Still Searching

After yesterday’s heart breaker the Lakers are still in search for their first conference win since Dec. 5. A stretch this long is burying the Oswego State Lakers in the standings but luckily they still hold onto a playoff spot. William Smith College isn’t exactly out of the playoff race but it is unlikely that they will sneak in. Bottom line, the Lakers desperately need a win today.

Out of the Gates Flying

The Lakers have been notorious all year for having slow starts and yesterday was no different. They hold a -6 goal differential in the opening period and are 0-7-2 when trailing after the first period. The Herons are 7-1-1 when scoring first this year so it is imperative the Lakers have a good first period. It’s worth noting that Oswego State is 6-0-0 when leading after the first 20.

Home Improvement

The Laker defense was not too sharp yesterday. They were leaving players open and didn’t help Tori Trovato out too much. Oswego State needs to clean up the front of the net and keep players to the outside. At times that did happen but Trovato needs to do a better job of controlling rebounds. The game winning goal was a perfect example of that yesterday.  If the Laker defense can take care of it’s own end better today the team should be able to walk away with a win.

Depth

The Laker depth is getting tested more and more with the injuries they have sustained this week and from earlier in the season. Losing Madrigal hurts the most but with Lydia Cosgrove out Coach Dillon will need to find a reliable bottom six forward to fill in her spot. Oswego State still has enough talent to win but Coach Dillon was right yesterday in her post game presser.

“Our better players need to be better.”

Players to Watch

Lakers- Brianna Rice

Rice is a top scorer on this Laker team. She had one her best games in some time yesterday. She assisted on a goal and created a couple of really good scoring opportunities because of her howitzer of a shot. She finally registered a point to end a seven game drought and her team will need her to continue to help create offensively.

Herons- Krista Federow

The captain came up clutch yesterday. Oswego State kept her under control for most of the game but she finally broke through. She is the program leader in points and always seems to find a way to contribute somehow. Her defensive side of the game isn’t lacking at all so she will be another handful in today’s game.

By the Numbers

Standings

Lakers- 13 points [Fifth Place]

Herons- 8 points [Seventh Place]

Goals Per Game

Lakers- 2.20

Herons- 2.15

Power Play

Lakers- 11-71 (15.5%) [No. 27 in Div. III]

Herons- 10-72 (13.9%) [No. 34 in Div. III]

Penalty Kill

Lakers- 40-47 (85.1%) [No. 27 in Div. III]

Herons- 61-76 (80.3%) [No. 46 in Div. III]

Game Prediction

On the road the Lakers have been better as they post a 5-3-3 record in the opponent’s barn. This has to give them some sort of confidence after the devastating loss yesterday. They finally were able to score, so that is a positive going into today’s game. If they can build off the success from yesterday and just tighten up defensively they have a real good chance. Oswego State was the better team for a large portion of the game but just couldn’t hold. I think today will be different. Hopefully they can watch the end of the Super Bowl in good spirits after a win.

Lakers win 3-2