Last Time Out

The Oswego State women’s ice hockey team travelled to Williams College on Nov. 26, and lost 7-1 for their fifth straight loss on the season. Leah Czerwinski scored the lone goal for the Lakers late in the second period. This was the Lakers’ first goal since Nov. 12 in a 2-1 loss against Buffalo State. The Lakers are now 3-6-0 overall, with a 1-3-0 Northeast Women’s Ice Hockey League record.

After Mariah Madrigal went down with in an injury in the weekend against No. 2/2 Plattsburgh State, Amber Samonek made the second start against the Cardinals, as well as in both games against Williams College. Mikaela Ditonto replaced Samonek after playing only 15:38 of the first period. Ditonto let up six of the seven goals in the game. The Lakers’ power play and penalty kill units were also down during the Ephs. The power play went 0-11 on the weekend, and the penalty kill went 3-8.

The SUNY Cortland Red Dragons lost their most recent game on Nov. 18 against Buffalo State 2-0. The two teams also played against each other on Nov. 17, resulting in a 3-1 loss for the Red Dragons, as well. Miranda Kolb scored the only goal for SUNY Cortland. Their power play went 0-3 on Nov. 18, and their penalty kill went 3-3 against the Bengals. The Red Dragons are 2-4-2 overall, with a 1-4-1 conference record in the NEWHL.

Looking at the Red Dragons

The SUNY Cortland Red Dragons only have one regulation win that came early in the season that came against Neumann University on Oct. 27. Other than that, the team has had generally close games, minus two large defeats against the No. 2/2 Plattsburgh State Cardinals.

Miranda Kolb leads all scorers for SUNY Cortland with eight points. The sophomore has a team-leading six goals. She also led the team last season in her rookie year with 11 points. Sophomore Rachael Farmer, who has started all eight games for the Red Dragons, has played all but 1:08 of the entire season. She currently has a .900 save percentage with a 2.94 goals against average.

The team has two other goaltenders, freshman Chelsea Allain and junior Victoria Gibson. The junior played in five games last season, but has not seen any ice time yet. It is a possibility that either goaltender may make their start against the struggling Lakers this weekend.

Lakers vs. Red Dragons History

The Lakers and Red Dragons have been long-time conference rivals ever since the two were paired up with each other in the ECAC West. The two also have a very unique record against each other. Since the 2006-2007 season, the Lakers are 15-1-8 against the Red Dragons.

The only time SUNY Cortland was able to over take Oswego State was during the 2014-2015 season where the Lakers lost 3-1 on their home ice. Over the past eleven seasons, the Lakers and Red Dragons have tied eight times, and did so in their first three matchups against each other.

From the two games last season, Andrea Noss is the only returning player that scored against SUNY Cortland. Mariah Madrigal played both games over the weekend, and made a mere 22 saves, splitting evenly at 11 saves a piece. This weekend, the Lakers will look to keep their dominating record against SUNY Cortland with the first two of four matchups.

Player Spotlight

OSW: Leah Czerwinski

Despite being dominated by a fast-paced Williams College on Nov. 26, Czerwinski overcame the challenges, and scored the first and only goal for the Lakers. Head coach Diane Dillon described it as an effort goal, after she caught the rebound and buried the shot. She compared her playstyle to senior Olivia Ellis. After getting the goose-egg out of the way under the goals column, the freshman will look to continue her momentum into the weekend in conference play. She is third on the stat sheet for rookies this season, behind Jean-Marie Padden and Emma Morisette.

COR: Miranda Kolb

Miranda Kolb has taken the spotlight as a top player for the Red Dragons, despite only being a sophomore. With a total of five goals last season, Kolb already has six goals and does not look to be slowing down. She has three shots in her short career against the Lakers, and will look to add some more positive highlights to her career in her first two opportunities against Oswego State. Should the Lakers find themselves on the power play, they will have to keep a close eye on Kolb, who has two goals on the man-advantage situation. She has also scored short-handed.

By the Numbers

RECORD (vs. each other) [conference]

OSW: 3-6-0 (15-1-8) [1-3-0]

COR: 2-4-2 (1-15-8) [1-4-1]

SHOTS (per game)

OSW: 277 (30.8)

COR: 225 (28.1)

GOALS (per game)

OSW: 14 (1.6)

COR: 13 (1.6)

POWER PLAY (percentage)

OSW: 5-45 (11.1%)

COR: 5-38 (13.2%)

Oswego State Lines and Starters

FORWARDS:

Leah Czerwinski – Emma Morisette – Sarah Grupp

Eryn Stewart – Andrea Noss – Julieann White

Olivia Ellis – Natalie Giglio – Jean-Marie Padden

Laura Thacker – Victoria Rankin – Monica Cramer

DEFENSE:

Kate Randazzo – Madisyon Byrne

Jordan Emerson – Philomena Teggart

Victoria Blake –

GOALTENDERS:

Starter: Amber Samonek

Backup: Mikaela Ditonto

SCRATCHES:

Lauren Martel, Aislinn McAleer, Mariah Madrigal, Kate Mlostek

Prediction

In previous years, the Lakers have been far superior to the Red Dragons, as shown by their dominating record with 15 wins over the last 11 seasons. However, both teams find themselves in about the same position, fighting for conference points, as well as trying to gain some momentum into the winter break. Both teams are towards the bottom of the NEWHL, trying to get back to the top.

The Lakers and Red Dragons have very similar stats, making this another tight game. The largest goal differential between these two teams was five, when the Lakers won 5-0 in the 2007-2008 season. Besides from that, all games have been decided by three goals or less, minus the 4-0 Oswego State victory during the 2014-2015 season.

The Lakers backside has been hurting them recenty, with the recent loss of Mariah Madrigal to injury. It was reported by Oswegonian Editor-in-Chief, Cole Parzych, that she was seen wearing a knee brace on her right knee. While Dillon has selected Samonek as the starter for the first game, nothing is set in stone for the grudge match on Saturday. It will be up to the defense to assist either goaltender.

The Lakers offense, which is now averaging 1.6 goals per game, will have to increase that production to have a chance over SUNY Cortland. Top goal scorers, such as Olivia Ellis, Kate Randazzo, and Jean-Marie Padden will have to show up once again to have any sort of chance. The Red Dragons are current allowing 3.25 goals a game, and the Lakers will have to be close to that number to overcome an offense that’s producing the game goals per game average as them.

It will be a tight one, but the Lakers just might come out on top to gain some momentum not only into the back-to-back weekend series against SUNY Cortland, but into the winter break before the spring semester. This game, like many other games throughout their history have gone, just might head into the overtime period to settle this one.

Lakers win 2-1 in overtime.