It’s been just under four months since the puck dropped for the first time this 2015-16 season and are already approaching the final weekend of regular season hockey.
The Oswego State Lakers find themselves going into their last two games of the regular season sitting at a modest 12-9-2, a record that many assumed would be better at this point of the year. The Lakers, in addition, have earned a 7-6-1 conference record which is currently good enough for fifth place in the SUNYAC.
The team’s play as of late has shown strong signs of improvement compared to the first few months of the season. The team’s powerplay has become noticeably more cohesive, star players such as Matt Galati and Shawn Hulshof are starting to find the back of the net more consistently and the team’s tenacity and physicality is at an all time high. All these factors have helped lead the Lakers on their current two game win streak as the team defeated the SUNY Canton twice last weekend.
Oswego State competed from start to finish against SUNY Plattsburgh and SUNY Potsdam, losing by one goal each. However, despite a stint of recent good play, Oswego’s fifth-place ranking in the SUNYAC is still not good enough for a home playoff game. This means the Lakers have their work cut out for them this upcoming weekend if they hope to host a SUNYAC playoff match in the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena. Fortunately for Oswego, they are in control of their own destiny and are currently in the driver’s seat when it comes to determining whether they’ll be playing their post season play right here in the 315 or on opponents’ ice.
In order to earn a home playoff game, the Lakers must finish third or fourth in the SUNYAC and can achieve this feat in a variety of ways. The most ideal way would be for Oswego to win both of their upcoming games this weekend, Buffalo State on Friday and SUNY Fredonia on Saturday.
This is easier said than done, however, seeing that both of these games are in opponent territory, an area in which the Lakers have been less than impressive this season, posing a 3-4-2 record. But Oswego has played each of these teams once this season already and came out on the winning end against both.
If Oswego State winds up dropping one of their games this weekend, or even both, there’s still hope. If the Lakers beat Buffalo State Friday, but lose to SUNY Fredonia the following day, then Buffalo State must lose to SUNY Cortland Saturday in order for the Lakers to be granted the three seed. And then finally, and perhaps the easiest way for the Lakers to gain home ice advantage, is if Potsdam drops either of their games this weekend against SUNY Geneseo or SUNY Brockport.
