The Oswego State men’s ice hockey team lost to the CCHL All-Graduate team 6-3 Saturday night at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena.

The Lakers wasted no time starting off the game, scoring the first goal 1:33 in from Terry Sneath, courtesy of JJ Hart and Matt Galati. Galati skated down the right line and passed it across in front of the goal which eventually found its way into the back of the net.

Oswego State would also knock on another goal in the first, as freshman Cameron Berry from Arizona scored his first collegiate goal.

“He [Berry] plays hard,” head coach Ed Gosek said. “We’re happy with him.”

Berry also impressed on defense. He made some big hits and on one play, deflected a puck coming from behind the net to an opponent by diving and saved a possible goal.

Before the first period ended, however, the CCHL All-Graduate team would tack on a goal, cutting the lead in half, to one goal. Mitchell Gibson got the puck near the crease and went top shelf on Laker goalie Justin Gilbert on a backhand.

Gosek pointed out that after the first two goals, the team began to look more fatigued, which led to bigger problems.

“We looked tired and out of shape,” he said. “Mentally, when we got tired, we threw the puck away and made some mistakes.”

The Lakers started the second period off slow and allowed a second goal to get past junior Matt Zawadzki. Zawadzki made some great saves earlier in the period, but with the Lakers down a man as Pierre Ouellette was in the penalty box for hooking, the shot got through.

“I thought we had some energy in the first period and we had some chances that we didn’t bury,” Gosek said. “I would say majority of the second [period] and majority of the third [period] they had more energy, they won loose puck battles.”

Oswego State would return strong, as Kenny Neil would get a rebound and put it in the back of the net to give the Lakers a 3-2 lead that would remain for the rest of the period. Terry Sneath shot one from near the blue line that was deflected by Matt Galati and then finally put in by Neil.

“I thought Kenny Neil was our hardest working player on the ice,” Gosek said. “Every guy has to bring the level that he did.”

The Lakers were outshot 16-9 in the second period, but Zawadzki played a strong period to keep his team afloat and then held the lead.

Adrian Ignagni started the third period, but had numbers against him right from the start. Andrew Barton was penalized within the first minute and on the penalty kill, the Lakers allowed their second goal with a man down as Nicolas Carrier snuck one past Ignagni.

Oswego State then found itself trailing for the first time all game after another shot got past Ignagni 11:55 into the period, with Shawn Cameron giving his team a lead.

The Lakers then gave up two more goals and couldn’t get any momentum going for them. After a very strong opening and a two-goal lead, the Lakers were outscored 6-1 down the stretch.

“It’s why you play exhibition games,” Gosek said. “It exposes your weaknesses.”

Overall, the team struggled not only on defense in containing the All-Graduates, but allowing their shots to find the back of the net.

Each goalie, Justin Gilbert, Matt Zawadzki and Adrian Ignagni only had one period of playing time, so they did not have a great chance to get a feel for the game as it transitioned.

Gosek believed that each goalie left something on the ice.

“I though all of them struggled a little bit tonight, as far as handling pucks and being focused,” he said. “They’re better than what they showed tonight. I got the feeling from them that they felt they needed to do more. Quite frankly, I think most of them were mental mistakes, not because they weren’t good enough.”

Goes said that there is no set starter for the season opener next Friday and that he will use the upcoming week of practice to evaluate the position and make a decision Thursday night. Matt Zawadzki saw a majority of the minutes last year, although senior Justin Gilbert did play 10 games, winning six of them.

With the defense struggling, Gosek thought it was a combination of poor play from both his goalies and the defensemen that led to the six goals, especially with four in the final period.

“They beat us to loose pucks and other than the first period, our defense was chasing them rather than sealing guys off,” he said.

The biggest downfall of this team tonight, however, was the penalties. The Lakers had seven penalties against them, three in the third period alone, which led to odd-man breakaways from the opponent and easier shot selections.

“I think that we didn’t move our feet, used our sticks on most of them, or we got beat,” Gosek said, explaining why the team had so many penalties. “That’s a sign of conditioning.”

Oswego State’s regular season will begin Friday, Oct. 30 on the road against SUNY Geneseo, with their home opener the following night as they take on the College at Brockport at home.