The Best Thing

Oswego State had to make do with only five defenseman for 59 minutes and 15 seconds of Saturday’s semifinal win. Kristoffer Brun was hit into the end boards and suffered an injury, with what appeared to be, to his left shoulder. It did not look pretty when he was skating off the ice, and he eventually left the arena wearing a sling.

The defense came up big in a win-or-go-home scenario though. The forwards helped out on the backcheck to alleviate some pressure on the five remaining defenders, and Chris Raguseo was one skater who really stepped up when the Lakers were put in a tough spot very early on by taking some extra shifts in the five-man rotation.

The co-captain provided his calming presence on the ice, got in on the offense and continued to do all the small things right that has brought him the steady success on the back end throughout his Laker career. Raguseo finished the night with with two assists and five shots. He is up to 18 points on the season (3-15-18), which is his career-high at Oswego State, and is tied for fourth among SUNYAC defenseman. Even with this offensive success, it is plays like these that make Raguseo such an integral part of this team.

Here the Lakers are congested in the neutral zone, but Raguseo stays alert, reads the ice, takes a few strides to the outside and dumps a little saucer pass to the stick of Mitch Emerson that led to a partial two-on-one.

Cameron Berry could not get the puck deep along the Buffalo State bench to start. Raguseo then tried to thread the needle to Emerson up the middle and could not complete the pass. Berry again runs into traffic at center ice, but Raguseo picks up the loose puck and the Lakers had some space because Raguseo drew Darren Young (21) to him. Four Buffalo State skaters were then on the wrong side of the puck.

Here Raguseo does not allow Buffalo State to get the puck deep on the power play when he chops at the puck and out-muscled Taylor Pryce to allow the Lakers to clear the zone.

This is a really small play that potentially could have saved a goal. Matt Zawadzki got handcuffed by this shot and it bounced in the air, but Raguseo found the puck quickly mid-flight and swats it the corner with three Buffalo State forwards going hard to the net. Stephen Kelly (25) could have tapped that puck by a standing Zawadzki pretty easily to bring the Bengals within one with plenty of time left to play if Goose does not knock this puck to safety.

The Old Days

Remember the line of Alex Botten, Kenny Neil and Shawn Hulshof from earlier in the season? They were the top scoring line in the SUNYAC with 36 points back in early December, but were split up shortly after that when the team went through that small skid. The trio is back together on the top power play unit with Botten back in the lineup, showing shades of those days.

Botten wins the draw. Neil creates a screen in front. Hulshof unleashes this wicked one timer and the Lakers are back in front.

However, playing with these three on separate lines gives the Lakers a more balanced scoring attack. The current line combinations also seem to be clicking and all fill a certain niche the coaching staff wants. Hulshof, Botten and Neil simply make their lines better.

Botten makes some flashy plays.

Hulshof does it all.

And Neil is as gritty as they come and still leads the team with 18 goals. As much fun as it is to watch these three play, it is hard to break up these lines because the team is playing some of its best hockey at this point in the season. We may be seeing the lineup the coaching staff has been searching for since day one.

The Worst Thing

I respect the commitment of making the drive from Buffalo to support your school, but chest paint is not a good look for anybody.

The Final Question

Another rendition of the Oswego State and SUNY Plattsburgh rivalry is slated for this Saturday. This game will mark the sixth consecutive meeting in the SUNYAC playoffs between these two teams. Oswego State is 2-3 in those five games with one win coming at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena. And we have heard it way too many times, but the senior class has not beaten the Cardinals on home ice. It is almost too perfect of a script. The players want another shot at redemption, and nearly every game between these two historic programs keeps fans on the edge of their seats. Seriously, you could write a movie about this saga.

SUNY Plattsburgh worked its way all the way back up in the SUNYAC standings with a 9-0-1 record in its last 10 games prior to the 8-4 loss against the College at Brockport to end the regular season. The Cardinals are hot and this sets up an even better atmosphere for the SUNYAC Championships Final.

Here is head coach Ed Gosek’s complete response when asked about the rematch after Saturday’s semifinal win over the Bengals.

“What a great story line for them. To get off to the struggle that they had, uncharacteristic of them, but you don’t need me to tell you the job that [Bob Emery] does consistently as a coach. I know he wouldn’t mind me saying this, I don’t know if they are as talented now as they were in the beginning of the year, but he’s got guys that believe in what they are doing and they play as a team, as we witnessed the last time here. So, as we just got done talking about in the locker room, not relying on your talent and relying on your work ethic, your effort, the attitude of the team. You know it will be a heck of challenge for us. And [Geneseo] has had a great a year too, both very good teams. I think it speaks volumes for our league that we have the depth that we do that have had great years. So, we know we’ll have our hands full next Saturday night.”

The rivalry will always live on, but will Saturday night see the end of the Whiteout curse?