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Oswego State men’s hockey hosts semifinals of SUNYAC Championship
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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Women’s Basketball Bounces Back to Defeat Buffalo State
OSWEGO, NY — Women’s Basketball played their second SUNYAC match up of the weekend against the Buffalo State Bengals Saturday afternoon. Oswego would come away with the victory 79-67 as the Lakers would secure their second conference win of the season. Oswego’s offense was led by senior Quincey Zimmerman who scored a career-high 24 points. Senior Sydni Eure also added 18 points for Oswego along with Raiven Encarnacion securing three 3-pointers to keep the Lakers in control throughout the game. The team is set for another SUNYAC match up on Tuesday as they travel to New Paltz for a 5:30 tip off.
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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
