At the conclusion of the 2014-15 Oswego Men’s Hockey season, Lakers freshman forward Trent Durocher decided to transfer to SUNY Potsdam, closer to his hometown of Canton, New York.

As a freshman, Durocher only appeared in one game for Oswego, and it was his struggles to crack the lineup that became a reason he decided to make the transition to Potsdam.

“It was a tough situation coming from Juniors and being a first-liner”, referring to his successful Junior hockey career with the Hawkesbury Hawks and the Pembroke Lumber Kings among other teams in the CCHL, where he was an effective offensive contributor for his entire four year career.

In the one game he dressed for the Lakers as a freshman, he failed to register a point. Though, Head Coach Ed Gosek explained that he thought Trent “was one of the guys who was most improved from the beginning of the year to the end of the year [last season]”.

Durocher’s journey back from Oswego to Potsdam and back over the last few months has been a long one, but one that has left all parties satisfied. Not only was Durocher able to return to his original team, but the players in the locker room got their valued teammate and friend back, and the coaching staff got another weapon in their arsenal to boost the team’s depth and bolster the penalty kill.

After spending the first half of this season playing for Potsdam, who was ahead of Oswego in the standings with a head-to-head win in hand over the Lakers as well, Durocher began experiencing second thoughts about leaving his original college team.

He described that “it wasn’t a bad situation [at SUNY Potsdam]”, but followed it up by saying “I realized my heart belonged in Oswego”.

Once his mind was made up on returning to the Lakers, Durocher contacted Coach Ed Gosek via email on Christmas Eve, hoping that he would be granted a second chance to be a Laker.

Coach Gosek was very receptive to Durocher, by saying “if he (Durocher) was serious we’d see what we could do”.

Gosek was very understanding of Durocher’s situation from a hockey standpoint, claiming that the coaching staff “had no issues” with him leaving.

“When you don’t get playing time, it’s understandable. Guys aren’t happy and want to go. We get it”.

It seemed like a match made in heaven, with a hard working, improving, player familiar with the Oswego system who eager to step into a crucial role for a 6-5-1 team performing below expectations at the time to provide a spark.

Durocher confirmed the mutual excitement by claiming that “He (Coach Gosek) didn’t have any second guesses, he wanted me back right away.”

Any member of a team can confirm that it never hurts having teammates with positive attitudes in the locker room to boost team morale, and there’s no such thing as having too many positive leaders on and off the ice.

Statements like “I look forward everyday coming to practice, coming to the rink. It’s just an awesome feeling” from Durocher could prove to be infectious to a hungry Oswego squad looking to get their season back on track, especially with a huge rivalry match-up looming this Friday against Plattsburgh on the road.

Durocher’s first game in his second stint with Oswego haven’t resulted in any points for Durocher, but the team has compiled a positive 3-2-1 record over the last six games that he’s played. He has helped spark the team to crucial wins against competitive SUNYAC rivals like Cortland and Brockport by being a pesky defensive forward, filling the role that Coach Gosek described as “hard to play against”.

With willingness to adapt by all parties, shown by the coaching staff allowing Durocher to dress in all six games since his return, and Trent’s willingness to transition from an offensive minded player to a high motor, tough to play against forward, hopefully this season can have a much more successful ending than it did beginning.

At this point in the season, there is only four points separating the third place Lakers from the first place Plattsburgh Cardinals. It is a surmountable lead and though it won’t be an easy road, the addition of Durocher’s presence returning to the locker room could provide the motivation Oswego needs to rise to the top of the SUNYAC standing to close out the season.

“There’s really no better feeling.” Durocher claimed upon his return. “This is the greatest place to play Division Three hockey”. If every member of the team feeds off the momentum that Durocher’s presence and attitude has created, there’s no ceiling on how far this year’s squad can go.