OSWEGO, NY — On Monday, January 6th, United States College Hockey Online released the first national rankings of the new year for Men’s Hockey Division III. Oswego State continues to move down the list as the Lakers sit ranked 15th receiving 35 points after slotting in 10th previously. The 7-5-0 team is currently on a two game losing streak after dropping games to Saint Mary’s and #9 University of New England. The Saint Mary’s University Cardinals received votes for the first time this season after upsetting both Oswego State and Williams College, who moved up one spot to #13 this poll.
Upcoming opponent Utica College moved inside the top 10 as they are currently ranked 7th with an overall record of 9-2-2. The Pioneers travel into Oswego this Friday after recently traveling to Michigan to play #12 Adrian College. Utica came away with two overtime wins that weekend and a bump in the rankings.
Elmira College and SUNY Canton both receive votes once again as both teams travel into Oswego in the month of January. The 7-3-1 Elmira Soaring Eagles (6) recently came off a win against familiar opponent Plattsburgh 4-1. The Canton Roos (16) are 6-3-1 and also defeated the Cardinals 4-3 earlier in the season. Elmira faces off with Oswego this Saturday while Canton won’t play the Lakers till later in the month.
Geneseo moves up one ranking into the second spot after securing two wins this past weekend. The Knights also find themselves in second in the SUNYAC standings right behind the Lakers with a 5-1-1 conference record. The two teams meet up again on February 7th in the Marano Campus Center for a rematch as Geneseo took the first meeting 9-1 back in November.
The Lakers still have 13 regular season games left before the start of the SUNYACs. This second half of the season features multiple nationally ranked opponents along with multiple conference match ups that are important for Oswego to stay in first in the SUNYAC standings.
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Baseball sweeps with massive offensive output, loses series finale with Rochester
Oswego, N.Y. — The Oswego State baseball team took to the road to take on the Plattsburgh Cardinals for a three game set Monday and Tuesday, and had a their first home game Wednesday against the University of Rochester. The Lakers were coming off two non-conference losses, but were ready to turn it around and stay undefeated in SUNYAC play and avenge their loss to Rochester last week.
The first game of Monday’s double header saw the Lakers take an early commanding lead. The Lakers grabbed two runs before an out was made, a third run cross the plate before the second out, and a Tishawn Featherstone three run shot saw the top of the first end 6-0. Kyle Lauria got his second RBI of the game in the second inning, with Lukas Olsson driving one of his own for runs seven and eight of the game. The Lakers had three more runs in the third and led 11-0. A scoreless fourth was followed by Oswego getting one more in the fifth, and the Cardinals finally answering with one of their own in the bottom half. In the sixth, Tishawn Featherstone got his second home run of the game, a solo shot, Ryan Enos drove in two more with a double, and Kyle Lauria hit a two run homer to give the Lakers a 17-1 lead. The seventh inning was when the Cardinals finally found their stride, scoring five of their six in the game. The Lakers got two more in the top of the ninth, and won the game 19-6. Anthony Van Fossen pitched five innings, striking out six in the game. Kyle Lauria had a game high five RBI’s and five hits in the game.
Game two of the double header saw Plattsburgh find the scoreboard first. A scoreless first inning and top of the second was followed by the Cardinals grabbing two runs in the bottom half. Oswego would answer with one in the third inning. The fourth was when Oswego finally found the lead. With the bases loaded, Ryan Enos would reach on a fielders choice and one run would score and tie the game. A Kyle Lauria single to right would score the leading run. A double steal with Lauria and Enos saw Lauria get second and Enos steal home. The Lakers left the inning with a 4-2 lead. The fifth and sixth innings were scoreless. In the top of the seventh, the Lakers grabbed four more runs, and the Lakers won 8-2. Kieran Finnegan pitched all seven innings for Oswego, striking out 10, with only five hits and one walk. Kyle Lauria again led the Lakers in RBIs with three, with Ryan Enos, Paul Tammaro, and Tishawn Featherstone each scoring two runs.
The final game of the series was played on Tuesday. The first inning was again scoreless. Oswego got their first three runs of the game in the second, with Plattsburgh answering with one of their own. The third was led off with a CJ McCarthy solo shot, and Paul Tammaro would drive on the Lakers fifth later in the inning. Oswego got one more in the fourth, Kyle Lauria scoring on a wild pitch. The Cardinals crossed the plate for the second time in the bottom of the fifth, but Ryan Weiss would drive in two more for the Lakers in the sixth to extend their lead to 8-2. The Cardinals got three in the bottom of the seventh, but once again Oswego answered the following frame, scoring nine in the top of the eighth to extend the lead to 17-5, which would be the final score of the game. Ryan Weiss was the Lakers RBI leader with four, as well as leading the team in hits with four. Tyler Pecchia started the game for the Lakers, going four inning, striking out, allowing four hits, and one unearned run. He was relieved by Connor VanDreason, who went two innings in relief, and got the win for the game.
A Wednesday afternoon set with the University of Rochester Yellowjackets was game four of a busy week for the Lakers. The second and final matchup of the year between the two sides saw Rochester get on the board before the Lakers could even get an at bat. A leadoff home run got the Yellowjackets on the board early. A two-out single later in the inning drove in two more, and Rochester had a 3-0 lead after just half an inning. In the bottom of the second, a Julien Drew single brought home CJ McCarthy and got the Lakers on the board. Innings three through five were scoreless, and in the top the sixth, Rochester found the scoreboard once more. An error in right allowed a runner to score from third, and Rochester had a 4-1 lead. In the bottom of the seventh, the Lakers would strike for two more and bring the game to 4-3. The eighth was scoreless, and the game would be called before the ninth due to lightning. Ryan Enos led the Lakers with two hits and two RBIs, CJ McCarthy drew two walks in the game and got a hit. Sean Dertinger started the game for Oswego, going five innings, allowing four runs three earned, striking out four, walking two, and giving up five hits. The Laker bullpen shut down the Yellow Jackets, only allowing one hit after the fifth.
Oswego now has a 16-6 (5-0 SUNYAC) record. They are the 21st ranked team in the country. They have a three game set with the Oneonta Red Dragons in Oneonta starting Friday with a double header.
PHOTO COURTESY OF OSWEGO 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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Oswego State Men’s Lacrosse Prepares for Geneseo
OSWEGO, N.Y. — After a 12-5 loss versus Brockport on April 16, the Oswego State Men’s Lacrosse team looks to find their first win of the condensed 2021 season with a battle against the Geneseo Knights. Although the Lakers have not won a game this season, they hold the record in history against the knights with 22 wins and 21 losses with the first matchup being in 1980. This will be the first game of a home and home series against Geneseo as they are scheduled to play the Knights on Saturday, April 24 at the College Stadium in Geneseo.
The history between these two teams have been extra competitive with their last matchup being in 2019 due to the cancelled season in 2020 and yielding a Knights win by a score of 14 to 13 despite a second half 10 goal push by the Lakers. Oswego is 2-8 since 2010 versus Geneseo in general and 10-11 at home against the Knights in history. As the Lakers look to salvage what is left of their season with three games remaining, they will turn to freshman midfielder Lucas Cloch who leads the team in points with 6 goals and 4 assists as well as rely on the man in between the pipes Kevin O’Donnell. The senior looks to stay strong to wrap up his career at Oswego State with 55 saves already on the season. Today’s SUNYAC West division matchup is set for 4:00 p.m. at the Laker Turf Stadium with WTOP 10 covering all the action from today’s contest.
