OSWEGO, NY — Oswego High School Hockey has been preparing for their final regular season game of the year this past week as the Buccaneers welcome in Skaneateles this Wednesday. The Bucs sit at 11-8 overall but only 4-7 in division play which puts them in fifth place in the Division II standings for Section III. Oswego is currently on a four game losing streak which has all been against division opponents. There most recent game was a 6-1 loss against Cortland-Homer who has only two more points then the Bucs in the division standings. Oswego could tie that total with a win in their final game but are going up some tough competition.
Skaneateles currently sits with a 9-0-1 division record with their one tie that occurred against Auburn back on December 17th. Skaneateles is ranked number one in the state for Division II as the group is 16-0-1 and are heavy favorites for the Section III title. Oswego would have to outscore the group which has only allowed eight goals against all season. Junior goalie Brandon Demling has been stellular in net for the Bucs as the goaltender has kept the team in games throughout the season. Demling holds a .881 save percentage and a 2.83 goals against average in his 17 games played. Demling has also recorded one shutout this season which came against Fulton back in December. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday night from the Crisafulli Rink at Fort Ontario.
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Oswego State women’s hockey falls in overtime to Cortland
OSWEGO N.Y. — The Oswego State women’s hockey team had a tough matchup Tuesday night, a NEWHL semi-final matchup versus the Cortland Red Dragons in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. The teams had met three times in the regular season with Oswego taking two of the three, but at the end of all three matchups the teams were separated by only one goal. Tuesday nights contest ended no different. The first period was all Cortland. The Red Dragons looked like the more dominant team throughout the entire period and they outshot the Lakers 10-3. Cortland had the only power play of the period, they got off four shots, but Oswego killed it. The first period ended with both teams getting penalties, and four-on-four hockey ensued that carried over to the start off the second period, but again no goals were scored. Oswego fought back in the second period, outshooting Cortland 13-2. Oswego got the second power play of the game, but the Cortland penalty-kill unit came out on top. The third frame was all Lakers again, beating Cortland in shots on goal 13-4, and getting a lot of their best looks at goal in the entire game. Cortland got their second power play of the game in the final period of regulation, but Oswego out shot them 1-0 in those two minutes. The third period ended scoreless, and the teams headed to OT. Cortland got their third and final power play of the game in OT, but Oswego kept a perfect record on the penalty kill in the game. Cortland would keep the puck in their own offensive zone after the power play though. A shot from the point by Cortland’s Dany Donegan bounced through traffic and found the netting behind Oswego goalie Joanna Hiebert for the game winner, 1-0. Hiebert had 21 saves in the game and finished her season with a 12-4-1 record this season. Cortland goalie Molly Goergen had thirty saves on the night. Oswego’s Ashlynn McGrath led the team with six shots. Morgan Shines was 9-13 in the face-off circle.
Cortland advances to take on Plattsburgh in the NEWHL final game. Oswego finishes their season 16-8-1 overall, 13-4-1 in conference. It was the final game in the green-and-gold for seniors Chyne Kennedy, Philomena Teggart, and Aislinn McAleer. Kennedy was Oswego’s third highest point getter with 18 this season, Teggart wore the captains badge this season and ended third on the team in assists with 11. McAleer was one of only seven players to play all 25 games this season.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SHELBY PEPLOWSKI, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
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Lakers men’s basketball cap off regular season on the road
FREDONIA, N.Y. – The Oswego state basketball team looked to end off their regular season with two wins on the road vs Brockport friday night and then the Fredonia Blue Devils on Saturday night. The Lakers were looking to avenge their previous loss to Brockport at home on December 2nd. Cartier Bowman was a catalyst for Oswego early with 9 points in 10 minutes of play. Oswego early played great team basketball and tried to get everyone involved early. The Lakers initially had a nice 15 point lead, but Brockport cut it down to 10 with about five minutes left in the first half. The Lakers gave up some quick points before the end of the first half, but still ended the half with a 44-36 lead.
The first 5 minutes of the second half stayed back and forth as Oswego maintained their 8 point lead. While Brockport began to make a small run at the Lakers, Devin Green and Ahkee Anderson both hit three pointers to extend the Laker lead back to double digits with the score 65-55 midway through the second half. Brockport fought right back and cut the lead to five with three minutes remaining. Anderson then took over for the Lakers and hit two big jump shots down the stretch to keep Oswego in front. Those shots helped Oswego pull away and finally get their revenge on Brockport 79-73. Devin Green led the Lakers with 18 points, Bowman had 17, Achille had 13, and Anderson had 11. The Lakers then moved to Saturday where they would face Fredonia on the road.
The first half started slow for the Lakers as the Blue Devils had a nine point lead halfway through the 1st half due to great play from Aaron Collins. In a very slow first half where we saw the Lakers shoot only 12% from three, it was the opposite for Fredonia as they shoot a astounding 8-9 from behind the arc. But the Lakers fought back at the end of the half to hold a 44-40 lead at the halftime break. Cartier Bowman and Jeremiah Sparks both had 10 points in the first half, and Kaleb Cook added nine more.
The Lakers then turned it around in the second half led by Jeremiah Sparks who did almost everything for the Lakers in the first 10 minutes leading the Lakers to a 65-57 lead with 10 to go. However, Fredonia’s three-point shooting continued to be a problem for Oswego. Sparks continued his dominant scoring the late stages of the second half with seven quick points including a three pointer with around seven minutes to go. Ahkee Anderson then hit a jumper to bring the lead to 12 and Kaleb Cook put the game away with four points down the stretch to grow the Lakers lead. Despite the accurate shooting of the Blue Devils, Oswego was better in almost all other facets of the game. Oswego shot over 50% from the field and really turned it around in the second half for a 85-70 victory. Sparks ended the game with a 26 point double-double with help from Cook, Anderson and Bowman who scored in double figures.
The Lakers move to 23-2(17-1) and bring their win streak to 19 headed into the SUNYAC tournament next weekend. With this win the Lakers officially locked up the number one seed for the playoffs and will get the home court advantage next weekend. The SUNYAC Tournament will begin on Tuesday, February 21. Oswego will have a first round bye and will host the final four of the conference tournament.
IMAGE COURTESY OF ERIN BLANK, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
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Oswego State women’s hockey falls in non-conference rematch
GENEVA, N.Y. — The Oswego State women’s hockey team fell to William Smith College 2-1 on Tuesday, bringing their record to 8-7-1. This marks the Lakers third consecutive loss and first loss against the Herons this season, after previously defeating them in a 1-0 contest last November.
Both teams attacked the net early in the game, exchanging shot after shot. However, it wasn’t until 9:44 in the first period where senior Chyne Kennedy put the Lakers up 1-0 on a shot assisted by Ashlyn McGrath. The Lakers outshot the Herons 19-9 in the first stanza, with nine of those shots being saved by Erin Murray. Nearly 14 minutes intro the second period, an Oswego interference penalty gave William Smith a 5-on-4 advantage. The Herons were able to capitalize on the powerplay opportunity and score with 6:23 left in the period. Neither team was able to score in the remaining six minutes despite both squads having power-play chances. Heading into the third period, it didn’t take long for the Herons to break the tie as they scored just two minutes in, taking a 2-1 lead. Throughout the remaining 18 minutes of regulation, both teams had were provided with power-play opportunities but weren’t able to cash-in. The Lakers had many great looks and took an abundance of shots, but weren’t able to find the back of the net. With 1:32 left in the game, Oswego pulled goalie Bryn White in order to take a few last-minute shots. They were able to rattle off six shots, but came up just short at the final buzzer.
Oswego dominated in many areas of the game including total shots, shots-on-goal and faceoffs, but weren’t able to capitalize on their power-play opportunities. Although the Lakers dropped their final non-conference game of the 2021-22 season, they still remain fourth place in the NEWHL standings. They’ll have the opportunity to rebound from this loss against Morrisville State College on Friday, Jan. 28, before a three-game series versus SUNY Canton the following week. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Deborah F. Stanley Arena.
Image Provided By Shelby Peplowski, WTOP 10 Photography Department
