Oswego State Men’s Hockey 2020-2021 Roster Update #1 (4/18/20)

OSWEGO, NY — The Oswego State Lakers head into the off season without thirteen seniors as the team loses some core players due to graduation. This is one of the more important off seasons for the group, as head coach Ed Gosek has to replace two goaltenders, eight forwards, and three defenseman before the start of next season. With the play of netminder Steven Kozikoski, the Lakers shouldn’t need to find a solid starter in this year’s incoming class, but still are looking to fill two spots inbetween the pipes. Along with most of the defensive core staying intact, which includes Carter Allen, Max Novick, and Carson Vance, the Lakers seem to have their half of the ice figured out heading into the new season. Below consists of a mock depth chart that is currently up to date with the seven current recruits.

With the addition of Tristan Francis, a commit from the Central Canadian Hockey League, the Lakers now have seven defenseman compared to the nine on their roster last season. Francis has played for the Navan Grads for the past three seasons in the CCHL as the defenseman and has a total of 60 points (10 goals & 50 assists) in a grads uniform. The 5’ 11” twenty year old is from Cumberland, Ontario, Canada. Oswego seems to add another strong puck moving defenseman to their line up as Francis seems to have a strong two-way game. Francis has also taken 160 penalty minutes in his 156 career games for Navan.

Most of the commits for Oswego will however play the opposite side of the game as the Lakers are looking to fill nine offensive positions. Oswego State has found a total of six forwards which features a set of twins and a former Section III High School Athlete. For the first time in Men’s Hockey history at Oswego, the team will have twins play along side each other. Noah Bull and Shane Bull recently played for the Pickering Panthers in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. The Lakers were able to snag three players from the Panthers.  Shane Bull played 66 games for the Panthers as the 6’ 0” forward recorded 24 points (6 goals & 18 assists) along with tallying two goals in four games in the playoffs. Noah Bull played 26 games for the Panthers recording a total of 18 points (7 goals & 11 assists) along with one goal in the first round of the playoffs. Noah is the shorter of the brothers as he comes in at only 5’ 9”, one of the shorter recruits of this class. Both players spent time in the NAHL this past season as well before heading north of the border.

The other Pickering Panther joining the Oswego State team is Rocco Andreacchi, a twenty year old forward from Bolton, Ontario, Canada. The forward has played four seasons in the OJHL with four different teams. During his campaign with the Pickering Panthers, the 6’ 1” right handed shot tallied 69 points (27 goals & 42 assists) in 54 games played. Andreacchi averaged 1.27 points per game along with recording three points in the first round of the playoffs. The former Panther seems to have a playmaker style of play along with being able to be a goal scorer when needed, a solid offensive add for the Lakers.

Jackson Arcan also played for the Navan Grads as the forward has been on the teams for the past two seasons. Arcan was awarded the “C” this year as the 6’ 2” Canadian recorded 68 points (33 goals & 35 assists) in only 56 games this past season. Arcan has tallied a career 120 points in two seasons for the Grads and is a former OJHL athlete. The forward seems to have a solid offensive game as Arcan averaged 1.21 points per game this past season.

The last commit to come from the CCHL played for the Ottawa Senators for the past three seasons. This year, Conor Smart was made the assistant captain of the team and played a total of 61 games this past season. The forward recorded 32 points (16 goals & 16 assists) for a career total of 95 points. The 5’ 9” right winger from Keswick, Ontario, Canada seems to play an all around offensive game as the player has almost even numbers between the goals and assists column.

Ryan Eccles from Syracuse, New York played for the Syracuse Cougars during his time in high school. Eccles played five seasons for the Cougars before heading to Albany this past year. His senior year of high school, Eccles tallied 61 points (22 goals & 39 assists) on his way to a State Championship with the team. The 6’ 1” player attended Albany Academy this season in which he played 34 games and recorded 11 points (7 goals & 4 assists) this season. Ryan also spent time playing defense for the team in which he finished ranked twelfth on the team in points.

WTOP 10 will continue to deliver updates on commitments to both the Men’s and Women’s Hockey teams for next season. Their 2020-2021 schedules should be released during the middle of July.

Oswego State Men’s Hockey 2020-2021 Roster Update #2 (5/22/20)

OSWEGO, NY — Oswego Men’s Hockey has had a busy off season so far as the coaching staff is looking to add players to their 2020-21 roster. Head Coach Ed Gosek and Assistant Jon Whitelaw have been hard at work recruiting players to fill the gaps that have occurred due to the graduation of 13 seniors. The group lost eight forwards, three defenseman, along with two goaltenders at the end of their last campaign, which ended in the SUNYAC Championship against Geneseo. The Lakers have already secured a number of players which includes eight forwards and one defenseman, mostly coming from junior hockey leagues north of the border. Most recently, two forwards have been added to next year’s roster as updates have been made via social media.

On April 22nd, the announcement of Vernon Vipers Connor Sleeth committing to Oswego was made official. The Markham, Ontario, Canada native played in the British Columbia Hockey League this past season, the first recruit for Oswego ever from this league. The right handed shot played 57 games for the Vipers in which the 6’ 0” forward tallied 25 points (6 goals & 19 assists) along with two goals in the five playoff games played that season. The center also spent time with the Kanata Lasers in the Central Canada Hockey League the two seasons prior. One of these seasons were highlighted with 72 points (33 goals & 39 assists) in 62 seasons with the team. The forward is noted to have played against top lines this past season, which has improved the player’s defensive game.

On May 20th, Ben Grieco (@BenGriecoSports) reported the commitment of AJ Ryan, who recently played for the Chatham Maroons of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada native played for three different teams this past season, in which the right winger recorded 45 points (16 goals & 29 assists) in 51 games played. While with the Maroons, the forward tallied 22 points in 23 games, almost averaging a point per game. The 5’ 10” right handed shot recorded 10 points (4 goals & 6 assists) in a seven game series in the playoffs. The forward was an assistant captain with the Cobourg Cougars at the beginning of the 2019-20 season.

Compared to last season’s roster size, the Lakers would still need to find a few more players to equal the 2019-20 roster. The team currently only has 7 defenseman which is less than the 9 the Lakers had last season. Logistically, eight to nine defenseman allows for a surplus of defenseman that can be rotated in and out of the defensive core. With the current eight forward recruits, the offense looks to be solidified with four complete lines and two extra skaters, equal to last season’s numbers. However, there is still a question in between the pipes, as Oswego has not found anyone to join Steven Kozikoski in net.

Men’s Hockey will announce their 2020-21 schedule within the next two months. WTOP 10 will continue to bring Oswego Sports fans coverage as teams prepare for the 2020 fall season. Make sure to follow @WTOP10Sports to always be up to date with Oswego State Athletics.

Oswego State Men’s Hockey 2020-2021 Roster Update #3 (5/30/20)

OSWEGO, NY — Oswego State Men’s Hockey ends the month of May with 12 players joining the 2020-21 roster for this coming season. The coaching staff, head coach Ed Gosek and assistant coach Jon Whitelaw, started recruiting players back after the end of their season in March. Most recently, the addition of three players has almost solidified the incoming group of players. The loss of 13 seniors, eight forwards, three defenseman, and two goaltenders, definitely left gaps to fill and question marks in the Lakers roster, but the group has seemed to take care of a majority of those spots by the beginning of June. The graphic below shows a potential depth chart if all players would be returning from last season’s squad that would still be eligible.

This past week, Matt Watling (@MattWatling99) reported the commitment of Trent Grimshaw, a forward who played for the Maine Nordiques this past season in the NAHL. The Saline, Michigan native was the alternate captain for the Nordiques this past season, who finished in last in the East Division and failed to make the playoffs. The right winger tallied 31 points (22 goals & 9 assists) in 49 games played which tied him for 11th in points in the NAHL. Grimshaw was -14 this past season in the plus/minus column and totaled 78 minutes in the penalty box. During the 2018-19 campaign, the 5’ 8” forward spent time with the Cochrane Crunch of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League along with the Brookings Blizzard in the NAHL. The Michigan native has spent time in New York during his hockey career as the right handed shot played for the Rochester Monarchs during the 2017-18 season. Grimshaw has been noted to have a quick wrist shot which allows him to play a goal scoring playstyle up front.

All most all of the recruits heading to Oswego next season will be apart of the Class of 2024, but one individual will be joining the current Class of 2023. Ben Grieco (@BenGriecoSports) report this past week that Tommy Cahill would be transferring from King’s College to put on the green and gold in the 2020-21 campaign. The 6’ 4” forward led the team in points this past season as the rookie tallied 16 points (7 goals & 9 assists) in 17 games played. The Winnetka, Illinois native recorded 23 penalty minutes last season. Cahill was a part of the UCHC All-Rookie team last season. The Monarchs finished last season with a 3-21-1 record, finishing last in the conference. The Division III program is heading into its fourth year of existence.

Currently, the Lakers have one goaltender noted on their roster that would still be eligible to return next season, that being current starter Steven Kozikoski. Oswego State has been on the hunt to replace seniors David Richer and Cedric Hansen as the coaching staff looks to add netminders to back up Kozikoski. News broke via Twitter Friday evening that Oswego would find their first netminder as Richie Parent would be joining the team at the start of the 2020-21 season. The 6’ 1” goaltender has played the past two seasons with the Shreveport Mudbugs, a team in the South Division of the North American Hockey League. This past season, the Montréal, Quebec, Canada native played in 28 games tallying a 1.93 goals against average, and a .928 save percentage. Parent ranked 6th overall in goal against averages among all NAHL goaltenders this past season. Richie, the son of past NHL goaltender and now Mudbugs Goaltending Coach Rich Parent, held a .80 goals against average in 5 games during the playoffs for the El Paso Rhinos, a team a part of the WSHL during the 2018-19 season.

Oswego now has 16 forwards heading into the 2020-21 campaign if all eligible players return from last year’s roster. The Lakers still are looking to add to their defensive core, which currently has five defenseman. Oswego State also would need to add one more netminder to equal last season’s total, a freshman or transfer are both possible options. WTOP 10 will continue to deliver updates on both the Men’s and Women’s hockey teams heading into next season. Their 2020-21 schedules should be released around the middle of July.

Oswego State Men’s Hockey 2020-2021 Roster Update #4 (6/23/20)

OSWEGO, NY — Another couple roster update comes for the Oswego State Men’s Hockey team as more announcements have been made for the 2020-21 roster. As the month of June begins to come to an end, the coaching staff of the team as recruited a total of 14 players that will be new faces in the Marano Campus Center next season. This large recruitment class comes as a result of the loss of 13 seniors this past season, with almost all the players being a part of the Class of ’24. So far, Ed Gosek has solidified the offensive core for the Lakers with eleven of these recruits playing that position. A second defenseman will join Tristan Francis in the defensive core, and one netminder, Richie Parent, will join the squad next season.

The most recent offensive player to join the group comes from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. On Monday, June 22nd, Joey Palatsky (@JoeyPRadio) discovered the news of the recruitment of Tyler Flack via Instagram. Tyler Flack has spent the past four seasons with the North York Rangers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL). The 5’ 10” center recorded a total of 64 points (26 goals & 38 assists) this past season as team captain. This points total tied him for 13th in the league in points at the end of the 2019-20 campaign. Over the course of these four years with the Rangers, Flack tallied 112 points (49 goals & 63 assists) along with an addition 17 points coming in the playoffs. These points also come with 88 penalty minutes that Flack served during his time in the OJHL, which shows his physical presence in the game.

The second defenseman of the Class of 2024 that will be joining the roster next season with Tristan Francis will be Liam Haslam. The 6′ 1″ defenseman spent three seasons in the OJHL before joining the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights last season of the North American Hockey League (NAHL). The Toronto, Ontario, Canada native played in 47 games during the 2019-20 season recording 23 points (6 goals & 17 assists) for the Knights. Haslam also finished with 49 penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of -2. The Knights finished 3rd in the East Division this past season, just missing the playoffs. While in the OJHL, Haslam played in 89 games with four different teams over the course of three seasons.

With the Lakers securing a total of eleven forwards, the team can now solely focus on their half of the ice for the remainder of the off season. With only 8 confirmed defenseman on the 2020-21 roster, Oswego State will still be looking to add a couple more players to that position. Looking at the goaltending situation, news may not break of a third goaltender until the start of the season if the netminder is a transfer from another collegiate program, which is currently a strong possibly. WTOP 10 will continue to deliver updates to Oswego State Hockey fans on both the men’s and women’s teams as both groups look to finish their off season strong heading into their next campaign.

Oswego State Men’s Hockey 2020-2021 Roster Update #5 (7/31/20)

OSWEGO, NY — As the month of August falls upon us, this time of the year usually contains the release of the coming season’s schedules for the hockey teams in Oswego. The Oswego State Men’s Hockey team will now have to wait till after January 1^st, 2021, to begin their next season, as the SUNYAC pushed off the campaign due to COVID-19. For Ed Gosek and Jon Whitelaw, the off season just got a few months longer, which has already been a significant one for the group. The team added 14 commitments to the 2020-21 roster since the beginning of April. After losing 13 seniors, this much needed recruitment class so far contains 11 forwards, 2 defenseman, and 1 goaltender that will join the rest of the returning Lakers.

This past week, the Oswego fan base got introduced to another player that will be putting on the green and gold uniform next season for the first time. On Thursday, July 30th, the Oswego State Men’s Hockey Twitter Account released information on transfer goaltender Eric Green. The 6’ 5” netminder spent the last two seasons with the UMASS-Lowell River Hawks and will be heading into his junior year. The Easton, Connecticut native did not play a game between the pipes for the River Hawks, a NCAA Division 1 team in the Hockey East conference. Green however played 12 games for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL last year, posting a 4.07 goals against average and a .855 save percentage.

This add to the goaltending core completes the group as returner Steven Kozikoski and incoming freshman Richie Parent will join Green between the pipes. For the coaching staff, the decision to decide who will be the starter come January will be a tough one with two solid juniors, and a hungry underclassman. The 15-player recruitment class now contains two transfers and thirteen freshman that will look to have a success season come the new calendar year. WTOP 10 will continue to keep Oswego State fans up to date regarding the 2020-21 season once more updates are available. All Oswego State sports teams will have to wait till after January 1st to begin their competition season. Practices are allowed as of right now.

Graphic provided by the Oswego State Men’s Hockey Twitter