Atop the Rankings

Both major polls dubbed the 7-0-0 Oswego State Lakers the No. 1 team in the nation after starting the season unranked. Coming off a week of rest and playing the last-place Morrisville State Mustangs on the road tonight, Oswego State will need to continue their run of approaching each game with the mentality of “faceless opponents.”

“All season it has been about faceless opponents,” captain Chris Raguseo said. “I think as long as we handle our business, we know we have the talent and the effort and the attitude in that dressing room.”

This is a team the Lakers should beat, but Morrisville State has showed they can score goals, at a rate of 3.22 per game. If rust catches up to Oswego State, Morrisville State might be able to make this one interesting. After all, the Mustangs are coming off a 5-5 tie with, what were, the No. 9 UMass Boston Beacons on Nov. 26.

“They tied UMass Boston, who just beat Utica [College], who hadn’t lost,” Gosek said. “They’ve played a lot of teams tough. They’ve shown they have the ability to score goals.”

Upset?

The last time Oswego State lost to Morrisville State the Lakers were also the No. 1 team in Div. III hockey. This 5-2 loss came on Feb. 12, 2011 as former Laker goaltender, Paul Beckwith, lost his first contest of the season that game.

Head coach Ed Gosek said earlier this week that in the SUNYAC there is really no such thing as an upset.

“You have to be ready to compete in our league every single night,” Gosek said. “I don’t even call them upsets anymore. You’re going to have the results that you get, hopefully we’ll be ready.”

In The Crease

The goalie rotation will continue tonight. Matt Zawadzki will get his turn to start and try to improve upon his already stellar numbers. The senior netminder currently holds the second best goals against average (1.34) and save percentage (.931) in the SUNYAC.

Jared Young will get the start tonight for the Mustangs over CJ Sharp. This is the freshman’s fifth start of the year and arguably his biggest. Young is 1-3-1 with a .896 SV% coming in.

Lineup Card

It seems that Gosek might have found the lineup he likes. Each game there has been fewer lineup changes. Tonight the only change from the SUNY Plattsburgh game is Joey Davies slotting in for Cameron Berry as the third line pivot.

Sean Federow is still recovering from his lower body injury but did practice this week. He still remains out.

OSW Lines:

Neil-Botten-Hulshof

Herlihey-Barton-Galati

Sullivan-Davies-Emerson

Huffnagle-Waterstreet-Ferreira

Defense:

Johnson-Rutkowski

Raguseo-MacMillan

Brun-Hart

Goalie:

Zawadzki

Players to Watch

Lakers- Alex Botten

The second leading scorer in SUNYAC hockey should be able to continue his strong season tonight against a weaker Mustang defense. Botten notched a goal and two assists on the North Country trip. His only goal was a rocket of a shot from the top of the far-side circle to beat Potsdam’s Nate Skidmore.

Mustangs- Henry Hearon

The freshman defenseman is second on the team in scoring. His two goals and three assists in eight games is a promising start to his Mustang career. Hearon is currently a -3, but if his offensive output is already at this capacity it will be interesting to see how he develops the rest of the way. Tonight the Lakers will get their first look at the former Hampton Roads Whaler.

By the Numbers

Record

OSW- 7-0-0/5-0-0 (No. 1/1)

MOR- 1-6-2/1-4-1

Goals per Game

OSW- 5.29 [2nd in SUNYAC]

MOR- 3.22 [5th in SUNYAC]

Goals Against per Game

OSW- 1.43 [1st in SUNYAC]

MOR- 5.11 [9th in SUNYAC]

Power Play

OSW- 10-35 (28.6%) [4th in SUNYAC]

MOR- 10-45 (22.2%) [7th in SUNYAC]

Penalty Kill

OSW- 32-34 (94.1%) [1st in SUNYAC]

MOR- 49-71 (69.0%) [9th in SUNYAC]

*Overall Statistics

Game Prediction

The Mustangs are 0-4-0 even when leading after the first period, and this bodes extremely well for the Lakers. Oswego State has not played the best hockey in the opening frame throughout most of the season but should have a little breathing room knowing that stat. The Mustangs are also allowing nearly as many goals per game that the Lakers are scoring, so offense should not be an issue tonight against this lackluster defense core. A good week of practice coming off the holiday break and a complete effort tonight erases any doubts that Oswego State might see a slight drop off in play.

Lakers win 6-2