OSWEGO, N.Y. — The SUNYAC Championship for men’s hockey kicked off this past Saturday with two quarterfinal games, one in Cortland and the other up in North Country. Oswego State received a bye to semifinals round due to their performance in the regular season. The Lakers are the two seed in the bracket this season and after Saturday’s results, Oswego State will host SUNY Cortland to decide who will fight for the conference championship.
2021-22 Season Recap:
At the end of the regular season, the Lakers finished with an overall record of 17-6-1 and a SUNYAC conference record of 12-3-1 which was good for second in the conference standings. While in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena, Oswego State is 8-3-0 on home ice. The group started off 0-2 after two losses opening weekend against two nationally ranked nonconference opponents, Hobart College and Elmira College. The Lakers would go one a streak after that contest only dropping games against nationally ranked opponents like SUNY Geneseo and Augsburg University.
The team’s offense has been through senior captain Travis Broughman who was recently named to All-SUNYAC First Team due to his performance in the regular season. The Laker forward finished with thirteen goals and sixteen assists totaling to twenty nine points in only twenty four regular season games. Alex DiCarlo finished right behind his captain as was the only other Oswego State player that was above a point per game. The junior finished with thirteen goals and twelve assists for twenty five points.
Newcomers Connor Sleeth, Tyler Flack, and Tommy Cahill have been bright spots in the lineup after breaking out their first season in the green and gold uniform. The three combined for a total of forty eight points this season. Shane Bull also totaled twelve points in his first season in NCAA Division III men’s hockey.
On the defensive side of the puck, senior netminder Steven Kozikoski was named to the All-SUNYAC Second Team due to his performances in the regular season while in between the pipes for Oswego State. The Liverpool native logged over one thousand minutes of ice time and posted statistics like a 2.00 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. Backup goaltender Eric Green played in eight contests for the Lakers and finished with a 2.15 goals against average and a .889 save percentage.
SUNYAC Playoffs Preview:
Wednesday evening, SUNY Brockport will travel to SUNY Geneseo to face off against the number one seed and nationally ranked Ice Knights in a semifinal contest. Brockport defeated Plattsburgh State in overtime by a score line of 6-5. If Geneseo can get the job against the Golden Eagles, the Geneseo Ice Knights will host the Championship game once again in the IRA.
In terms of Oswego State hockey, the Lakers take on the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons for the 96th time in program history. This season, Oswego State defeated Cortland both times in the regular season, securing six points against the Red Dragons. Oswego State holds the history in their favor with a record against SUNY Cortland of 82-11-2 all time. Their first contest dates back to the 1976-77 season when Oswego State defeated SUNY Cortland by a score of 6-2 on home ice.
The matchup in the Marano Campus Center should feature an offensive team against some solid goaltending out of SUNY Cortland. The Lakers score on average 3.5 times per game while opponents can only net an average of 2.1 against Oswego State. In terms of Cortland, the Red Dragons score an average of 3.3 goals per game.
Game Details:
Oswego State Laker fans can catch the playoff game at 7:00 p.m. in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. The first 500 SUNY Oswego Students will receive a gold Oswego State Lakers t-shirt courtesy of Oswego State Athletics. WTOP 10 will be live at 6:30 p.m. with the pre-game show live from the perch inside the arena. Fans can tune in at twitch.tv/wtop10tv on any mobile device, laptop, or television.
Image Provided By William Rogers, WTOP 10 Photography Department
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