The Oswego State Lakers will kick off their regular season in the first of back-to-back matchups against Elmira College tonight at 7 p.m. Elmira will be playing in their first contest of the year, while Oswego State is coming off a 3-1 win over the CCHL All-Graduate team last weekend.

Last Meeting

Two years ago was the last time these two teams squared off. Oswego State’s Nick Rivait tallied a late third period marker to tie the game at two. Neither team was able to score a deciding goal in overtime and ended the game 2-2. Oswego State is 8-1-1 since the year 2000 against the Soaring Eagles.

The Past

Both teams are coming off disappointing seasons. The Lakers vastly underperformed last year and the Soaring Eagles finished below .500. Last season was the first time since the 2012-2013 campaign that Elmira College has fallen below the .500 mark. Who did Elmira College play in their first game of that season? If you guessed Oswego State, you’re correct. The Lakers scored nine times and were able to shutout the Soaring Eagles that night. That was Oswego State’s third game of the season — its second regular season contest — and they eventually went on to lose in the Frozen Four final against University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire that same year.

Shaking Off the Rust

Elmira is coming in to this one cold and although the Lakers have played one game this year, they are playing on a six days of rest. Yes, that is commonplace in Div. III hockey, but the Lakers showed plenty signs of rust in their first meeting of the season and not being in game action for that long after the offseason could impact their offense.  They took too many penalties, eight to be exact, and weren’t clicking every shift. Tonight’s matchup should help the Lakers fine tune some more things.

In the Crease

Matt Zawadzki is set to start in net for the Lakers and senior Sal Magliocco looks to be the guy in net for the Soaring Eagles. Zawadzki made six saves in the first period of the CCHL All-Graduate exhibition. He looked sharp on a few high-quality scoring chances and was able to handle all the chaos around him.

Magliocco is a three-year starter and is coming off a season where he only played 12 games, his lowest total at Elmira. His 3.27 goals against average was an improvement from his junior season and will attempt to get the Soaring Eagles off to a solid start tonight. He’s a smaller goaltender so the Lakers will have a little more net to shoot at.

Players to Watch

Lakers-Chris Raguseo

The Laker captain had a disappointing start to his senior campaign. He served up turnovers on more than a few occasions and took three penalties. Losing one of your penalty killers that many times during a game can’t make the coaching staff happy. Raguseo definitely showed signs of rust and will need a turnaround performance tonight.

Soaring Eagles-Michael Martin

The Soaring Eagle captain should see the likes of Alex Botten, Kenny Neil and Shawn Hulshof all night. The veteran stay-at-home defenseman is solid in his own end and is a reliable shut down guy for head coach Aaron Saul. Martin only has five career points in 45 games for the Soaring Eagles so offense won’t be a worry for the Lakers, but he could keep their top line at bay for a while.

Game Prediction

The Lakers received 10 votes in the USCHO.com preseason poll. This is one of their lower preseason rankings in their recent history, but despite the lackluster season they had a year ago this shows how the Oswego State hockey program is viewed nationally. The Lakers won’t break through until the middle frame. Zawadzki plays well again, Raguseo shows signs of improvement and Jody Sullivan finds himself playing very well on the wing alongside Andrew Barton and Matt Galati.

Lakers win 4-1