The Oswego State women’s hockey team started their weekend series with a win against SUNY Cortland. With the Red Dragons poor seasonal stats, the team might have been underestimated in the beginning, but the Red Dragons seemed to be playing their hardest throughout the game.

Both teams played with full force in the first period. Mariah Madrigal, starting goalie for the Lakers, made strong saves throughout the period, not allowing the puck to enter the net.

The Lakers’ offensive line stayed on top of the Red Dragons, making it difficult to reach their defensive zone.

The Lakers headed into the first power play of the evening thanks to a Red Dragon penalty on Emily Rose for tripping. No successful shots were made by the Lakers during the power play.

At the 17:19 mark, Lakers’ Jacquelin White was sent to the penalty box for tripping, which sent the Dragons into their first power play of the game. At the advantage of the Lakers, no successful shots were made during the Red Dragon’s power play either.

The teams headed into the second period with a tie game, which seemed to be played relatively even.

Laura Thacker sent the Red Dragons into their second power play with a two minute penalty for hooking. The Red Dragon power play was unsuccessful with no shots taken by Cortland.

Both teams seemed to bring it all on the ice with their strong defensive and offensive groups displaying adequate stick and puck handling.

The game picked up in the third period with the Red Dragons scoring just 25 seconds into the period.

The Lakers were quick to respond with a goal scored seconds later by Jacquelin White. The goal was assisted by Alexa Aramburu and Olivia Ellis.

Ellis’ assist was the 35th in her career, which ties the assist record set by Melissa Seamont and Olivia Boersen in Oswego State women’s hockey history.

“I think we had a slow start, but throughout the game we really picked it up,” Olivia Ellis said. “We had so many opportunities and we really just couldn’t find the back of the net but eventually we did.”

With the game tied 1-1, the Lakers kicked it into overdrive and Jacquelin White scored again at the 10:28 mark, putting them at a 2-1 lead.

“They played well but we outplayed them,” White said. “We didn’t come out our best in the beginning but we started to pick it up in the end.”

White also believes that the Red Dragons are going to come out hard and strong when the Lakers face them again tomorrow.

According to assistant coach Greg Haney, the Lakers played a strong defensive game, which might have contributed to Mariah Madrigal only having to face eleven shots throughout the game.

“I thought they played pretty well,” Madrigal said. “They didn’t get too many shots, but when they were in the zone they kept it in there for quite a while,”

Tomorrow, the Lakers will finish off this weekend’s series by facing Cortland again. The team anticipates that the Red Dragons will come out harder than they did tonight to try to redeem themselves.

The game starts at 3 p.m. and is in the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena.