In one of the most important non conference games of the year the entire Oswego State team played well. With the defending national champs coming to town this weekend the Lakers need to get their game going again after the long break and they seem to be on the right track.

The Mustangs had their moments in this game but overall couldn’t generate much. Morrisville State led in shots 22-19 but only converted on one, a deflected shot late in the first.

The first goal came after Andrea Noss found a wide open Alyssa Brockmann in the high slot to the open the scoring at the 3:23 mark of the first period.

Oswego State scored the second goal of the first period and their seventh first period goal of the season before ten minutes of play passed. This time Olivia Ellis found the back of the net at 8:29 of the first. Ellis was on the back door as Alexa Aramburu found her through the Mustang defense. Amy Templeman was credited with the secondary assist, her first helper of her collegiate career.

The Morrisville State Mustangs played well in the latter half of every period but only scored in the opening frame. Ciara Lark found the back of the net as the puck trickled past Trovato to cut the Laker lead to one. Strymecki and Graham assisted on the Morrisville goal coming at the 18:41 mark of the first.

Oswego State did an excellent job of not allowing the Mustangs to break out cleanly all night and this defensive effort was what helped them keep the puck the majority of the night. Morrisville’s inability to create set offensive opportunities is why they failed to score. The Laker defense looked good tonight again, something they did in their pre-break win streak.

The first insurance marker came from Andrea Noss as she quickly tucked the puck in the opposite side of the net as Pincheon couldn’t get across on the wrap around chance. “Noss-ty”, as Matthew Moran of WTOP-10 called it. Pincheon was pulled and Schmaltz replaced her in net for the rest of the night.

Schmaltz was tested quickly after she entered the game and looked pretty solid all night. She robbed Truschke’s deflection in front to keep Morrisville State in the game. Schmaltz did all she could, allowing one goal while the Mustangs failed to score the rest of the game despite being put on two power plays in the third period.

Oswego State came in to tonight’s game with the least penalties in the nation but were sloppy and lazy at times as they took two tripping, one hooking and one high sticking call this game. The Lakers could get away with this against Morrisville but it will be tougher against Plattsburgh State.

Oswego State’s power play converted once tonight on two attempts as Alli Ullrich ripped a shot off the post and in to make it 4-1 at the 6:57 mark of the third.

Three Stars

1- Andrea Noss

Noss scored her third goal of the year tonight and was on the ice for all four goals in tonight’s game. She helped open the scoring and also played well on the other side of the puck. The Lakers will need more of this from Noss for the rest of season. It’s tough to rely on two players to score but if she can keep up this type of play the Lakers are in good shape. Noss now sits in third on the team in scoring with eight points on the year.

2- Alli Ullrich

The junior scored the Lakers late power play goal tonight while registering three shots on net. Ullrich is a staple on this Oswego State back end was solid tonight after an upsetting performance in the first game against Chatham last weekend. Ullrich is the epitome of an offensive defenseman as she leads the Laker defense in shots and points.

3- Alexa Aramburu

Aramburu finished with a +3 rating on the night along with an assist. She also blocked two shots and was another Laker forward to play well defensively. Aramburu is a big piece of this Laker offense and plays big minutes. She performed well here tonight and was also on the ice for all four Laker goals.

What We Learned

Oswego State will play their biggest games of the year this weekend as they take on the Plattsburgh Cardinals, the best team in Division III women’s hockey. With tonight’s win they are slowing building momentum back that they lost over the break. With the final tune up coming tomorrow against Morrisville State, yet again, it is key for the Lakers to keep building on tonight’s success and also correct tonight’s low points.

Oswego played well defensively but let up too many shots so that is something they can try to correct tomorrow, minor but an issue worth looking at. Penalties are also an issue. You can’t be taking bad penalties against the best power play in the nation. With that being said, the Oswego State penalty kill was excellent tonight and will need to keep that up through this weekend.

The Lakers did a lot of the little things right, as well. They were excellent at holding the blue line and taking away lanes so the Mustangs couldn’t leave their own zone. Oswego State blocked a good amount shots as well tonight and were active in the defensive zone. There were times that the Mustangs were able to create chances but for the most part the Laker defense was strong tonight.

Tomorrow night the Lakers need to just fine tune some things and they will be as ready as they can be coming in to the biggest weekend of the season to date.

The Lakers take on Morrisville State again tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Morrisville, New York.