Today’s Game
The Oswego State Lakers Men’s Hockey team ends a twenty day lay-off tonight to face the 3-2-2 Williams College Ephs at the Northfield Savings Bank Holiday Tournament hosted by Norwich University at Kreitzberg Arena in Northfield, VT.
The Lakers, coming off their first loss of the season to Buffalo State, are coming off the holiday break looking to maintain their number one ranking.
Keys To Victory
The Lakers will be looking to get back to their winning ways, after suffering their first loss to Buffalo State on December 10th. Gosek and his staff will be looking to the senior class to sustain their hot start from the season’s first half to propel the Lakers to a win in this weekends tournament.
Today’s lineup features five freshman in the offensive corps bottom six, and a great deal of responsibility falls on the bottom two lines to play responsible hockey and allow the scoring lines to have better opportunities in the attacking zone.
Players to watch:
Lakers- Sean Federow
The senior defenseman returned to the lineup from injury shortly before the holiday break, playing in three games. He has registered three assists in as many games so far, but with an extra twenty days of rest and rehabilitation, look for Federow to shake off the effects of his injury and become another strong, steadying presence in the Lakers defensive corps.
Ephs- Michael Pinios
Pinios, a sophomore has started every game for the Ephs so far this season. He has compiled a 3-2-2 record, with a .870 save percentage and a 3.24 GAA. In his last four starts, he has allowed three or more goals, and he will need to lower that number in order to afford the Ephs a fighting chance in this afternoons contest. Pinios will be coming off the holiday break looking to get his team back into the win column.
In The Crease
The Friday/Saturday rotation between Matt Zawadzki and David Jacobson looks to continue into the second half of the season, as Zawadzki gets the nod for today’s game. Zawadzki has a 5-0-0 record with a .940 save percentage and a 1.40 GAA. The senior goaltender has a massive opportunity to seize the Laker net now down the stretch of the season, as the Lakers have suffered their only loss while Jacobson was in the crease. That is not to say the loss falls on the shoulders of Jacobson, but if Zawadkzi is capable of making the most of all of the chances he is provided, he will have the fast track to earning the nod in big games.
Lineup Card
After the loss to Buffalo State, Coach Gosek decided to shake up the lineup quite a bit for today’s game. Lesser used underclassmen have drawn into the lineup for the match-up against the Ephs, signalling Gosek is still searching for the perfect Laker lineup.
OSW:
Herlihey-Barton-Galati
Neil-Botten-Hulshof
Sullivan-Davies-Emerson
Scorpio-Zizek-Lipa
Defense:
Raguseo-MacMillan
Johnson-Rutkowski
Federow-Hart
Goalies:
Zawadzki
Game Prediction
Though the Lakers are ranked as the top team in the country, the Ephs are no pushover opponent. In their most recent game, they tied 11/9 Hamilton College 3-3 and have given tough games to plenty of other opponents. Their big performance against Hamilton can potentially provide them with a confidence boost that will propel them to an upset victory over Oswego. On the other end, the Lakers are coming off their first loss of the season in a 5-1 beating at the hands of the 11/10 Buffalo State Bengals. It remains to be seen whether or not the Bengals exposed the Lakers weaknesses, or if it was an anomaly that will humble the team and allow them to refocus. Smart money would go on the Ed Gosek and his veterans righting the ship and beginning this half of the season focused and being the dangerous team everyone expects them to be.
Lakers win 5-2
