Last Time Out

The Oswego State Lakers and Plymouth State University Panthers played 65 minutes, and still had no victor. In a 3-3 overtime tie, the Lakers were unable to hit the .500 mark after the loss to SUNY Potsdam in the second game of that series. The Panthers had their fourth tied game of the season, their first since Jan. 5 against Hamilton College at the Trader Duke’s Ice Hockey Classic in South Burlington, Vermont.

Laura Thacker and Leah Czerwinski both had multi-point performances for the Lakers. Thacker had a goal and an assist in the game, and opened up scoring for the Lakers in the first period. Czerwinski came away with two assists, one on the Thacker goal, and another on the Andrea Noss goal. Mariah Madrigal allowed three goals on 20 shots. Noss also went 15-for-23 at the faceoff circle.

For the Panthers, three players had two-point performances, including Kailey Jacobs who scored both the opening goal, and the game-tying goal in the third period. Caitlin Conner had two assists, and Amber Thomas had a goal and an assist. Emelie Lindqvist stopped 37 of the 40 shots she faced, including thirteen-save periods during the first and second periods.

Looking at the Panthers

Plymouth State University, who now sits at 4-7-4 on the season, is tied for second on the New England Hockey Conference with eight points. They are tied with UMass Boston University, but trail Norwich University who has a perfect conference record with 14 points.

Kailey Jacobs, after her two-goal performance, now leads the Panthers with points. She has three goals and a team-leading five assists. The sophomore class for Plymouth State University has proven their dominance, now with the top three point-getters for the team. Alexis Fagan and Sydney Linnick have seven and six points, respectively. Linnick has a team-leading four goals.

Emelie Lindqvist, who has played and started 14 of the Panthers’ 15 games, now has a 3-5-4 record after the tie against the Lakers. The only game she has not started this season was Jan. 6 against St. Michael’s College. Mariah Trupp allowed one goal and led the team to a 4-1 victory. Despite this, Lindqvist will most likely get the start against the Lakers once against for her fifteenth start of the season.

Lakers vs. Panthers History

Prior to the game yesterday, the two teams had faced each other only three times since the beginning of the Panthers’ program during the 2006-2007 season. The first two meetings were dominant in favor of the Lakers, with a much closer game during the 2014-2015 season.

Yesterday’s meeting was the first time the two teams have tied with each other. However, the Panthers still have yet to defeat the Lakers, but have the chance to do so during the second game of the mid-week back-to-back series.

Andrea Noss now has a career-total three points against Plymouth State University, after scoring a goal in the first matchup. Noss, when she was a freshman, had a goal and an assist during the 2014-2015 season against the Panthers in the Doubletree Ice Hockey Classic.

In the four meetings of the two teams, the Lakers have outscored the Panthers 20-4. Oswego State has also had a large advantage over the Panthers in shots. With a plus-129 shot differential for the Lakers, 177 shots compared to 48 produced by Plymouth State University, offense has been plentiful for the Lakers in the meetings between these two teams.

Player Spotlight

OSW: Laura Thacker

In the pre-season press conference with head coach Diane Dillon, she stated that she expected senior Laura Thacker to have a breakout season. Despite being a forward, before coming into her senior season, Thacker only had nine points in her three seasons. She is more of a physical, and grinding forward, according to Dillon. The San Jose, California, native has five points this season already. Before her two-point performance against the Panthers, she had a two-point performance against Utica College on Jan. 7. However, until Utica College, Thacker had not tallied a point since the opening game against New England College on Oct. 27. She will look to add to her point total, and continue her “breakout” season.

PLY: Kailey Jacobs

Kailey Jacobs has taken the Panthers by storm as of late, especially with the two-goal performance against the Lakers yesterday. As a freshman, Jacobs was fifth on the team in scoring with 11 points. She had six goals during the season. The Westwood, Massachusetts, native has the one game-tying goal from the first game against Oswego State, but that lone goal also leads the team. She is also on top of the statistics in the plus-minus rating, currently sitting at a plus-four on the season. Jacobs will be a player to watch after recent success during her sophomore campaign.

By the Numbers

RECORD (vs. each other)

OSW: 7-8-1 (3-0-1)

PLY: 4-7-4 (0-3-1)

GOALS (per game) [vs. each other]

OSW: 32 (2.0) [20]

PLY: 24 (1.6) [4]

SHOTS (per game) [vs. each other]

OSW: 483 (30.2) [177]

PLY: 384 (25.6) [48]

POWER PLAY (percentage)

OSW: 8-68 (11.8%)

PLY: 8-78 (10.3%)

Prediction

Both of these teams are very low scoring, but surpassed their average goals per game during the first game of the series. However, after the game yesterday, the defense for the Lakers could be a concern. Heading into the middle of the second period, the Lakers had a 3-1 lead, but gave up two goals in the late second period and middle of the third period to send the game to overtime and eventually result in a tie.

While some of it may be that Mariah Madrigal is still getting used to the ice after her very long injury, the defense needs to step up in order to not have the same results as yesterday. The strong freshman class, as well as seniors such as Andrea Noss and Olivia Ellis, need to come in strong like they have as of late during the winter break.

It is clear who the Panthers’ top scorers are, and also that Emelie Lindqvist will last sixty minutes and then some to preserve at least an overtime tie. She has made an average of 31.2 saves a game, as she has faced 437 shots total on the season. She has only played in four games where she has not faced at least 30 shots.

Plymouth State University will not go down without a fight against the Oswego State Lakers, who will look to grab their eighth win of the season.

Lakers win 3-2.