing error, made it home clearing the bases and giving Oswego a 4-0 lead. A couple batters later, Tishawn Featherstone hit a single, that would score Jelani Hammer. Plattsburgh grabbed a run in the third and fourth innings, making it 5-2. In the bottom of the fourth Oswego put up another three runs to extend it to 8-2. RBIs by McCarthy, Hamer, and Featherstone. After the top of the sixth, a lightning warning put the game into a 30 min delay, and then the weather finally hit and the game was called, Oswego winning 8-2. Jonah Shearer had an excellent start for the Lakers, pitching 5.1 innings, allowing two runs, neither of them earned, walking one, and striking out five. Adam Veit was charged with all eight of Oswego’s runs, six of them were earned. He only struck out one batter and walked one.
The Lakers now head to a home double header against Clarkson on Tuesday with record of 15-15 (8-4 SUNYAC). They are fourth in the SUNYAC.
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Oswego Baseball swept in SUNYAC opener
CORTLAND, N.Y. – The rough start to the Oswego State Baseball team’s season just got a bit worse. After starting the season 5-8 through a tough non-conference schedule, the team opened conference play with one of the toughest opponents there is, the Cortland Red Dragons.
The first game of the the three game set was one the Lakers really are going to want to forget. Jacob Sanders got the start on the mound for the Lakers, but only got two innings into the game. He gave up three runs, on four hits, walking two, hitting a batter and striking out two. Anthony Van Fossen pitched the next four innings for the Lakers, and it didn’t get much better. He allowed six runs on eight hits, walking one, though he did strike out six. The game only went seven innings, so the final frame was pitched by Ryan Paige, who gave up three hits and a run, striking out one. Oswego was kept hitless in this one. Cortland’s Dylan Beers pitched all seven innings of the game, allowing only one walk, and striking out 12 of the 22 batters he faced in the game. Cortland won the game 10-0. The standout batter for Cortland was Mat Bruno. The Red Dragons’ left fielder was 3-5 on the day with a double and drove in three.
The second game of the series was actually game two of Friday’s double header. The Lakers had to bounce back from being no-hit just a few hours later. Unfortunately for the Lakers, it just wasn’t their day. The Red Dragons scored five runs in the first two innings in this one. Thomas Pecchia got the start for Oswego, he also only made it two innings into the game, giving up five runs, only three earned, and seven hits. The Lakers would respond, grabbing a run of their own in the top of the third inning, Jelani Hammer scoring off a Tishawn Featherstone single, though Cortland would take the run right back in the bottom half. The fourth inning was scoreless for both squads, and in the top of the fifth the Lakers looked to mount a comeback. Jelani Hammer started the scoring with a solo-homer, and then a two-run bomb from Featherstone pulling the Lakers to only a two run deficit 6-4. The Lakers once again kept the Red Dragons scoreless in the bottom half of the inning, but it was the sixth inning that Cortland created the insurmountable lead. They scored six runs, five out which came off of two home runs. Oswego couldn’t answer, and the Red Dragons added another three runs to their lead for a 15-4 final after seven innings. Cortland’s Will McCarthy got the win after going four and two thirds innings, giving up three runs on seven hits while striking out four. Alec Conrad pitched most of the game for the Lakers, going four innings while giving up seven runs, four earned, on nine hits and striking out two.
The final game of the set was on Saturday, and once more it was a tough one for the Lakers. Once again the Lakers were held scoreless in this one. They had six hits scattered through the seven inning game. Cortland again got started early, grabbing a run in the first inning, then two more in the third. Another three in the fourth inning knocked the Lakers started Kieran Finnegan out of the game. He finished after three and two thirds innings, giving up six runs, three earned, on seven hits, walking three. Larry Citrola took the bomb from Finnegan and had a good two and a third innings. He only allowed one run on one hit and struck on two. Going into the seventh the Red Dragons held a 7-0 lead, and they scored three in the seventh inning to make it a 10-0 lead and end the game. Relief pitcher Liam Krasney was a star for the Red Dragons’, pitched the final three frames without allowing a hit and striking out three; he also picked up a save. Errors killed the Lakers in this one, with only four of Cortland’s ten runs being earned runs.
The Lakers next series is a double header at home against SUNY Cobleskill on Wednesday, game one is a 1:30 and game two is set for 4:00. The team is now 5-11 this season.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO ATHLETICS
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).
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Men’s Hockey headed to Whiteout pt 2, SUNYAC Final addition
OSWEGO, NY – The Oswego State Men’s hockey team had a high pressure SUNYAC semi-final on Saturday night against the Buffalo State Bengals. The Bengals were coming off a mid-week upset over Cortland, and had their starting goalie, Emil Norrman, back from injury. The two sides had just played a week prior, but without Norrman, an All-SUNYAC goalie, in net, the Lakers put seven goals in the back of the net.
The first action in the first period was a slashing call against the Lakers, giving the Bengals an early man-advantage. The Lakers killed it without allowing a shot on net. A few minutes after the end of the penalty, Tyler Flack scored his first goal of the season to give Oswego a 1-0 lead. Just seconds after the puck-drop from the last goal, Alex DiCarlo found netting behind Norrman again. The rest of the period was tame, without anymore goals or penalties. The Oswego defense was strong in the first, and Cal Schell only had four saves. Norrman had eight saves.
At the start of the second, the Lakers were started quickly. It took just 40 seconds for Oswego’s Connor Gatto to score the Lakers third goal. Throughout the rest of the period, both squads traded shots though nothing found netting. With five to go in the period the Bengals took a too-many men penalty, though the Lakers couldn’t capitalize. With just over a minute to go in the period, Drake Semrad was called for a 5-minute major for contact to the head, meaning he also missed the remainder of the game. With the Lakers up 3-0 at the end of the period, things looked bleak for the Bengals, but with just under four minutes remaining on the penalty there was still hope. Schell only had to make another four saves in the period, Norrman made 14.
To start the third, Lakers killed the major penalty, but also picked up another meaning they were 5-on-3 for about 30 seconds. The Lakers killed that one as well, while only giving up two shots throughout the entire ordeal. The Lakers spent a good portion of five minutes on a man-advantage, with the Bengals taking back-to-back penalties. Oswego got five shots off during the penalties, but couldn’t find netting. With less than four to go, Buffalo State broke the shutout, burying a slap shot. It was long before the Lakers recaptured that three-goal lead. Tommy Cahill buried one just a minute later. A late penalty against Jackson Arcan gave Buffalo State one last shot, but they didn’t take advantage and the game ended 4-1. Troy Robillard had two assists, in the game. Quinn Warmuth and Matt McQuade led the team with five shots each, while also each grabbing an assist. Cal Schell only had 15 saves in the game, Emil Norrman had 33.
Oswego moves onto the SUNYAC Championship game against rival Plattsburgh in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. The two sides have already met three times this season, twice as regular season games, once as a non-conference game. The winner of the game gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Puck drop is set for 7:00, in what will be a big weekend for Laker athletics.
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Men’s Hockey sweeps biggest weekend of season
OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Oswego State men’s hockey team came into the weekend with one goal in mind, sweeping the weekend and clinching a SUNYAC regular season title. The had the advantage of both games being at home, but both opponents coming in had playoff aspirations of their own.
Game one of the weekend was against the Buffalo State Bengals. The Lakers quickly put themselves at a disadvantage, taking two penalties, and bing 5-on-3 for a bit, but ultimately killed both. It took about seven minutes for the first goal to find netting. Trent Grimshaw grabbed his fourth goal of the season to get the Lakers on the board, but Buffalo State quickly answered. A little more than a minute later, Joe Glamos tied the game for the Bengals. The game remained at ones for a while, but the Lakers grabbed the lead back. Ryan Bunka gave his team lead. Once again, the lead only lasted a little more than a minute, Joe Glamos again tying the game up. The score ties at two, both squads went to the locker room. Cal Schell had six saves for Oswego in the first, Liam Gross, for Buffalo State had 13.
In the second period, the game remained at 2-2 for almost the entire time. Buffalo took one penalty during the period, but killed it. It took until less than four minutes for the first goal of the second frame to happen. Ryan Dickinson giving the Lakers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. With less than a minute to play in the frame Connor Gatto doubled the lead. Rocco Andreacchi and Shane Bull being credited with assists on both goals in the period, and Andreacchi getting his third of the game. Schell had another six saves in the period, Gross adding another 14.
The third period saw Trent Grimshaw continue his scoring ways. He would score twice getting his first collegiate hat-trick. His goals were split by one for Buffalo State. In the third, the Lakers had two power-play opportunities that they wouldn’t capitalize on. Oswego took the first game of the weekend, 7-3, and clinched at top-two seed in the playoffs. Ten different Lakers got a point in the game, five of them more than one. Schell ended the game with 17 saves, Gross had 38.
The final game of the Lakers regular season was Senior Night. The Lakers recognized all-their seniors in a post-game ceremony. The game was against the Fredonia Blue Devils. Once again the Lakers came out flying. Just past the six minute mark, Oswego found the scoreboard twice in 15 seconds. The first score came off the stick of Conor Smart. Quickly after the restart of play, it was Tommy Cahill giving Oswego a 2-0 lead. The Lakers weren’t done there though, Drake Semrad gave Oswego a 3-0 lead in the tenth minute of the first period. Alex DiCarlo wanted to be part of the scoring parade, scoring the Lakers fourth and final goal of the first period. Eight different Lakers got assists in the first. Cal Schell had eight saves in the first period, while Logan Dyck had 13.
The Blue Devils made a goalie switch in the second. Charles-Anthony Barbeau was put in net. The second period was Conor Smart‘s period. He scored the Lakers first two goals of the second, and scored his first collegiate hat-trick. Daniel Colabufo got himself one final goal of the regular season as well, in the third. Before the end of the period, Fredonia picked up a penalty, that would be impactful in the third. With a 7-0 lead going into the break, the Lakers looked good to secure their first regular season title since 2018-19, but still had one to go. Schell had seven saves in the second, Barbeau had 17.
Fredonia made another goalie switch in the third, giving Dalton Jerzak some game time in the final game. The penalty that carried through to the third quickly became impactful, Ben Addison getting his second goal of the season. Less than a minute later Garrett Clegg scored his first goal of the season, on his senior night. The rest of the game was scoreless and the Lakers walked away with a 9-0 victory and a SUNYAC regular season championship. Smart was the only Laker with multiple goals, but six Lakers got multiple assists, 11 total getting at least one assist. Schell finished the game with 20 saves, Jerzak had 16 saves in the third.
Oswego now awaits an opponent for the SUNYAC semi-final that will be played in Oswego, they will play the lowest remaining seed after the SUNYAC quarter-final games played on Wednesday night. The semi-final game will be played on Saturday at 7:00.
At the end of the regular season, Alex DiCarlo was the teams leading goal scorer with 12 throughout the season. Shane Bull was the team’s leading assist and point getter, with 18 assists and 27 points. Cal Schell finished the season with a 2.19 Goals Against Average and .924 save percentage.
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Men’s Hockey gets revenge on Morrisville
MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The Oswego State Men’s Hockey team took to the road Wednesday night for a revenge game with the Morrisville Mustangs. The Mustangs came to Oswego just after the Thanksgiving break for the Teddy Bear toss game and shocked the Lakers by beating them 3-1, in a game that would end up being the second loss in a three game skid. Now only three games away from the SUNYAC playoffs, every game matters for the Lakers who are looking to secure home ice advantage in the playoffs.
In what could have been a trap game for the Lakers, they showed what they were made of and it started with the games first goal halfway through the first period. Tommy Cahill found netting, with the assist coming from Daniel Colabufo. The Lakers did a good job killing penalties in the first period, killing off two. Once again, they Lakers ran into a goalie who was having a great game, at least in the first period. Morrisville’s Ryan Creenan had 21 saves in the first period, Cal Schell had seven.
The second period it seemed as thought the Lakers figured Creenan out. It took just under ten minutes for the first goal, but from there they were off to the races. The Lakers second goal came from Shane Bull, with assists credit going to Alex DiCarlo. Less than three minutes later, Jackson Arcan buried one, Tyler Flack getting an assist. The Lakers would find netting for a third time in the second period. Alex DiCarlo added to his team leading goal total, while Ryan Bunka and Connor Gatto each grabbed assists. With a 4-0 lead at the second break, Oswego looked good to win, but they weren’t done. Creenan only had seven saves in the second period, Schell had eight.
Not even four minutes into the third, the Lakers struck again. Connor Gatto grabbed his third goal of the year. Alex DiCarlo grabbed his third point of the game with the goal, Shane Bull also grabbed an assist. The middle part of the period was more tame, Oswego killed a Quinn Warmuth tripping penalty around the halfway point. Oswego took advantage of a late Morrisville penalty to put the cherry on top of the game. Jackson Arcan scored his second goal of the game, and sixth of the season. Shane Bull became the second Laker in the game to reach three points, with Ben Addison also tallying an assist. Oswego walked onto the bus with a 6-0 victory. Matt McQuade led the Lakers with four shots in the game. Schell finished with 26 games and his first shutout of the season. Creenan had 33 in the game.
The Lakers have two games left, both on the road. They take on Buffalo State Friday followed by Fredonia Saturday. With the win the Lakers reclaimed first place in the SUNYAC, one point ahead of Plattsburgh on an even number of games played. Fredonia and Buffalo State won’t be walk over games, both squads still playing for playoff spots and seeding.
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Men’s hockey splits big weekend
BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The Oswego State men’s hockey team had a big weekend that had implications for the final SUNYAC standings picture. A Friday night rematch with the Geneseo Knights, this time on home ice, was followed by a Saturday road game against the Brockport Golden Eagles. The best case scenario would have been taking both games, tying Plattsburgh on points with one less game played than them.
One of the most highly anticipated matches of the season for Oswego States fan was Friday’s matchup with the Knights. The Lakers had taken the first game of the season series in Geneseo, and were looking to sweep the series. Geneseo came out firing though, and quickly put the Lakers on their back foot. Nine minutes into the first period they put one past Schell. The Knights doubled their lead before the end of the period and went into the locker rooms with a 2-0 lead. Geneseo’s Matt Petizian was playing out of his mind through the entire game, in the first period alone he had 17 saves. Schell only had 6.
The Knights extent ended their lead once more in the second. In the eighth minute of the period they fired on past Schell for what was the only goal of the frame. The Lakers put themselves in a tough spot in the final minutes of the second, playing a good chunk of the final five minutes down two men. They did a good job killing off all of the penalties and went in to the break on a mini high. Petizian racked up another 13 saves in the period, while Schell had 12 of his own.
The Lakers made some good changes and took advantage of Geneseo’s sloppy play in the third frame. Matt McQuade finally got the Lakers on the board just before the halfway point of the final period of regulation. The Lakers second goal came just four minutes later, this time on the power play. Daniel Colabufo took advantage of the man-advantage to bring the Lakers within one. It was less than three minutes until the game tying goal. Again on the power play, the puck was bouncing around in a scrum in front of the goal when Connor Sleeth poked it out to a wide open Quinn Warmuth. Warmuth buried it past two diving defenders, sending the fan section into raptures. The goal sent the game to OT. At the end of regulation Matt Petizian, despite giving up the three goals, had raked up 47 to that point. Schell had 21, the total he would end the game at.
In OT, the Lakers found themselves on the man advantage, once more, but couldn’t capitalize. It was Geneseo, in even-strength play, that would get the break-away opportunity, to seal the victory 4-3. Petizian was the star of the game, 53 total saves. Oswego’s Connor Sleeth led the team with eight shots. Seven total Lakers tallied a point, but not one of them more than one point.
After the heartbreaking loss, Oswego had to regroup and head on the road to take on the Brockport Golden Eagles. It was a scoreless first period, again highlighted by the opposing goal tender. Brockport’s Nolan Egbert had 20 saves in the first period, Schell back in net had 11 of his own.
The second period was where the Lakers found their stride from the previous night. Noah Bull found the back of the net first for Oswego, just past the nine-minute mark of the period. He was followed less than two minutes later by Jackson Arcan, this time on the power-play. Brockport was going to go away easily though, they scored a short-handed goal with just over a minute to go in the frame to make it a 2-1 game.
Oswego didn’t take long to recapture the two goal lead they had. Five minutes into the third period Daniel Colabufo found netting for the second time in the weekend, again on the power-play. Oswego scored one more goal to finish the game off, Quinn Warmuth also finding the back of the net for the second time in the weekend. The final score was 4-1. The Lakers out-shot the Golden Eagles 45-32 in the contest. Trent Grimshaw and Alex DiCarlo each had two assists in the game.
After splitting the weekend, but the loss being an OT loss, the Lakers took three points and retained the second place in the SUNYAC they went into the weekend with. Only two points separate the the top three teams, with Oswego sandwiched between Plattsburgh and Geneseo. The top five SUNYAC teams all clinched playoff spots, the rest of the game are all fights for seeding for them. Oswego’s next game is a mid-week matchup with the Morrisville Mustangs, a team they lost to earlier this season, and who are fighting for the final playoff spot in the SUNYAC.
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