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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
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Men’s Hockey sweeps biggest weekend of season
OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Oswego State men’s hockey team came into the weekend with one goal in mind, sweeping the weekend and clinching a SUNYAC regular season title. The had the advantage of both games being at home, but both opponents coming in had playoff aspirations of their own.
Game one of the weekend was against the Buffalo State Bengals. The Lakers quickly put themselves at a disadvantage, taking two penalties, and bing 5-on-3 for a bit, but ultimately killed both. It took about seven minutes for the first goal to find netting. Trent Grimshaw grabbed his fourth goal of the season to get the Lakers on the board, but Buffalo State quickly answered. A little more than a minute later, Joe Glamos tied the game for the Bengals. The game remained at ones for a while, but the Lakers grabbed the lead back. Ryan Bunka gave his team lead. Once again, the lead only lasted a little more than a minute, Joe Glamos again tying the game up. The score ties at two, both squads went to the locker room. Cal Schell had six saves for Oswego in the first, Liam Gross, for Buffalo State had 13.
In the second period, the game remained at 2-2 for almost the entire time. Buffalo took one penalty during the period, but killed it. It took until less than four minutes for the first goal of the second frame to happen. Ryan Dickinson giving the Lakers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. With less than a minute to play in the frame Connor Gatto doubled the lead. Rocco Andreacchi and Shane Bull being credited with assists on both goals in the period, and Andreacchi getting his third of the game. Schell had another six saves in the period, Gross adding another 14.
The third period saw Trent Grimshaw continue his scoring ways. He would score twice getting his first collegiate hat-trick. His goals were split by one for Buffalo State. In the third, the Lakers had two power-play opportunities that they wouldn’t capitalize on. Oswego took the first game of the weekend, 7-3, and clinched at top-two seed in the playoffs. Ten different Lakers got a point in the game, five of them more than one. Schell ended the game with 17 saves, Gross had 38.
The final game of the Lakers regular season was Senior Night. The Lakers recognized all-their seniors in a post-game ceremony. The game was against the Fredonia Blue Devils. Once again the Lakers came out flying. Just past the six minute mark, Oswego found the scoreboard twice in 15 seconds. The first score came off the stick of Conor Smart. Quickly after the restart of play, it was Tommy Cahill giving Oswego a 2-0 lead. The Lakers weren’t done there though, Drake Semrad gave Oswego a 3-0 lead in the tenth minute of the first period. Alex DiCarlo wanted to be part of the scoring parade, scoring the Lakers fourth and final goal of the first period. Eight different Lakers got assists in the first. Cal Schell had eight saves in the first period, while Logan Dyck had 13.
The Blue Devils made a goalie switch in the second. Charles-Anthony Barbeau was put in net. The second period was Conor Smart‘s period. He scored the Lakers first two goals of the second, and scored his first collegiate hat-trick. Daniel Colabufo got himself one final goal of the regular season as well, in the third. Before the end of the period, Fredonia picked up a penalty, that would be impactful in the third. With a 7-0 lead going into the break, the Lakers looked good to secure their first regular season title since 2018-19, but still had one to go. Schell had seven saves in the second, Barbeau had 17.
Fredonia made another goalie switch in the third, giving Dalton Jerzak some game time in the final game. The penalty that carried through to the third quickly became impactful, Ben Addison getting his second goal of the season. Less than a minute later Garrett Clegg scored his first goal of the season, on his senior night. The rest of the game was scoreless and the Lakers walked away with a 9-0 victory and a SUNYAC regular season championship. Smart was the only Laker with multiple goals, but six Lakers got multiple assists, 11 total getting at least one assist. Schell finished the game with 20 saves, Jerzak had 16 saves in the third.
Oswego now awaits an opponent for the SUNYAC semi-final that will be played in Oswego, they will play the lowest remaining seed after the SUNYAC quarter-final games played on Wednesday night. The semi-final game will be played on Saturday at 7:00.
At the end of the regular season, Alex DiCarlo was the teams leading goal scorer with 12 throughout the season. Shane Bull was the team’s leading assist and point getter, with 18 assists and 27 points. Cal Schell finished the season with a 2.19 Goals Against Average and .924 save percentage.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY EMILY RUSINKO, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
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Men’s Hockey gets set for SUNYAC Finals
OSWEGO, NY — Oswego Men’s Hockey has been preparing for their road trip to Geneseo this past couple of days as the group is getting set for the SUNYAC finals against the Knights. The Lakers are coming off a win over their rivals Plattsburgh which ended with a score of 4-1. The group is currently on a 4 game win streak which comes from Oswego’s powerful offensive play along with a strong goaltender between the pipes. Steven Kozikoski has been stellar in net for the Lakers as the netminder has held a 1.79 goals against average and a .928 save percentage in the three games the goalie has played during this stretch. Captain Josh Zizek is currently on a 6 game point streak as the senior has nine points since their game against Geneseo. Max Novick, Travis Broughman, and Anthony Passero all received all-conference honors this past week heading into their matchup against Geneseo. This game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Geneseo.
