OSWEGO — The Oswego State men’s basketball team will begin there season this Friday Nov. 16 against Elmira at 7:30 p.m. The Lakers finished last season just a game over .500 with a (14-13) record. With there top two seniors in Ian Schupp and Jamir Ferebee gone, Tyler Pierre who averaged 10.4 points per game for the Lakers last year will look to only improve from there. They will have six freshmen on the squad as they look to get back the game they lost against Elmira last year by a score of 103-90.
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Oswego State Hockey Weekend Preview
OSWEGO, NY — Men’s Hockey returns home this weekend for a pair of SUNYAC match ups in the last regular season weekend of the 2019-2020 campaign. The Lakers are coming off a successful weekend in Morrisville as the team secured two shutouts and the second seed in the SUNYAC playoffs. The 4-0 and 7-0 wins allowed Oswego to clinch the second seed behind Geneseo. This gave Oswego a bye into the semi-final round of playoffs along with a home game. This also allows the Lakers to finish off the season stress free as these next two match ups are just confidence boosters heading into post season. These two match ups against the two teams from the Buffalo area are however important for these away teams.
Friday night, Buffalo State will travel into the Marano Campus Center as the current fourth seed in the standings. But the Bengals have only clinched a berth to the playoffs and not secured their position in the top six. With Brockport only facing Geneseo this weekend, Buffalo State could pass the Golden Eagles with two wins over Oswego and then Cortland Saturday evening. Buffalo State would have the tiebreaker if the Bengals could only secure one win this weekend, or Brockport does upset Geneseo. For Oswego, a win over Buffalo State would allow the Lakers to sweep the Bengals along with make Buffalo State’s chances of coming back to Oswego for a semi final game even tougher. Steven Kozikoski will most likely start Friday night to stay fresh for playoffs. Kozikoski has started and completed the last 6 of 7 games for the Lakers as the sophomore currently holds a 1.81 goals against average along with a .927 save percentage, the best between all three netminders. This puck drop is set for 7 p.m. but WTOP 10 has you covered with coverage beginning at 6:30.
Saturday Night, the Lakers will face off against Fredonia who’s currently is in last in the SUNYAC standings. Although the team has a 3-8-3 conference record, the Devils still have a chance of making the playoffs with two games this weekend. With a current three way tie for the last spot, Fredonia only sits one point out with a game against Cortland Friday, the current sixth seed. Due to Saturday’s game being Senior Night, expect seniors David Richer and Cedric Hansen split time in net for the Lakers. Richer did start Saturday night’s in Morrisville and secured his 9th collegiate shutout after not playing since January 24th against Cortland, when the Lakers lost in overtime. This game will also have a 7 p.m. puck drop with coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. on WTOP 10. The Senior Night Ceremony will begin directly after the completion of the game.
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Fall Season comes to an end for Men’s Lacrosse
OSWEGO — The Oswego State Men’s Lacrosse team finished their fall season with two scrimmages against Cazenovia College and SUNY Polytechnic institute. It was the final test for them for the Fall before they transition to the spring season. The scrimmage also served as a fundraiser for the Wilmot Cancer Institute as admissions to the scrimmage were free and went towards Wilmot.
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Oswego’s Men’s Lacrosse Team Set to Begin 2021 Season
OSWEGO, NY — The Oswego State Men’s Lacrosse Team is set to take on SUNY Oneonta on Saturday, March 20th to kick off their 2021 season. This will be the Oswego Men’s Lacrosse team’s first action in over a year due to the pandemic. However, unlike prior seasons, conference play is set to begin earlier than ever before, starting March 26th versus Geneseo. Senior goaltender Kevin O’Donnell understands just how important these early games are to set the tone for the rest of the season.
“With SUNYACs coming up so soon and those being the most important games for our team, the level of expectancy exceeds any other season in my opinion,” O’Donnell said. “Especially with the teams were playing, Morrisville, Oneonta, and then the rest of the SUNY division, it’s important that were on our A-game.”
O’Donnell is now a team captain and is looking to surpass 400 career saves in the coming games.
Being that this is the Lakers first game since March of 2020, it’s important that they eliminate any mistakes or confusion they might have. Head Coach Drew Bezek, who is going into his 7th season on the coaching staff, believes his team needs to master their game plan early on in order to be successful.
“With early season games, it’s always about limiting mistakes and doing what we need to do. A lot of times with the beginning part of the season, you’re not so worried about your competition and what they run. It’s us being super-efficient and consistent at what we’re trying to do.”
Although many things are different this season for the players, coaches, and staff, film sessions and scouting remain an important aspect of Oswego’s success. However, since teams only played a few games in 2020, the Lakers will have to anticipate Oneonta’s game plan based off what they saw from early last year.
Coach Bezek said, “We’ll treat this year similar to the past where for the first game of the year, your kind of going off tendencies from the previous year. We’re not going to know some of their new players, but from the film, we could try to piece together how they run their system.”
The Lakers have won their last four games vs. Oneonta dating back to 2016 and look to extend their win streak to five on Saturday.
Package Aired Thursday 3/18/21 on Nightly News
