OFFENSE

The Oswego State Lakers were able to come away with a 3-1 victory of the CCHL All-Graduate team. The Lakers threw 29 shots on goal, a majority coming from the second period with 12. Michael Gillespie led the team with five shots.

Mitch Emerson was able to notch the opening goal at 17:20, to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead. He was assisted by Tyson Bruce and Kristoffer Brun. Bruce also had the primary assist on the empty net goal from Chris MacMillan at 19:46 of the third period; he received the third star of the game. Gillespie scored the second goal at 6:38 of the third.

The Lakers were able to get a couple breakaways, but couldn’t make anything of them in the first period. The CCHL defense was able to shut them down. Thomas Horn was a constant presence right in front of the crease to block the goaltender’s vision. Passing was also a key for the Lakers’ victory.

At center, Josh Zizek went 9-2 for faceoffs, and Emerson went 10-6.

DEFENSE

MacMillan was all around the ice for the defensive side of the Lakers. He also took a minor roughing late in the third period, playing strong defense to attempt to preserve the shutout. The entire was team was blocking shots left and right for the Lakers, making sure not too many shots touched David Richer or Cedric Hansen.

A lot of the third period involved sacrificing the body, when the CCHL pulled their goalie to go on the 6-on-5 advantage. Their defense was also a key to the victory during that period; only allowing a goal when it was 6-on-4 during the penalty kill.

Emerson’s assist, and physical play, earned him the first star of the game.

GOALTENDING

It was a goaltender’s night for the Lakers. Both Richer and Hansen split ice time. Richer had 14 saves, and Hansen saved 12 shots. The only goal allowed was at 19:38 of the third period, on a penalty kill. Hansen gave up the goal, and ended up with a .916 save percentage.

Richer, during he 31:28 of ice time, was able to stop numerous point-blank shots. He was able to keep the game tied at zero for the entire first period, thanks to those saves. Richer stood out specifically on a shorthanded 2-on-1 opportunity.

Hansen was welcomed into the game with a quick breakaway opportunity. He faced the lone CCHL skater, with no defenders in his path. Hansen was able to slide the puck away, keeping the game at a 1-0 lead for the Lakers.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Head coach Ed Gosek had a team goal of a 25% success rate on the power play. While it wasn’t a huge focus throughout the week, the Lakers had plenty of power play opportunities during the game. The Lakers had six chances on the power play, only capitalizing on the one goal from Gillespie, who was the second star of the game. They finished with a 16% success rate.

Their penalty kill, on the other hand, was able to preserve the game. They had five penalty kills, not allowing any goals in four of them (80%). The last penalty kill, from the Trent Durocher hooking penalty, was the only goal the CCHL team was able to come up with. The Lakers were 6-on-4 at that moment.

None of the special teams lines are finalized yet, according to Gosek, but these lines seemed to be pretty successful tonight. Even though the PP Unit was only at 16%, they still had quality chances throughout the game.