Coming in Hot

SUNY Fredonia is currently on a four-game win streak and has won nine of its last 10. Six of those wins, however, came from non-conference teams. They also scored 29 goals in two games against Post University.

The Blue Devils are stringing together wins. You cannot take that away from them, but the strength of their recent schedule gives an insight as to why they have been able to keep adding wins to their overall total.

If you look at their last two wins though, they appear to be pretty solid. A 5-1 thrashing of SUNY Geneseo and a 3-2 win over the College at Brockport would have any team feeling good, especially the win over the Ice Knights. Those non-conference wins should be taken with a grain of salt, but there is no doubt that SUNY Fredonia is feeling good about themselves. It appears they are playing their best hockey as of late, and that could give the Lakers some issues tonight.

Easy Task

Oswego State is just a single point away from locking up home ice advantage throughout the SUNYAC Championships.  As much as the Blue Devils are improving play, the Lakers have been on the upswing, in terms of a consistency, as well.

We’ll see tonight if they continue that trend and clinch the first seed in the SUNYAC.

Lineup Card

The top six forwards for tonight’s matchup will stay the same as last weekend against SUNY Canton. It is good to see some consistency in those combinations as playoffs near, but the bottom six is continuing the shuffling. Josh Zizek and David Ferreira will draw in tonight to play alongside Alex Botten. Ferreira played with Botten on Feb. 10 and looked good while doing so before Ferreira left the game with an undisclosed injury. It is now up to the coaching staff to find another winger to play with those two on the fourth line, if Botten continues to stay in that slot.

Senior JJ Hart will appear in only his seventh game of the season. He has not played since the 3-0 loss to Nazareth College on New Year’s Eve. A solid performance from him in his own end could add another piece to the Lakers’ already solid defense core.

David Jacobson vs. Eric Bogart will be the two starting netminders tonight. Jacobson was able to shutout the SUNY Canton Kangaroos last Saturday, earning his first as a Laker. It was no surprise to see the transfer sophomore in net again, but seeing Matt Zawadzki dressed again should offer a sigh of relief for Laker fans.

Bogart takes up a lot of space in the net, but the Blue Devils’ defense has not helped him at all. In 14 of his 17 games played, the sophomore has faced over 30 shots. There are also three games in that timeframe where he made over 40 saves as well. Bogart is battle tested and will need to bring that same effort again tonight when Oswego State’s offense gets going.

Players to Watch

OSW: Josh Zizek

Zizek is another Oswego State freshman that has been trying to cement a spot in the lineup. This is his second appearance in the last three games, and that very well could mean the coaching staff is starting to see his value. There is not much to complain about with any forward that slots in. Zizek is no exception. He is nearly on a point per game pace with 3-3-6 in seven appearances. There are two multi-point games in that mix, but it is still very promising to see the freshman producing in the situation a lot of forwards are faced with on this team.

FRE: Oskar Gerhardson

Gerhardson’s puck moving ability makes him a threat in all three zones. His 13 assists has him tied for 22nd in the SUNYAC. He follows the typical Swedish hockey player mold and also has a two-game point streak to his name.

By the Numbers

Record

OSW: 18-4-1/11-2-1 (1st in SUNYAC) [No. 2/3]

FRE: 13-8-2/7-6-1 (5th in SUNYAC)

Shots per Game

OSW: 36.2

FRE: 39.7

Shots Against per Game

OSW: 22.6

FRE: 33.2

Goals per Game

OSW: 4.87 [1st in Div. III]

FRE: 2.74 [31st in Div. III]

Goals Against per Game

OSW: 1.96 [7th in Div. III]

FRE: 2.74 [31st in Div. III]

Power Play

OSW: 30-110 (27.3%) [6th in Div. III]

FRE: 30-124 (24.2%) [11th in Div. III]

Penalty Kill

OSW: 90-107 (84.1%) [24th in Div. III]

FRE: 82-104 (78.8%) [58th in Div. III]

*Overall statistics from USCHO.com

Game Prediction

SUNY Fredonia’s offense will need to explode tonight for the Blue Devils to grab two points, becuase the defense is not all that solid. SUNY Fredonia’s offensive numbers are a bit inflated becuase of the aforementioned 29 goals scored on Post University. The Blue Devils have given Oswego State some tough matchups in the last few times they met. SUNY Fredonia has led in each of the last three contests at one point and also took the Lakers to overtime last year.

Tonight should be different. Oswego State knows that locking up the top seed is in their hands, and the best offense in Div. III will get the job done tonight. Even if the Lakers allow a bad goal or two, this offense should be able to dig them out of that hole. That’s a luxury most teams just do not have.

*For complete game coverage, follow @GonianSports on Twitter.