Oswego State is just four days away from facing the best team in the nation, the Plattsburgh Cardinals. With that being said, these next two games against the Morrisville State Mustangs will be the final tune up. After a disappointing weekend where Sydney Isbell and the Chatham Cougars took three of possible four points from the Lakers, Oswego State will need to get firing on all cylinders if they want a shot to beat the top dog Cardinals.

Morrisville State comes in to tonight’s game with 11 points and sit atop the Colonial Hockey Conference. Despite being in first in their conference at 5-0-1 they hold an overall record of 5-8-2 and are currently on the wrong side of a six game losing streak. The Mustangs have not won a game since November 21. The tides should turn soon and it could be tonight at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena.

The Mustangs have put up goal totals in a single game of 10 and 11, that’s a lot for any time period of hockey. Morrisville State averages 2.80 goals a game and nearly 30 shots at 29.9, pretty good totals for a team in such a slump. Although, these numbers are inflated due to the games they played early on in the year against inferior opponents.

In the span of games since their last win on November 21 the Mustangs have not scored more than two goals. One tie with a score of 1-1 is sprinkled in there but dreaded times are over the Morrisville State locker room right now. Oswego State will like to add to the string of losses the Mustangs have tonight.

After a weekend where the Lakers failed to score a goal in seven periods of hockey they will be hungry to turn that around knowing rival Plattsburgh is prepping for their match up later this week. Oswego State started off the year rather slow but quickly turned it around right before the long break. The break didn’t serve them well as they were flat for most of the two games against Chatham.

It’s tough to really say what Oswego State needs to do differently tonight but they need to change whatever they were doing this past weekend. The Lakers rarely got scoring chances from the slot and were unable to beat Isbell who was named the ECAC West Goalie of the Week. Cutting to the middle of the ice during zone entries and patience have to be two keys for them here tonight. Patience leads to finding open players and that leads to goals. Oswego State was forcing things and failed to adapt to the Cougar defense.

All the troubles Oswego State had last weekend cannot be seen tonight. This game doesn’t mean all that much because of it’s not a conference game but it’s a huge tilt knowing the Lakers need to gain confidence and feel good about their game going into this weekend. It’s the building blocks of this game that are important, not necessarily the results.

Players to Watch

Oswego State: Lizzy Marks

The senior captain will need to bring more than just on ice performance to the rink tonight. Her natural leadership will be needed by all on that home bench to help right this ship that is starting to drift off course. If Marks can help this team forget about last weekend’s blunders and play two way hockey like she normally does the Lakers will be fine. There is no doubt that Oswego State is talented enough to win this game but they need to adapt and play solid fundamental hockey. Some of that falls on the captains. Marks is a big time forward and huge part of this team so look for her to come up huge in tonight’s game.

Morrisville State: Kelley Graham

Graham is the face of this young team. The Mustangs are without any seniors this year and have an overall short bench. Graham averages over a point a game with 17 points in 15 games. Her offensive skill and ability to find open ice where she can shoot is how this team succeeds. She could be up for a big night because Oswego State has given up huge nights to players who score at will like she can. Remember Taylor Steadman in the 3-2 defeat to Castleton?

By the Numbers

Standings

Lakers- 13 points [Third Place in ECAC West]

Mustangs- 11 points [Tied for first place in CHC]

Goals Per Game

Lakers- 2.23

Mustangs- 2.80

Power Play

Lakers- 9-49 (18.4%) [No. 26 in Div. III]

Mustangs- 8-51 (15.7) [No. 31 in Div. III]

Penalty Kill

Lakers- 25-29 (82.8%) [No. 38 in Div.III]

Mustangs- 45-52 (86.5%) [No. 22 in Div. III]

Game Prediction

These two teams match up very well and we are in store for a great game. Trovato should be in net for the Lakers but you can never tell who Coach Dillon will go with. Renee Schmaltz should be in between the pipes tonight for the Mustangs. She has a sub 2.00 GAA at 1.98 and has been one of the best players for this Mustang team. With how similar these two teams are it’ll be interesting to see how this game takes shape. It should be slow early and then as the two teams settle in we should be in store for some good hockey. The Lakers need to turn it around and I feel like they can do it here tonight. The top six forwards, especially Rice and Ellis will need to be on their game tonight to make up for the overall sluggish team performance last weekend. Rice and Ellis will get on the score sheet and help get Oswego State rolling again.

Lakers win 3-2