OSWEGO, NY — Men’s Hockey played their postponed game Sunday night that was supposed to be a Friday night match up against Geneseo. The Knights would win 5-3 after they were the only team to get on the board in the first period. Junior Carson Vance would be the only Laker to tally a goal in the second period as he capitalized on the power play. Geneseo would take a 3-1 in the third period before Max Novick tallied one off a pass from Alex DiCarlo as the freshman extended his points streak. Michael Gillespie would tie the game just 1:14 minutes later after a shot that went off the boards behind the Geneseo goalie. Geneseo would get the game winner with less than two minutes remaining and an empty net goal to secure their 17th win of the season and extend their barrier between Oswego for first place in the SUNYAC conference.
The Lakers travel to Morrisville next weekend for a must needed four points to make sure the team stays in the second seed heading into playoffs. Buffalo State will be the last test for Oswego before heading into conference playoffs.
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A Look Ahead: Oswego State men’s hockey prepares for SUNY Canton and SUNY Morrisville
OSWEGO N.Y. — After completing nine games into the season, the Oswego State men’s hockey team finds themselves second in the State University of New York Athletic Conference and trending upward towards the national poll. After starting slow with two losses against Hobart College and Elmira College the opening weekend, the Lakers were able to get back on track going 3-0-1 against SUNYAC opponents. The wins coming against opponents like SUNY Cortland, SUNY Brockport, and SUNY Potsdam. The 2-2 tie against Plattsburgh State was the only fall back during that four games stretch. The Geneseo Ice Knights came to the Deborah F. Stanley Arena on November 20th in anticipated match up. The Lakers would fall 6-1 to the Ice Knights after six unanswered goals over the course of the contest. Although the Lakers out shot the Ice Knights 23-17, Oswego could not find a way around Geneseo netminder Matt Petizian.
The Lakers were able to get back in the win column this past weekend with two wins against the Williams College Ephs. The 3-0 and 3-1 victories put Oswego at 5-3-1 overall record. Underclassmen Shane Bull and Garrett Clegg both had stand out weekends with Bull recording a goal and assist in each contest and Clegg with two goals and one assist. Clegg was named Oswego State Athletics Male Athlete of the Week due to his performances. Junior goaltender Steven Kozikoski has continued to come to form in between the pipes for Oswego State making 50 saves over the course of the two games and only allowing one goal. Kozikoski was named the SUNYAC Prestosports Goaltender of the Week due to his performances in this past weekend’s games.
Junior captain Travis Broughman is tied for the lead in points through the first nine games of the season. The forward has two goals and five assists for seven points in these contests. Connor Sleeth has matched that points total with one goal and six assists. The sophomore forward scored his first career collegiate goal in the Teal Game against Cortland and started the season with a six game point streak. On the defensive side, transfer Troy Robillard leads the team in blocks with a total of twelve. The junior defenseman has also tallied one goal and two assists for three points through his eight games played with the Lakers this season.
Around the SUNYAC
With most teams playing five games or more in the conference, SUNYAC fans have been able to see how the conference is going to shake out this season. Without any shock, the Geneseo Ice Knights lead the pack with a conference record of 4-0-0-0-1 with 13 points. Geneseo’s tie comes against Cortland two weekends ago. Their 13 points are followed up by the Cortland Red Dragons with 11 points. The Red Dragons are coming off a 4-1 win over the Morrisville State Mustangs Wednesday night. The Lakers who sit with 10 points and a conference record of 3-0-1-0-1 hold the third spot. Oswego State’s loss came against Geneseo in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena and their tie against the Plattsburgh State Cardinals on the North Country swing. Plattsburgh State and SUNY Brockport are tied for fourth with nine points. However, the Cardinals have already played seven conference games compared to the five the Golden Eagles have completed. The two teams out west, Buffalo State and Fredonia, both have six points and conference records of 2-0-1-0-0. Rounding out the conference, Morrisville and Potsdam are both looking for their first wins of the season after starting 0-0-5-0-0 and 0-0-6-0-0. As the fall semester finishes up, a similar picture has emerged. Geneseo remains to be the top dog in the conference after winning the SUNYAC Championship in 2019-20, and everyone else is chasing the number one team in the nation.
Around the Nation
After five weeks of the United States College Hockey Online Division III poll, Oswego State fans have been able to see where the Lakers fall compared to the rest of Division III hockey. Throughout the beginning of the season, the Lakers have been receiving two to four votes per week. Compared to the rest of the SUNYAC, Oswego is one of just three teams currently listed in the poll that represent the conference. Geneseo remained at number one for the fourth straight week receiving eighteen first place votes. The Ice Knights have an 8-0-1 record overall and will not face Oswego State until February 5th when the Lakers travel back to Geneseo. SUNY Brockport also has received votes the first five weeks of the season, but has been decreasing in the votes count due to loses the past couple of weeks. The Golden Eagles got four votes this past week after a 2-3 lost to Connecticut College and a 7-1 victory over Chatham University in the Skidmore College tournament.
As the national poll stands right now, Oswego State will play three more teams that find themselves in the national poll. The first being January 1st in the Oswego State Hockey Classic as current #4 Augsburg University takes on the Lakers at 7:00 p.m. in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. Eight days later, Oswego will travel down Interstate 90 to take on current #3 Utica College in a Sunday afternoon contest on January 9th. This will the second contest between these two non-conference opponents this season after the Pioneers found themselves victorious in a preseason match up in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. The final nationally ranked opponent will be the SUNYAC match up on February 5th in Geneseo.
A Look Ahead
Heading into this weekend, Oswego State sets their sights on SUNY Canton and then SUNY Morrisville. Friday night, the Lakers will head two and a half hours up north to take on the Kangaroos in a non-conference battle. Canton comes into the match up posting a 2-2-1 record and on a one game losing streak. Recently, the Kangaroos canceled their holiday tournament due to COVID-19 protocols. This will be the second contest these two teams will play this season after SUNY Canton dropped an exhibition match up to the Lakers earlier in October. This game gives Oswego another opportunity to continue their win streak and gain national attention as the season continues on.
On Saturday, the Lakers will head home for another SUNYAC match up in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. The Morrisville State Mustangs will return to Oswego to add another chapter to the two team’s history books. The last time the Lakers faced the Mustangs, it was a 7-0 victory on February 15th, 2020. The Lakers have won the last seventeen match ups against the Mustangs and have only dropped one game against Morrisville. Special teams will have an impact on Saturday’s match up as the Lakers post a 25.0 percent power play efficiency compared to the Mustang’s penalty kill that is below an 80.0 percent success rate. Morrisville comes to Oswego after losing Wednesday night to Cortland 4-1. Oswego looks to continue their success in the conference as the team chases the top spot in the SUNYAC. Saturday night is also the annual Teddy Bear Toss game for Oswego State men’s hockey. On the first goal, Oswego State fans are asked to throw teddy bears on the ice. If fans can not attend, there is an online donation portal. Click here for the link.
How to Tune In
Hockey Night in Oswego on WTOP 10 kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on Twitch and on campus on Channel 10.2. Oswego State fans can find puck drop at 7:00 p.m. on WTOP 10. WNYO, SUNY Oswego’s radio station, will also be broadcasting the game live on their website and on 88.9 FM.
Image Provided by Shelby Peplowski, WTOP 10 Photography Department
SUNYAC Standings Provided by the SUNYAC website
USCHO Division III National Poll Provided by the USCHO website
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Oswego State men’s hockey announces 2022-23 leadership group
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s hockey team announced on Sunday, April 10th the 2022-23 leadership group for the team. The Lakers will return for their 56th season in the fall and three current Lakers will be the core leadership to lead the squad into battle. Ryan Bunka will return using his extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19 to be the captain of the 2022-23 team. The defenseman from Unionville, Ontario, Canada has played three seasons for the Lakers and missed the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19 canceling the campaign. Bunka has 36 games played with 3 goals and 6 assists over the course of his career at Oswego State. The left handed defenseman only missed 2 games this past season and was an essential part of the defensive core on the second pairing. The Laker finished +16 in the plus/minus column at the end of the year, the best out of any Oswego State player.
In the assistant captain roles, defenseman Troy Robillard and forward Alex DiCarlo will get the A on the jersey for next season. DiCarlo has been with the program since his freshman year back in the 2019-20 season. The Ontario native started his freshman campaign as a healthy scratch before becoming a key part of the offensive core by the end of the season. During his sophomore season, DiCarlo returned from the COVID-19 break and continued his dominance in the SUNYAC conference. In 26 games played, the Laker tallied 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points. The point per game player did not miss a game this season and set career high stats in both the goal and assist column.
The other assistant captain transferred to Oswego State from the NCAA Division I program out of Anchorage, Alaska. Robillard established himself as a key addition to the defensive team after playing 23 games this past season. The defenseman finished with 4 goals and 3 assists after his first season in green and gold. One of those goals was a game winner in the Teal Night game against SUNY Cortland back during the fall semester. The junior will return for his senior year at Oswego State.
The Lakers are looking ahead to the summer months and the key part of the season, the offseason. Oswego State has one game announced so far for the 2022-23 season that is publicly known. The Utica College Pioneers released on twitter the date of their Teddy Bear Toss game for next season. Oswego State will travel to Utica on December 3rd for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop. WTOP 10 will continue to provide coverage of the Oswego State men’s hockey team prior to their 2022-23 season.
Image Provided By Oswego State Men’s Hockey Twitter (@OswegoMHockey)
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Women’s Basketball Keep Winning Streak Rolling at 6-0
OSWEGO, NY- Once again the Women’s Basketball team keeps their winning streak rolling at 6-0. The Lakers defeated Alfred University 65-57 on Tuesday. The 6-0 start is their best start to a season since the 2004-05 season where they started an impressive 11-0.Karleigh Leo had a strong first quarter with two three-pointers as the Lakers led 15-14 at the end of the first quarter. The Lakers had outplayed the Saxons as they had shopt 40% from the field while Alred has shot 31% from the field. The Lakers also out-rebounded the Saxons as well. The second quarter played out exactly like the first. The Lakers outscored the the Saxons 15-14 with Karleigh Leo’s two three-pointers in the second quarter. Leo led the Lakers in points at the end of one half after hitting four three-pointers.
The Lakers strugglled in the third quarter only shooting from 30.77% from the field. The Saxons managed to hit back-to-back three-pointers in a span of two minutes to draw within one of Oswego’s lead at 40-39. Alfred managed to tie the score at 43 at the end of the third quarter.
Logan Castiglione scored the first four points of the game for the Lakers in the beginning of the fourth quarter. Shania Iglesias hit a three-pointer to extend the Lakers lead to 50-46 with 7:20 left in the fourth quarter. Karleigh Leo then added her fifth three-pointer of the game with 6:11 to extend the Lakers lead to 53-49. Iglesias had scored two layups that helped the Lakers extend their lead once again that the Lakers wouldn’t look back from. Diamond Pickett, Elaina Johnson, and Karleigh Leo would add the final points for the Lakers to make the score 65-57.
The Lakers will host Fredonia on November 29th at 5:30 at the Max Ziel Gymnasium. The Lakers are looking to end their eight-game losing streak against the Blue Devils as their last win against came in 2016 where they edged them out by a point 62-63. The Lakers look to keep their winning streak alive at 7-0.
