OSWEGO, NY — Wednesday evening, the Empire 8 Conference announced the cancellation of their fall sports for the Fall 2020 season. This unanimous decision came due to concerns of COVID-19 and the safety of student athletes. The sports that will be canceled are cross country, field hockey, football, men’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball. The conference has come out and stated that these sports will be given the opportunity to place in the Spring 2021 season if COVID-19 is less of a threat.
Although a majority of the Oswego State teams compete in the SUNYAC conference, Men’s golf is one of the few sports that is in the Empire 8 Conference. Oswego is an affiliate member of the conference, as the SUNYAC does not have a Men’s Golf Championship. The Lakers compete against Utica College, St. John Fisher College, Sage College, Elmira College, and Nazareth College in the Men’s Golf Championship. With the team playing half of their tournament in the fall, and half in the spring, the cancellation will affect the team for a portion of their season as of right now. Wresting is the only other Oswego State team in the Empire 8 conference.
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Oswego Buccaneers Hockey get set for Final Three Games
OSWEGO, NY — The Oswego Boys Buccaneers hockey team returns home after a weeklong road trip. The team was able to collect four wins which featured two shutouts and a few closer contests in which Oswego was able to outscore their opponents. The road trip started with a 7-0 win over Ontario Bay and ended down in Auburn with a 5-3 victory over the Maroons. During the week, the Bucs traveled to Fulton to face off against the rival Red Raiders on Wednesday, March 3rd. The team took a day off and then traveled to Syracuse to battle Liverpool. The 7-0 win featured an offensive performance as Oswego was able to continue to put pucks in the back of the net. Brandon Demling collected all four wins for Oswego in between the pipes and allowed only four goals over the course of the week.
Graphic Provided by the WNYO Sports Department Kevin Ahern and the rest of the coaching staff now get the team set for three games to complete the 2021 season. All the contests will be played in the Crisafulli Ice Rink located at Fort Ontario. The 7-6 Buccaneers welcome in the Syracuse Cougars Thursday night for a special Teal Game match up. The Division I team out of Syracuse has had a solid season so far and ends their 2021 schedule in Oswego. Friday night, Cazenovia will play their fifth game of the season against the Buccaneers. The away team has had a shorter schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic but will do battle against the Buccaneers. Oswego will close out their season against Watertown IHC Saturday night. Watertown has only played one game so far this season and Saturday is the last day of the Section III Hockey season. All puck drops are set for 7 p.m. and games will be broadcasted over the WNYO airwaves. WTOP 10 will continue to deliver content on the Oswego Buccaneer Hockey team on our website and social media pages.
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Oswego State men’s hockey blanks Morrisville to earn fourth shutout of season
MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s hockey team defeated Morrisville State 4-0 on Wednesday. This victory marks the 11th SUNYAC win for the Lakers and second win over the Mustangs in the 2021-22 season.
It was a back-and-fourth, scrappy first period that saw neither team find the back of the net. However, Oswego’s defense was stifling from the opening puck drop as they held Morrisville to just three shots in the first stanza compared to the Lakers 15. The Lakers remained relentless on the offensive end to start the second period, firing off 10 shots in the frame’s first nine minutes. Though, it wasn’t until the 13:17 mark where sophomore Connor Sleeth got things rolling for Oswego, scoring his sixth goal on the year. Ryan Bunka and Alex DiCarlo were awarded assists on the play. Just four minutes later, captain Travis Broughman put the Lakers up 2-0 as he tallied his eleventh goal of the year. To finish the period, Oswego went on to score another goal with Alex DiCarlo “one-upping” Broughman for his twelfth goal of the season. The team captain would not be upstaged for long however. As the Lakers took command in the final period, Broughman tacked on his second goal of the game, tying DiCarlo at 12 for the team lead. The Oswego defense, lead by senior Steven Kozikoski, played phenomenal all game long. The “Wizard of Koz” raked in 13 saves en route of earning his fourth shutout of the season. The team as a whole dominated the stat sheet, totaling 51 shots, 35 shots on goal and winning 36 faceoffs.
With this win, the Lakers improve to 16-5-1 on the season and currently sit atop the SUNYAC standings with 34 points. With just two regular season games remaining before SUNYAC playoffs begin on Feb. 23, Oswego will look to continue this momentum and finish the season strong. The men’s hockey team concludes the season with a weekend doubleheader against Fredonia on Feb. 18 and Buffalo State on Feb. 19. Puck-drop is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m. in Fredonia.
Image Provided by William Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department
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Oswego State Women’s Lacrosse Prepares for Brockport Following Win Versus Buffalo State
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego Women’s Lacrosse team won their fourth game of the season on Monday, defeating the Buffalo State Bengals 14-4. This was the Lakers second win of the season versus the Bengals as the won their last matchup 14-6 on April 10th. The Lakers sweep the Bengals to get two wins this season in the SUNYAC West Division.
Oswego snapped a 3-game losing streak with Monday’s victory, something they needed to accomplish in order to keep pace in the West division. It was a back-and-forth game midway through the 1st half. The Lakers lead 3-0 in the opening 5 minutes following goals from Shae McConnell, Erin Lehmann, and leading scorer, Sela WIley. The Bengals then retaliated with 3 goals of their own, tying the game with 12:36 left in the 1st half. However, Buffalo State would never hold a lead in the entire game as they were outscored by Oswego 11-1 at the end of regulation. Wiley had yet another dominant performance on Monday. The sophomore scored 5 goals, bringing her season total to 27, and added an assist on top of that. McConnell also had a hat-trick while Isabella Lembo fell just short, totaling 2 goals and 1 assist. Four other Lakers scored a single goal, including Logan Castiglione, Julia Quirk, Erin Lehmann, and Katie Fierro. Fierro netted her first collegiate goal in the victory.
Oswego improved to 3-2 in SUNYAC play and will look towards their highly anticipated matchup vs SUNY Brockport. The Lakers will look to avenge their blowout loss to the Golden Eagles just a few days ago on April 17th. Oswego lost 22-9 but will have to have a short term memory heading into Wednesday’s matchup. Brockport is on a 7-game winning streak, backed by the outstanding play of leading scorer, Heather Conklin. Conklin has scored a whopping 39 goals this season and had 6 against Oswego in their previous game. The Golden Eagles also have two other players with more than 20 goals, including Cassidy Burnash (24), and Allison Jennings (21). The Lakers will have to play better defensively in order to keep up with Brockport’s high-powered offense. Oswego currently sits in 3rd place in the West division and needs a victory to keep pace with SUNY Geneseo (4-1). Brockport (6-1) has already clinched a playoff berth and will look to continue their great 2021 season on Wednesday. Face off is set for 4:00 PM at Brockport for this SUNYAC West matchup.
