Last 5

Oswego State has won four straight and are 4-1 in their last five games against the Buffalo State Bengals. The Lakers are 5-4-1 in their last ten. Nothing special, but with the recent track record against the Bengals they seem to be in good shape. The Bengals are currently in third in the SUNYAC, just four points up on Oswego State. This tilt should be a very entertaining one with so much on the line.

Playoff Look Ahead

With the SUNYAC Playoffs coming up shortly here, the fight for home ice advantage is in full swing. Both teams playing tonight desperately want a home playoff game. Considering the year the Lakers have had, a home playoff game would be huge in their fight for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Here are the stipulations for the Lakers:

Lineup Card

The Lakers will be getting a key defenseman back tonight, Mac Scott. He has missed three games after being knocked out the 4-3 OT loss to Plattsburgh with a separated shoulder. Coach Gosek said he wanted to get the senior in for at least one game before playoffs and tonight is the night.

TJ Sneath will be slotting in on the wing for Connor Boyd on the fourth line tonight. He has two points on the year.

CuJo Junior is back as the back up goaltender tonight. Adrian Ignagni is still missing. He also was hurt during the trip to Plattsburgh. No word on the state of his concussion symptoms.

Then and Now

The Lakers can’t rest on last weekend. Yes, they won two games, but they were against the independent SUNY Canton ‘Roos. It was a good building block weekend, but the Lakers need to realize they will be playing a much better team tonight. The stage is set for these two teams to battle it out for home ice in the first round of the playoffs. Buffalo State is hot right now. They currently are on a four game win streak and are looking to make it five, which would qualify for their longest of the year.

Players to Watch

Lakers- Matt Zawadzki

Zawadzki has full control of this team right now. He didn’t look sharp in the first game against SUNY Canton, but looked very sharp in the latter half of the senior night game. He will need to be the Lakers best player in these final two games, and whenever they play in the postseason. The junior leads the nation in shutouts with four. He should be sharp again tonight.

Bengals- Mike DeLaVergne

Yes, this one is a goalie battle. DeLaVergne has one of the most memorable names in hockey and his stats have been very impressive throughout his career. He ranks eighteenth in the nation in save percentage and his goals against average is at a stingy 2.11, overall. These two net minders will shape the game today.

By the Numbers

Standings

Lakers- 15 points [Fifth Place]

Bengals- 19 points [Third Place]

Goals Per Game

Lakers- 2.9

Bengals- 3.4

Powerplay

Lakers- 18-83 (21.7%) [No. 22 in Div. III]

Bengals- 18-109 (16.5%) [No. 51 in Div. III]

Penalty Kill

Lakers- 81-94 (86.2%) [No. 24 in Div. III]

Bengals- 88-102 (86.3%) [No. 23 in Div. III]

Game Prediction

Both of these teams are pretty evenly matched. The Laker powerplay has been hot lately and is nearly 30 spots ahead of the Bengals. If the Lakers can fix the penalty issues from this past weekend they are in good shape. Both teams will be hungry, this will be a close one. Playoff implications are plenty and Zawadzki seems to be able to play better in those big games.

Lakers win 4-3