The Oswego State women’s hockey team lost to a strong Elmira College team 4-1 on Nov. 4. The Soaring Eagles, who are ranked No. 4 by US College Hockey Online, made their presence early by scoring three goals in the first period, two off of the power play. Elmira’s Sarah Hughson had a hat-trick in the Soaring Eagles’ victory.

Despite being a key factor in the past two games, the Lakers went 0-7 on the power play. Before the game, they were 5-11 in their first two games. Oswego State also went 6-9 on the penalty kill.

“We’ll certainly work on executing what we want to do, we don’t want to let our opponent dictate what we do,” head coach Diane Dillon said. “Take away the first period, I was pretty happy with out PK.”

A significant return to the Lakers’ lineup was senior Victoria Blake. It was announced earlier in the season that she suffered a fractured bone in her leg, and would be out for part of the beginning of the season. Blake finished with an assist, and four shots tonight.

“Obviously when you have a senior back in the lineup it helps, with their experience and what to expect,” Dillon said. “Blake is one of those kids that is a force in the locker room. She’s fun, she keeps things light, but she’s super competitive. She’s on the power play, she had a shot that I think dented a kid for life. It’s great to have her back in the lineup.”

Andrea Noss and Julieann White were again scratched, due to injuries. Noss, who hasn’t played since the exhibition game against the Toronto Midget Aeros, looks to be back next Saturday against Buffalo State. White is a little more in question, due to the nature of her rehab after her hip surgery. Both, however, are still indefinite, according to Dillon.

During the game, Mariah Madrigal went down after she was run into by a Soaring Eagles’ player. Eryn Stewart also went down with a lower back injury. Madrigal stayed in the game, but Stewart ended up leaving the game late in the third period.

“Anytime a goalie gets hit like that, they turn into academy award-winning actors,” Dillon said. “We always take our time with out goaltenders, we want to make sure. But, no she’s fine. She’s a tough kid.”

Along with the 0-7 on the power play, the Lakers were not able to take advantage of a 5-on-3 power play late in the third period, when the Lakers trailed 3-0. Right before they started, Dillon called a timeout and assistant coach Greg Haney drew up some ideas on his whiteboard.

“We wanted to settle the team down just to discuss what we wanted to do,” Dillon said. “When you have a 5-on-3, you have a lot of different things you can do. It didn’t quite go our way. In a 5-on-3 you need to score when you’re down, and that didn’t happen today.”

A notable player on the ice throughout the game was freshman Jean-Marie Padden. She was all over the ice against Elmira College, according to Dillon. She scored the lone goal for Oswego State with 1:04 left in the game. She was able to take away the shutout from goaltender Kelcey Crawford. Blake and Natalie Giglio had the assists.

“It’s one of those things, when you’re playing against a team like Elmira it’s a totally different speed or intensity level,” Dillon said. “Certainly as a freshman they’ve never experienced it yet. But we really let Jeanie loose, the kid is so talented. We want to take advantage of her skill set, so we really give her free reign.”

The Lakers will now prepare for their first conference match-up, in the Northeast Women’s Hockey League, against Buffalo State. The Bengals lost to SUNY Potsdam 2-1 on Nov. 4. According to Dillon, there is a rivalry between the Bengals and Lakers, due to multiple factors, including players from Buffalo, players leaving to go to Buffalo State, and Dillon herself being from Buffalo.

“For us, these are conference games, they’re the ones that count. They’re coming to our house, and there’s a pretty storied history against Buffalo,” Dillon said. “If we come with the kind of intensity we played with in the second and third period today, if we bring that against Buffalo, they won’t be able to touch us. And that’s the mindset we have going into practice this week. We’re going to execute our game-plan.”

Dillon stated they’ve had problems with Buffalo State, especially their goaltending. Senior Justine Silva has allowed six goals so far, this season. Last year, the senior allowed six goals in two games against the Lakers.

“We know them pretty well, we know they have a solid goaltender. Silva has always been a struggle for us,” Dillon said. “I think we have the tools. If we come with the same kind of intensity that we showed as the game went on, I think we’ll be fine.”

The Lakers, now 2-1, face Buffalo State, who is 1-3 (1-1 conference), in a back-to-back weekend match-up on Nov. 11 and 12 at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena. Both games have a 3 p.m. puck drop.