POTSDAM, NY- The Lakers fell short to the Potsdam Bears 64-54 in Potsdam on Saturday in a game where the Lakers took the lead early but were unable to capitalize in the second half.
The first quarter started off the way the Lakers wanted to draw it up as both Logan Castiglione and Shania Iglesias connected on three-pointers to give the Lakers a 6-2 lead with 8:11 in the first quarter. Castiglione would lead the Lakers at the end of the first quarter with eight points including two three-pointers. The Lakers would shoot from over 50% in the field in the first. The Lakers would lead 17-9 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter started with the Bears going on a 9-0 run to take an 18-17 lead over the Lakers. The Lakers struggled from the field only shooting from 25% in the quarter. Shania Iglesias led the Lakers with nine points at the half. The Lakers barely edged out the Bears at the half leading 26-24.
The second half started with Karleigh Leo making a layup to give the Lakers a 28-24 lead early in the third. After a missed three-pointer by Diamond Pickett, the Bears went on a 6-0 run that included a three-pointer as they took a 35-29 with 3:57 left in the third. The Bears managed to shoot at 57.14% from the field in third compared to Oswego’s 40%. The Bears would knock down three three-pointers in the third as they led the Lakers 43-39 at the end of the third quarter.
The Lakers managed to cut the lead to two with two Diamond Pickett free-throws. Karleigh Leo would hit the Lakers only three-pointer of the second half to cut the Potsdam lead to two at 48-46. The Lakers were unable to rally to tie the game or take the lead as the Bears maintained their lead throughout the rest of the fourth quarter. The Bears would knock down three more three-pointers in the fourth quarter as they would score six total three-pointers in the second half. The Bears would go on to win 64-54.
The Lakers will face off in Plattsburgh against the Cardinals on Sunday, December 11th at Memorial Hall. The Cardinals are coming off an embarrassing blowout to Cortland 70-39.
PHOTO CREDITS PROVIDED BY OSWEGO STATE ATHLETICS
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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.
Image Provided by Oswego State Athletics
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Women’s basketball split weekend matchups
OSWEGO, NY- The Lakers ended up splitting their games this weekend as they won on Friday against Plattsburgh but lost on Saturday to Potsdam.The Lakers started off the weekend with an impressive performance against the Plattsburgh Cardinals winning 53-48. The Lakers would lead 12-7 halfway through the first quarter with Sydney Hoefs scoring five points in the first quarter. The second quarter saw the score tied three times with the Lakers leading 33-28 at the half. Chastin Giles would have nine second quarter points. She would lead the Lakers at the half with 11 points. Oswego would go 63.64% in the second quarter and went 66% from the three-point line.
The second half saw the Lakers extend their lead to 40-28 early in the third quarter. The Cardinals would rally at the end of the third to only trail by seven. The Lakers struggled from the field in the third quarter as they were only 26.67% from the field in the quarter. The Lakers would extend their lead to ten early in the fourth as Sydney Hoefs connected on her second three-pointer of the game to give the Lakers a 45-35. A late rally by the Cardinals would fail as the Lakers would hold off Plattsburgh. Hoefs would lead the Lakers on the day with 15 points a season-high for her and Chastin Giles would post a season best 13 points in the game.
The Lakers would then take on the Potsdam Bears on Saturday but would lose 64-33. The Lakers would trail early 4-0 and would trail 19-14 at the end of the first quarter. Sydney Hoefs would lead the Lakers at the end of the first quarter with five points. The Lakers had immense struggles from the field only shooting 28.57% in both the first and second quarter. Potsdam fared from much better from the field shooting 42.86%. Giavanna Principio-White would lead the Lakers at the half with six points. The Bears would lead the Lakers 31-19 at the half.
The second half was a continuation of the first half with more struggles for the Lakers. The Lakers would only shoot 11.11% from the field, their worst shooting % from the field in a quarter this season since their game against Geneseo only January 24th only managing to shoot 13.33%. Oswego managed to only score three points in the third quarter while allowing Potsdam to score 16 more points as the Bears lead by a huge margin 47-22 at the end of the third. The fourth quarter began with Principio-White connecting on a three-pointer but the Lakers still trailed 47-25. Oswego would lose 64-33 to Potsdam which was their eighth straight loss to the Bears and their worst loss to them since they first faced off in 1971.
The Lakers will host the New Paltz Hawks on Friday, February 3rd at the Max Ziel Gymnasium at 5:30. The Lakers face a Hawks squad who have won 12 games in a row this season and are on of the top two teams SUNYAC . The Lakers will look to end a ten-game losing streak to the Hawks. New Paltz beat Oswego 74-47 this season back on January 21st.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO ATHLETICS
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Men’s Hockey lose two amidst tough stretch
UTICA, NY – The #7 ranked Oswego State Men’s hockey team has hit a rough patch in their season, losing their last three games. After losing to Skidmore two weekends ago in the Skidmore Thanksgiving Invitational, their Lakers returned to home ice Friday night to take on the Morrisville Mustangs on Teddy Bear Toss night.
Morrisville took the early lead in the game. In the fourth minute of game action, the Mustangs put one past net-minder Cal Schell for the first goal of the game. It look less than ten seconds for Morrisville to double their lead, and the Lakers found themselves with an uphill climb to get back and win the game. Despite being down, the Lakers led the period in shots, 9-7, three of them coming by way of Tommy Cahill. Schell ended the period with five saves. The Lakers dominated the face-off circle winning 13 of 15 opportunities.
The Lakers started their fight back in the second period. It started slow, a penalty by Ryan Dickinson at the five minute mark put the Mustangs on the man advantage, but the Lakers killed it, allowing no shots. Just past the half way mark Trent Grimshaw scored, sending the teddy bears flying onto the ice. All the stuffed animals collected were donated to Toys for Tots. The goal was assisted by Ryan Dickinson and Tommy Cahill. Neither team would score the rest of the period. Oswego again led in shots, 8-6, and was led by Cahill and Colabufo with two each. Schell had another six saves.
The third period saw Morrisville have two penalties, first a tripping call seven minutes in, and then their second too many players on the ice call of the game in the seventeenth minute. The Lakers couldn’t capitalize on either penalty only getting one shot off in the first and none in the second. They finished 0-3 on the Powerplay in the game. Oswego pulled goalie Cal Schell in the final minutes of the game, and the Mustangs used that to their advantage, scoring the empty netter with just 1:30 remaining the contest. Morrisville handed the Lakers their first conference loss of the season, and their second loss in a row. Cahill and Colabufo led the team in shots with five each. The Lakers were dominate all game in the face-off circle going an outstanding 25 for 30. Schell had another 11 saves in the final frame, finishing the game with 22.
Oswego took to the road on Saturday night to take on the Utica Pioneers for a matchup of two top 10 teams. The Pioneers came into the ga e ranked #3 in the country and looked to hold their status and one of the best programs in division three. It also happened to be teddy bear toss night in Utica. The Lakers held the game scoreless for a good portion of the first period, but the Pioneers finally got one by Schell. The Pioneers commanded the first period, winning the shot battle 17-5. Schell, back in net, had 16 saves.
The Pioneers took over the in the second frame. Nine minutes in the they scored their second of the game. Two minutes later they scored their third. They scored their fourth with less than two remaining in the period. The Lakers took a couple penalties in the period, but were able to kill them, despite going down 4-0. Lakers were again outshot, 15-8, in the period. Schell had another 12 saves.
The Lakers played their most competitive in the third. They were still out-shot 13-10, but that was the closest it was all game. Neither side scored in the period, but it was a very physical one. The squads had dueling penalties just before the fifteen minute mark, but for the Lakers it resulted in a five minute major and game misconduct for Matt McQuade. The sides again had competing penalties with 3:30 to go. Despite everything that happened in the period, Schell finished off an overall good night with another 13 saves, finishing the game with 41 saves. Alex DiCarlo and Connor Sleeth led the Lakers in shots with three each.
With the losing streak, the Lakers fall to 7-4 on the season and 5-1 in the SUNYAC. They have one more weekend of games before they get a couple weeks off. Next weekend they take to the road for a game against the Buffalo State Bengals on Friday and stay on the road for a game against Fredonia on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7:00 P.M. for both games. The are currently #7 in the USCHO poll, but expect to fall with the losses.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MICHELLE QUIACHON, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT.
