Hardware

Both teams playing tonight earned the right to battle for the Pathfinder Bank Oswego State Hockey Classic championship with wins on Friday.

The Utica College Pioneers were able to knock off Curry College in a 4-1 win. The score was more lopsided than the play on the ice as the Pioneers took advantage of their chances at opportune times. They were able to grab a sizable lead in the second period that Curry College could not come back from.

Oswego State was able to hold on in the third period for a 3-2 win against the No. 4 UW-Eau Claire Blugolds in the night cap of Friday’s schedule to set a date with Utica College.

The all-time record between these two teams is 12-6-2, with Oswego State holding the 12 wins. The latest contest ended in a 0-0 tie. That matchup came last season at the Utica Memorial Auditorium on Jan. 8, 2016.

These two teams will do battle yet again to crown a winner of this weekend tournament.

Team Scope

Utica College used their size and speed to get the job done yesterday. They showed the ability to take advantage of prime scoring chances, despite the Curry forecheck rolling for most points of the second period. The Pioneers were pinned in their own zone for extended periods of time, but did not break and were able to score three times in the middle frame to pull away.

Today’s game could see a lot of the same. This means David Jacobson will need to come up with some big saves to avoid the Lakers having to chase the score, even though they seem to be controlling the flow of the game. This was the case when the Lakers traveled to Vermont, so they could be prone to this if they do not get an early lead.

Third Period

Both teams are undefeated at 9-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes. The Lakers held on yesterday when the Blugolds stormed back at the end of regulation.

The first two periods will be key in this contest. Whatever team has the best effort in the first period could hold in the end if they can carry that play for the final two periods.

Utica College allowed one goal in the third yesterday and were involved with lots of chippy play. The third period slowed down and Utica did not do much. The Lakers had to play until the final whistle, and that could be beneficial for them toward the end of this game.

Lineup Card

Three changes to the lineup tonight. Charlie Pelnik was a late change to the lineup. He has not played since the Dec. 3 game against Morrisville State. Head coach Ed Gosek was displeased with the roughing minor where he took down Ryan Bochert after the whistle. He will finally return tonight.

Mitch Emerson will sit and Joey Scorpio will draw in on the listed top line. The only other change sees Jody Sullivan getting a spot in the lineup over David Ferreira.

In the Crease

Jacobson will get the start tonight, as expected. He made 19 saves on 21 shots in his seventh game of the season last night. He wasn’t tested much in the middle frame, but had to hold off a heavy Blugold attack in the third. Jacobson was shaken up when a stick broke between his legs and then gave up two goals after. However, postgame he said there were no issues and the apparent injury had no impact on the two goals allowed.

Players to Watch

Lakers- TJ Sneath

Sneath was electric last night. It will be interesting to see if he brings that same energy tonight in his first back-to-back game of the season. Sneath helped set up the first goal of the evening, but he was not credited with an assist. He was given power play time as well and was able to tally his first goal of the season. The California native will be on the same line as last night and should be getting his fair share of chances a the game goes on.

Pioneers- Mikhail Bushinski

The junior scored off the rush yesterday and flashed his strong wrist shot. This Utica College team has scorers over most of their lineup, similar to Oswego State, and Bushinski is one of them. He sits third on the team in scoring with four goals and nine assists, but there are more than a handful of players on this roster with 2 goals or more.

By the Numbers

Record

OSW: 11-3-0/8-1-0 (No. 5)

UTI: 10-4-0 /6-0-0

Shots per Game

OSW: 34.6

UTI: 36.7

Goals per Game

OSW: 4.29 [2nd in SUNYAC]

UTI: 4.21 [2nd in ECAC Men’s West]

Goals Against per Game

OSW: 2.00 [2nd in SUNYAC]

UTI: 2.64 [1st in ECAC Men’s West]

Power Play

OSW: 17-67 (25.4%) [5th in SUNYAC]

UTI: 15-74 (20.3%) [2nd in ECAC Men’s West]

Penalty Kill
OSW: 57-67 (85.1%) [1st in SUNYAC]

UTI: 65-74 (87.8%) [2nd in ECAC Men’s West]

*Overall statistics from collegehockeystats.net

Game Prediction

Oswego State showed last night that they are still a top team in the nation. Utica College was off to an eight-game win streak to start the season until they hit rough patch and dropped four games in a row.

Both teams have taken similar paths this season to get to this point. After all, the Lakers won 10 straight before going winless in three games. The Pioneers were very good in transition yesterday, which helped them move past arguably the weakest team in this tournament.

The Lakers could be better prepared coming in after playing the No. 4 team in the nation and really dominating the pace of play throughout. This should continue tonight as the Lakers take this confidence they have rediscovered and win their home tournament and strengthen their non-conference schedule.

Lakers win 4-2