OSWEGO, N.Y. – It was a tough exhibition matchup for the Lakers as they went head to head against a very good Golden Flyers team. Nazareth is coming off an incredible season last year finishing with a 27-2-0 overall record and sweeping their conference 20-0. Despite the Golden Flyers losing a whopping thirteen seniors after last season they were still able to get the job done in the Deb. The Lakers had a rough start of the game not getting much going against a face paced Nazareth team. Nazareth opened up with a goal by Ivy Liden halfway through the first period. Heading into the second it was like night and day as the Lakers performed much better, tying it up with Nazareth with a goal from Megan Gates off of an assist by former Golden Flyer Taylor Hudon and Mia Conboy. Nazareth however answered right back with a goal by Ally Watrous to go up 2-1 heading into the third. The Lakers were not able to string a comeback as Ally Watrous would tack on another goal for the day to seal the Golden Flyers victory. The Lakers finish 0-2 in their exhibition matchups as they head into their first game of the season against Adrian College this Friday in the Deb Stanley Arena. Catch it live on WTOP10 at 7:00pm!
IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO ATHLETICS
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Women’s Hockey ties with Cortland
CORTLAND, NY — Women’s Hockey played another NEWHL game this evening as the Lakers tied the Cortland 2-2 in Red Dragon’s territory. Both teams were scoreless in the 1st period before the Red Dragons got on the board five minutes into the 2nd period. The Lakers would answer as freshman Megan Teachout snapped one past the Cortland goalie for her 8th goal of the season. Senior Eryn Stewart would tally the assist for her 12th assist on the season. Cortland would take the lead at the end of the 2nd period before Eryn Stewart scored in the 3rd period to force the tie. Senior Rachael Farmer would post 22 saves for a .917 save percentage in the tie.
The Lakers stay two points ahead of Cortland and Potsdam for second place in the NEWHL standings. Oswego travels to Potsdam this Saturday for an afternoon game on the road. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.
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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 Releases Leadership for 2020-21 Season
OSWEGO, NY — On Thursday, May 14th, the Men’s Hockey team released their captains for the 2020-21 season. Three seniors were given letters to be the leadership group for next season. Defenseman Carter Allen will captain the group heading into the next season, along with Max Novick and Tanner Spink received A’s on their jerseys. The group will lead a new younger generation of Lakers into next season as a large group of underclassmen will join the team via recruitment. Here is some more insight into the players leading the Lakers.
Carter Allen was an assistant captain last season under former captain Josh Zizek. The defenseman has been with the team since his freshman year. Through three seasons, the Ontario native has played in 81 games for the Lakers, in which all his seasons featured being positive in the plus/minus rating. Allen has 22 points (4 goals & 18 assists) in those three seasons, with 9 points coming this past season. #2 tallied two multi point games his junior year with two assists against Morrisville State and Cortland. Allen also got one assist in the SUNYAC finals against Geneseo. Allen will become the captain in the 56th season of Lakers hockey.
Max Novick will be supporting Allen as an assistant captain next season. The defenseman was named to the Third All-American team for the East region this past season after tallying 24 points (6 goals & 18 assists) in 26 games played. The Ontario native’s season was highlighted by two three point performances against Cortland and Potsdam. Novick has played in 79 games over the course of three season for the Lakers in which the player has recorded a total of 56 points (14 goals & 42 assists). Novick’s collegiate career is also highlighted by three plus seasons after going +20 his junior year.
Tanner Spink will also be an assistant captain his senior year as the forward will join the leadership group next season. This past season, Spink recorded 13 points (3 goals and 10 assists) in 25 games played. The Ontario native ranked 2nd in SUNYAC conference players who have scored short handed goals as Spink recorded two this past season. In his past three seasons with the Lakers, the forward has played in 74 games and has tallied 41 points (14 goals and 27 assists) over the course of his career.
WTOP 10 will continue to give Oswego fan’s coverage of all Oswego sports into the summer before the return of fall sports. Schedules for most Laker teams will be released in the next two months.
Graphic provided by Laker’s Hockey on Twitter. Made by Lexi Fragapane
