The Oswego State men’s ice hockey team will take on the St. Thomas University Tommies today at 4 p.m. in a non-conference matchup at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.

This is the first game of the weekend series for the Lakers at the Utica Thanksgiving Showcase, as they will take on St. Johns University tomorrow, also at 4 p.m.

Oswego comes into today’s matchup 3-3-1, with this game being their first non-conference matchup of the regular season. This will be the first career matchup between the Lakers and the Tommies.

The Tommies come into today’s game with a 4-2-2 record, 3-1-0 in the MIAC. St. Thomas has made the NCAA tournament the past two years under head coach Jeff Boeser, who is in his sixth season.

The Lakers come into this tournament in efforts to acquire a winning record, something that they have not had since the second game of the season after a win against The College at Brockport, when they were 1-0-1. Oswego swept SUNY Morrisville last weekend, with a Friday win in Oswego and then a win Saturday in Morrisville, to bring its record back up to .500. While Morrisville certainly is not the toughest competition the Lakers will face, last weekend’s series was a great way for head coach Ed Gosek and his team to build confidence.

However, for the second consecutive week, the Lakers were not ranked in USCHO.com’s weekly national poll. The Lakers received six votes and St. Thomas received seven votes.

What to watch for:

Oswego is usually never the more physical team on the ice, relying on their speed and power play to put themselves at an advantage of their opponents. However, going up against a stronger team from the west, it is to be seen how Gosek will approach this game. When teams from the west and the east of Div. III go head-to-head, it is usually the team from the west that is the more physically dominant team and set the tone of the game.

The question that will have to be answered is whether Oswego will play to its strength and continue its style of play, or whether it will try and emulate St. Thomas’ level of physicality.

Prediction: Oswego State wins 4-3

Although the Oswego coaching staff has not released the name of the starting goalie for today’s matchup, it seems likely that Gosek plays the hot hand of junior Adrian Ignagni, who went 2-0 against Morrisville last weekend, holding the Mustangs to only one goal.

The Lakers win behind an opportunistic power play unit, along with a deep and talented third and fourth line to wear out the Tommies.