OSWEGO — Hockey is back in Oswego and although they were exhibition matches, the atmosphere was electric. The Lady Lakers took on the London Jr. Devilettes and snuck in two goals late in the third period to secure a come from behind 4-3 win. Later that night, the men’s team took on Nazareth and it was a very physical game. The men scored three goals in the first period to jump out to an early lead and held them scoreless in the last two frames. Tanner Spink led the charge with two goals as the Lakers would pull away with a 5-2 win.
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Oswego State Men’s Golf Wraps Up 2021 Season
ELMIRA, N.Y. — The Oswego State Men’s Golf team traveled to Mark Twain Golf Club in Elmira, N.Y. for the one day Elmira College Invitational. The Lakers would claim the second place finish with an overall team score of a +49 and a 337 stroke total. The field consisted of two teams from the host Elmira, two teams from SUNY Delhi, one from Utica College, and the Lakers to wrap up the 6 team pool. The team coming away with the tournament win was SUNY Delhi’s “A Team” with that entire team landing in the top seven scores, however the other two in those top 7 were from the Oswego State Lakers.
Ryan Fecco a junior was tied for the top score with a 75 (+3) on the day to back up his first team all conference performance from the previous weekend at the Empire 8 Golf Championship. Fecco would go into a playoff with Delhi’s Danny Christy and the Laker would get the job done to take the invitational title. The other Laker was sophomore Christopher Sugar, an Oswego High School graduate in 2019. Sugar was able to place in a tie for fourth with a 78 (+6) on the day. As for the rest of the Oswego State squad, Oliver Wolland and Joseph Pacheco III were in a tie for 20th with 92’s (+20) and Joe Marszalek was shortly behind them with a 93 (+21) in the round.
The final standings were, as mentioned SUNY Delhi (A) taking the top spot, followed by the Lakers with their total of 337. The Broncos would have another team in the top three with their “B” team shooting a 339, Elmira College (A) in 4th with a 348 total. Wrapping up the bottom of the standings was Utica at 5th with a 351 and Elmira College (B) with a 449. Although this will wrap up the Lakers condensed season, with two finishes in the top 3 for team score as well as a tournament individual championship, look for them to be eager for a potential Empire 8 championship next season.
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Progress Report: Oswego State men’s hockey
OSWEGO, N.Y. — After last night’s contest in Rochester, the Oswego State men’s hockey team has completed twelve games prior to the turn of the New Year. After six SUNYAC games and five nonconference games, the Lakers find themselves with a overall record of 8-3-1. The Lakers head into Christmas Break on a five game win streak. Oswego State also posts a stellular away record which features six wins and only one lost along with a tie.
Game Recap: Oswego State @ Nazareth College
Saturday night, the Lakers headed west to Rochester to take on the Nazareth College Golden Flyers. Nazareth College was hosting the annual Hockey Fights Cancer game at Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex so the Lakers wore their teal jerseys and the Golden Flyers wore special uniforms to honor the cause. Oswego State halted a Nazareth College comeback in overtime to get their fifth straight win by a score line of 6-5. This win was head coach Ed Gosek‘s 350th win as the bench boss for the Oswego State Lakers. His all time record as Oswego State’s head coach improves to 350-111-31 and currently posts a winning percentage of .743. Oswego State forward Alex DiCarlo would net two goals in the contest, both in the first period to put the Lakers ahead. Tyler Flack would have an assist on both of those goals along with two assists later in the contest to put up a four point night and lead the Lakers on the stats sheet. Nazareth would answer in the first period to cut the lead in half but the Lakers would find an answer in the next stanza. Oswego State would net another two goals as Connor Sleeth got a pair of his own. Sleeth was also a factor in the faceoff circle with ten wins, the most from any Oswego State player. The Golden Flyers would string together four goals in the third period, two of them coming from Spencerport native Nick Charron. The tying goal would come with one second remaining off a faceoff that push the game into overtime.
Oswego State and Nazareth would trade shots to start the overtime period before the Lakers gained procession around the one minute mark. Ryan Dickinson would be the hero the Lakers needed after the defenseman redirected the puck off a pass from DiCarlo. The forward would finish with two goals and one assist in the contest. Goaltender Eric Green would finish the contest in between the pipes as starting netminder Steven Kozikoski left the game with the trainer at the end of regulation. Kozikoski would make a total of 27 saves over the course of the sixty minutes of hockey.
Progress Report
With thirteen regular season games left prior to the start of the SUNYAC Championships, the Lakers have a nineteen day rest before the start of the Clarion/Best Western Oswego Hockey Classic. This group of young talent currently sits fifth in the conference standings with six SUNYAC games completed. The Lakers have 13 points posting a 4-1-1 conference record. One positive, the four teams ahead of Oswego State (Geneseo, Cortland, Plattsburgh State, Brockport) have all finished eight conference games. The Lakers have the advantage heading into the second half of the season with two extra conference games still ahead on the calendar. Oswego State still needs to face Buffalo State and Fredonia as those four contests linger on the schedule. Both western teams have had a rough start in terms of conference play.
In terms of offense, the Oswego State Lakers average 3.3 goals per game. The offense goes through both Alex DiCarlo and captain Travis Broughman who are both tied for the points lead with a total of thirteen. DiCarlo has found his freshman form once again and has eight tallies along with eight assist for that thirteen point total. The sophomore is currently on a three game point streak which includes two games that feature multiple point nights. Broughman headed into Rochester with a four game point streak which featured a five point night in SUNY Canton against the Kangaroos. The captains nine assists is a team high and also included in his stat column are four goals for his thirteen point total. Currently these two players are the only Lakers above a point per game. Newcomers like Connor Sleeth and Tyler Flack have also made an impact in the Lakers offense both posting nine points through twelve games. Sleeth heads into January with three goals and six assists while Flack has two goals and seven assists.
On the other side of the puck, the Lakers defensive core averages 2.3 goals against per game, the fourth best in the SUNYAC conference. Out of the eight defenseman on the roster, there is not one that has not dressed in all twelve games so far this season. The team effort on defense has kept opponents to just an average of 25.5 shots per game which compares to the 30.4 that the Lakers average on net. Transfer Troy Robillard leads the team in blocks with a total of fourteen after his eleven games played in an Oswego State uniform. In between the pipes, starting netminder Steven Kozikoski has come to mid season form after a slower start. The Laker currently averages 1.90 goals against and posts a .931 save percentage after his ten games played this season. Newcomer Eric Green has also seen time in net for Oswego State and holds a 2.89 goals against average and has a .840 save percentage. The tandem has done a solid job in the first half of the season especially in tight games.
The special teams have also come a long way after a slow start in the 2021-22 season. As of right now, the Oswego State Lakers power play unit ranks number one in the SUNYAC with a 34.7 efficiency percentage. The Lakers have scored a total of seventeen power play goals over the course of forty nine opportunities. When the Lakers are a man down, Oswego State has only given up seven power play goals to opponents, the same as Geneseo. The Oswego State Lakers rank fourth in the conference with a penalty kill that has a 84.1 success rate. The special team units will be essential to success in the second half of the season.
On the other side of the break, Oswego State will have to look forward to the annual Clarion/Best Western Oswego Hockey Classic. This year, the #4 Augsburg Auggies, SUNY Canton Kangaroos, and Skidmore Thoroughbreds will head to SUNY Oswego to compete in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. On Saturday, January 1st, SUNY Canton will take on Skidmore College at 3:00 p.m. prior to the Oswego State Lakers facing off against the Augsburg University Auggies at 7:00 p.m. in front of a hometown crowd. Sunday’s match ups will be determined by the results from Saturday but Oswego State will play during the 7:00 p.m. time slot. Oswego State has only played Augsburg University once during the 2008-09 season during the Oswego Hockey Classic. The Lakers were victorious in that contest with a final score of 5-2. The Lakers will play six more contests after that weekend in January and a majority of those games will be SUNYAC match ups. WTOP 10 will continue to provide coverage of the Oswego State men’s hockey team and the group continues their hunt for a conference championship in the 2021-22 season.
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Game Recap: Syracuse defeats Oswego
OSWEGO, NY — Thursday evening the Oswego Boys Buccaneers Hockey team faced off against the Syracuse Cougars in a contest played inside the Crisafulli Ice Rink. The Cougars would have no problem with the Buccaneers as the game finished with a 4-0 score in favor of Syracuse. The game would be scoreless heading into the final minutes of the first period before the Cougars added to past Oswego goaltender Brandon Demling. Syracuse would continue to add to their goal total in the second period as the Cougars would tally one more before the end of stanza. Oswego would look to put one up on the scoreboard before the end of the contest but would be unsuccessful as the Cougars finished the season on a high note.
Oswego will head into Friday night’s contest at 7-7 on the season as the Buccaneers welcome Cazenovia into the Crisafulli Ice Rink. Oswego wraps up their season at home with their game against Cazenovia and then Watertown on Saturday. Tomorrow’s game is Senior Night for the Buccaneers as the team honors their seven seniors which includes captain Adam Michalski and injured Ryan Bartlett. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. from Fort Ontario and WNYO will have the game broadcasted over their airwaves. WTOP 10 will continue to cover the Oswego Buccaneers Hockey team until the season concludes on Saturday.
