Bounce Back

This series against SUNY Canton comes at a perfect time for more than a few reasons.

For one thing, this gives the coaching staff a chance to tinker with the lines, not like it has not been done before. But prior to the start of playoffs, this will give some guys like Tyson Bruce and Eric Lipa another chance to prove they belong in the lineup. The forward lines seemed to begin to get stale last weekend, and these changes could reverse that.

The second reason this series is placed perfectly on the schedule is because of last weekend’s results. The penalty kill continued to struggle, scoring chances were missed left and right on Saturday and a loss to rival SUNY Plattsburgh came in one of the most disappointing ways possible.

SUNY Canton is no slouch, but no points are the line so tonight does not mean as much. That’s evident with the lineup changes made. This weekend will be a good place for this team to reboot and reload for the final weekend of the regular season when Buffalo State and SUNY Fredonia come to town.

Man Down Problems

The most obvious issue for the Lakers currently is the penalty kill. Oswego State’s penalty kill was ranked 13th (86.9 percent) in Div. III just two weeks ago. Now, after the near collapse against SUNY Potsdam and some other misfortunes along the way, the Lakers’ penalty kill sits at 83.7 percent and 26th in the country.

The three-straight goals given up to surrender the lead against the Bears was the low point of this stretch. The ‘Roos power play has been producing consistently for head coach Alex Boak as of late. In a nine-game span where the power play has tallied at least one goal in each game, the SUNY Canton man advantage units are successful 31.9 percent of the time. 15 goals in the last 47 chances is good for half of their power play goals on the season. This stretch also includes a 3-6 game against SUNY Fredonia and a 5-11 weekend against SUNY Potsdam.

Oswego State will not get any breaks tonight while a man down.

Lineup Card

The headline of all the lineup changes tonight is Alex Botten. After a five-game hiatus, the senior will return tonight to bolster the Lakers’ depth down the middle. After the Whiteout game, head coach Ed Gosek said Botten was skating trying to work his way back into the lineup after a violation of team rules. His re-entry in the lineup is much needed for more than a few obvious reasons, but this particular group of centers is the strongest combo the forward group can offer.

Cameron Berry, Jody Sullivan, TJ Sneath and Joey Scorpio are all scratches tonight to leave holes for Tyson Bruce, Eric Lipa, Botten and Josh Zizek.

The captain, Chris Raguseo, will not dress tonight for the first time this season, but there is no word on if he is a healthy scratch or not. Joey Rutkowski and Charlie Pelnik are slotting in for Raguseo and Devin Campbell after being in the lineup last game.

Matt Zawadzki will not start tonight, as expected. He is off crutches and the injury is not of the season-ending variety, but there is no timetable for his return. This gives the crease to David Jacobson for his 12th start of the season.

Freshman Austin Washkurak will start for SUNY Canton. He does not own the majority of the net share and his stat line is not what any netminder wants to see, but those numbers do not all fall on him. This start leaves the door open for Josh Erickson to try to improve upon his 5-3-1 record on home Saturday.

Players to Watch

OSW: Tyson Bruce

Bruce has played the least games out of any skater on the roster this season. The freshman and former Markham Royal has not registered a point in either of his two games played, but he has shown plenty of skill at the junior level. His size and skill both give him a good base to build upon in future years as a Laker. Bruce’s 62 points in his last season of minor junior was the most of any player in this year’s recruiting class.

CAN: Vili-Jesper Koivula

Coming all the way from Finland, Koivula has proven he can score goals in his freshman year. With 18 games played and already 27 points, Koivula is a staple on the first line and power play unit for Canton. His 14 points while a man up would rank him tied for second in the SUNYAC with SUNY Geneseo’s Stephen Collins and the College at Brockport’s Tim Kielich in that statistic, if the ‘Roos were not independent.

That is nothing short of impressive for a kid playing in his first year with a college program.

By the Numbers

Record

OSW: 16-4-1/11-2-1 (No. 2/3) [1st in SUNYAC]

CAN: 7-14-2 [Independent]

Shots per Game

OSW: 36.6

CAN: 28.3

Shots Against per Game

OSW: 22.9

CAN: 31.9

Goals per Game

OSW: 4.76 [2nd in Div. III]

CAN: 3.09 [45th in the Div. III]

Goals Against per Game

OSW: 2.10 [10th in Div. III]

CAN: 3.87 [69th in Div. III]

Power Play

OSW: 25-94 (26.6%) [7th in Div. III]

CAN: 30-132 (22.73%) [16th in Div. III]

Penalty Kill

OSW: 82-98 (83.7%) [26th in Div. III]

CAN: 103-132 (78.0%) [64th in Div. III]

*Overall Statistics from USCHO.com

Game Prediction

The only way Oswego State loses this game is if the penalty just totally collapses and the Lakers cannot stay disciplined. Both teams have impressive offenses, but the SUNY Canton defense pails in comparison to the Lakers’ top six, even without Campbell and Raguseo. Jacobson should be sharp again, although he most likely will not see a whole lot of action through 60 minutes.

The Lakers have had plenty of statement wins this season already but need another tonight.

Lakers win 6-2