Last Time Out

The Oswego State Lakers dominated the Plymouth State Panthers in a 7-1 victory on Jan. 18. The Lakers were able to achieve a .500 record on the season, with an 8-8-1 record. Olivia Ellis and Emma Morisette both had two-goal games. In total, six players had multi-point games. Ellis also added an assist for three total points in the win. Mariah Madrigal allowed one goal on 17 shots. The Lakers are now 4-0-1 against the Panthers all-time.

The Buffalo State Bengals tied SUNY Potsdam in a scoreless game on Jan. 20. The night prior, the Bengals were able to overtake the Bears 3-1. Erin Gehen had two goals in the victory. Justine Silva played both games, and made 54 saves throughout the weekend, with 27 each game. The Bengals also had trouble in the penalty box, committing nine penalties. However, in return, their penalty kill also went 9-for-9, allowing no goals while shorthanded.

Looking at the Bengals

Since the split series with Oswego State in early November, Buffalo State has gone 7-4-2 on the season, along with 3-2-1 in conference play. The Bengals’ offense forced 29 goals since Nov. 12, averaging 2.2 goals per game. They were shutout four times in the series, however. Twice against No. 1/1 Plattsburgh State, along with a loss to Trinity College. They were also shutout in a tie against SUNY Potsdam on Jan. 20.

Justine Silva, who was injured in the first game between the Lakers and Bengals, had not played again until Jan. 9 against William Smith College resulting in a 4-3 win. She has played every game since then. She has allowed 2.20 goals per game, with a .931 save percentage. In her place, freshman Bri Gawronski took the reigns. She received Northeast Women’s Hockey League Goalie of the Week, twice. She was given the honor during the weeks of Nov. 20, and Dec. 4.

Senior Erin Gehen leads Buffalo State in points with 13. She has a team-leading ten goals. Rachel Lenard, who played at Oswego State for a year and a half before transferring to Buffalo State, is right behind her with 12 points. She has a team-leading eight assists on the season. Lenard also leads the team with two game-winning goals.

Buffalo State has also had trouble staying out of the penalty box, this season. All eyes look at Christine Harris who has 46 penalty minutes. She’s averaging two penalty minutes a game. She only played one game against the Lakers and had one penalty during the loss for Buffalo State. Overall, they have gone on the penalty kill 99 times, killing 88 of those penalties resulting in an 88.9 success rate. Only one forward on the roster has no penalty minutes.

Lakers vs. Buffalo State History

Prior to the first two meetings of the season, the two teams had faced 25 times since the 2006-2007 season. They have also been conference rivals both in the ECAC West, and now in the NEWHL. Along with the two meetings in November, the Lakers 19-7-1 over the Bengals.

Olivia Ellis has had a lot of success against the Bengals in her Laker career. Since her freshman season during the 2014-2015 campaign, Ellis has tallied 13 points against Buffalo State with seven goals and six assists. Other players, such as Andrea Noss, have also emerged as dominating players against Buffalo State. Noss has been strong in faceoff circle, as well, against the Bengals.

The Nov. 12 matchup between the two teams also marked the last full game Mariah Madrigal played before her injury against Plattsburgh State. Madrigal would not return until Jan. 12 against SUNY Potsdam. As mentioned before, Buffalo State had the same issue after Nov. 11 when Justine Silva went down with a knee injury against the Lakers.

Player Spotlight

OSW: Emma Morisette

Last week during the non-conference series against Plymouth State University, Emma Morisette had a three-goal week. She now has five goals on the season, adding four assists for nine points with eight regular season games left. The Wyandotte, Michigan, native is currently fourth on the team in points, leading all freshman. She sits above Jean-Marie Padden who has seven points on the season. With a high-quality week for Morisette, she was named the NEWHL rookie of the week for the week of Jan. 15 to Jan. 21. She will look to continue her point-streak, which extends back to Jan. 14 when Morisette had an assist in the 3-1 loss to SUNY Potsdam.

BUF: Rachel Lenard

While Rachel Lenard only had an assist on Jan. 19 against SUNY Potsdam in the 3-1 victory for the Bengals, there is more than just her high point-total that catches the attention of the Lakers. While she was not at Oswego State for too long, she made enough of an impact for head coach Diane Dillon to even mention her by name before the first meeting of the two teams. The senior is a leading scorer with 12 points, who has proven her skills as a great passer with a team-leading eight assists. She has 31 career assists at Buffalo State, including this season. Lenard will look to be a top performer against her former teammates.

By the Numbers

RECORD (conference) [vs. each other]

OSW: 8-8-1 (4-4-0) [19-7-1]

BUF: 9-8-2 (5-4-1) [7-19-1]

GOALS (per game)

OSW: 39 (2.3)

BUF: 38 (2.0)

SHOTS (per game)

OSW: 534 (31.4)

BUF: 575 (30.3)

POWER PLAY (percentage)

OSW: 10-71 (14.1%)

BUF: 7-76 (9.2%)

Prediction

This is the third of four matchups for the two teams. The Lakers will try to go above .500 in both their overall record and their conference record. On the flip-side, the Bengals will look to stay above .500 in both instances with a win. This is also the first of eight-straight conference matchups for the Lakers, while it is the fifth of ten-straight for the Bengals.

Between Olivia Ellis, who has shown great talent against Buffalo State, and Emma Morisette, who has being strong as of late, will look to lead the Lakers towards a victory against Buffalo State. Erin Gehen and Rachel Lenard will look to do the same against the Lakers.

However, both teams, who have strong goaltenders in Mariah Madrigal and Justine Silva, will look to continue strong performances. Madrigal is coming off a game where she allowed a single goal, and Silva is coming off of a shutout that went through overtime and ended in a tie. Both goalies were also injured for the second part of the first half of the season and will look to be strong come the end of the regular season.

The Lakers will need to take advantage of the power play, should Buffalo State continue their streak of penalties. The Oswego State power play, which is performing well, will need to be strong against a decent penalty kill. However, five or six penalty kills a game could get tiring for the Bengals, and that might be what the Lakers need for success coming into the game.

Lakers defeat the Bengals, 4-2.