Offense: A

If the immediate goal was to outshoot your opponent, Oswego State would receive an A+ for their 39-shot effort; however, the goal is to outscore them. While the Lakers did just that, they easily could have had five or six goals, according to head coach Diane Dillon. All in all, the offense dominated the puck for the full 60 minutes.

Early on, the Lakers had a multitude of chances, including a two-on-one for Andrea Noss and Julieann White.  Noss decided to keep the puck and ripped a shot past SUNY Cortland’s Rachael Farmer, but could not beat the post. That play pretty much set the tone for the entire first period, as the Lakers outshot the Red Dragons 11-0, but could not find the back of the net.

Sarah Grupp scored the first goal of the game at 3:36 in the second, as she flicked the pass from Philomena Teggart over Farmer’s shoulder. Oswego State would maintain a lead for the rest of the game with goals coming from Olivia Ellis and Leah Czerwinski, both in the third period.

This game was a big bounce back game for the Lakers as they scored just two goals in their previous five games, and averaged a mere 1.6 goals per game coming into tonight. The Lakers’ most productive line was Czerwinski, Emma Morisette, and Grupp who combined for two goals and an assist on the night. That was Czerwinski’s second goal in as many games.

Defense: B+

Thanks to great forecheck and timely pinches by the defense while in the offensive zone, the Lakers spent very little time in their own zone. For the most part, when SUNY Cortland had the puck, they were at the end of their shift and had to dump the puck into the Oswego State zone and go for a line change. This prevented the Red Dragons from having a shot on goal until nearly midway through the game.

Although Oswego State limited SUNY Cortland to just seven shots on net, they had some lapses when trying to exit the zone and around the blue lines. That led to SUNY Cortland’s lone goal as the Lakers could not keep the puck in the offensive zone. Miranda Kolb was able to win the race to the puck and put the puck top shelf, past Amber Samonek. Despite this and a handful of poor passes, the Lakers’ defense suffocated the Red Dragons, especially in the waning minutes of the game.

While protecting a two-goal lead, Oswego State kept SUNY Cortland out of the Lakers’s zone for the last several minutes of the game. This prevented the Red Dragons from pulling Farmer in favor of an extra attacker. They also kept SUNY Cortland outside the slot for most of their shots, forcing the shots to go wide or be blocked by a defender.

Goaltending: A-

Samonek did what she had to in this game, and that was not much. She faced seven shots on net and just 20 attempts from SUNY Cortland over the entirety of the game. She played phenomenal during the abbreviated five-on-three power play that the Red Dragons had, as she stopped the two shots she faced. While there were not many shots on that power play, there was a ton of traffic in front of Samonek who appeared to be extremely comfortable and well-positioned as she made the saves with ease.

The only goal SUNY Cortland scored was one nobody could save, according to Dillon. It was a perfect shot on the breakaway, and the only grade-A scoring chance the Red Dragons would have all game long.

Special Teams: B

The Lakers’ power play continued to struggle as they went 0-3; however, the penalty kill fended off the 1:11 five-on-three and finished the night 2-2. By far the best power play opportunity the Lakers had was the third of the night. With Katelinn Cummings in the box, Oswego State generated a decent amount of offense via good puck and player movement, forcing SUNY Cortland’s penalty killers to move and in turn get out of position. The speedy Farmer was able to bail her teammates out a few times, stopping every shot that came through.