Last Time Out

The Oswego State Lakers and Buffalo State Bengals squared off for their third matchup of the season during Northeast Women’s Hockey League play. The Bengals took a series lead of 2-1 after the 4-1 victory over the Lakers. Rachel Lenard and Natasha Steinle both scored twice in the win. Kate Randazzo had the lone goal for the Lakers, with assists from Julieann White and Andrea Noss.

Mariah Madrigal stopped 24 shots on net, posting a .857 save percentage against the Bengals. Her counterpart, Justine Silva, proved dominance once again this season allowing one goal on 18 shots. On the season, she has a 1.86 goals against average. Noss took advantage of the faceoff circle once again, going 14-18 with Emma Morisette following closely going 6-10 on draws. Steinle went 6-10 as well, leading Buffalo State in that category as well.

Buffalo State was a little more disciplined against the Lakers, only committing three penalties throughout the game. Emma Ruggiero had two of the penalties for the Bengals. Oswego State was able to convert on the first Ruggiero penalty early in the first period. The Lakers went 3-3 on the penalty kill.

Looking at the Bengals

After the win against Oswego State, the Bengals now have points in three straight games. They are comfortably in second place in the NEWHL with 13 points. They trail No. 1/1 Plattsburgh State, who has a perfect record in conference and 20 points. They sit above Oswego State who has eight points.

Rachel Lenard, the former Laker, after her two-goal performance against Oswego State, now leads the team in points with 14. She now has six goals on the season, which is second-most on the team along with Emma Ruggiero. After Natasha Steinle’s two-goal performance, as well, she now has ten points on the season. She has four goals this season.

Justine Silva, who was named to the D3hockey.com National Team of the Week as well as being named the NEWHL Goaltender of the Week, started her sixth straight game since her injury that was suffered against Oswego State on Nov. 11. She currently has a 3-2-1 record since her return, with two losses from the No. 1/1 Cardinals.

The Bengals’ power play once again went unsuccessful in the victory over the Lakers. They are now 7-79 when on the man-advantage, placing them at an 8.9 percent success rate. Their penalty kill, which gave up the only goal that Buffalo State would allow, is now 90-102 with an 88.2 percent success rate.

Lakers vs. Buffalo State History

The third matchup of the season was the 28th meeting of the two teams, after being conference rivals in both the ECAC West and now the NEWHL. Oswego State still has the advantage, despite falling to 2-1 on the season against the Bengals. The Lakers have a 19-8-1 record over Buffalo State. For the third time in the history of the two teams, Olivia Ellis was held pointless against the Bengals. In other games, she has posted multi-point games numerous times against Buffalo State.

So far this season, the Lakers have been held to five goals against the Bengals. Last season, they forced six against Justine Silva. Oswego State has allowed five goals in the three games, matching their total from last season against the Bengals in two games during ECAC West conference play.

Player Spotlight

OSW: Kate Randazzo

Kate Randazzo had the lone goal for the Lakers in the loss to Buffalo State. She is now tied with Olivia Ellis for the most points on the team with 14. She has a team-leading 11 assists. She has almost doubled her points from her freshman season when she had eight points tallying seven assists that season. This was her third straight game with a point, posting a multi-point game against Plymouth State during the second game, and adding an assist during teh first matchup. She has emerged as a strong blue-liner for the Lakers, both on the offensive side as well in the defensive zone. She is second on the team in blocked shots with nine. She only trails Jordan Emerson, who has ten blocks.

BUF: Natasha Steinle

Natasha Steinle is leading all underclassmen in scoring. The sophomore is tied for third in total points for the Bengals with 10, and is tied with Emma Ruggiero. She is second on the team in assists, tallying six on the season. She trails only Rachel Lenard who has eight. This was her first game with a point since Dec. 8 against Stevenson University where she had a goal. She will look to help the Bengals in the second half of their season, with all NEWHL games left in order to claim a top seed in the NEWHL playoffs.

By the Numbers

RECORD (vs. each other) [conference]

OSW: 8-9-1 (19-8-1) [4-5-0]

BUF: 10-8-2 (8-19-1) [6-4-1]

GOALS (per game)

OSW: 40 (2.2)

BUF: 42 (2.1)

SHOTS (per game)

OSW: 552 (30.7)

BUF: 603 (30.1)

POWER PLAY (percentage)

OSW: 11-74 (14.9%)

BUF: 7-79 (8.9%)

Prediction

The Buffalo State Bengals have had a strong season, but have similar talent to the Oswego State Lakers who have had what could be considered a tougher schedule this season. Oswego State has the comfort of knowing, however, that they return to home ice next weekend to face No. 1/1 Plattsburgh State. Buffalo State will also remain at home as they face SUNY Cortland.

Oswego State has a lot of threats to watch offensively on the Bengals, between Rachel Lenard and Natasha Steinle. They will also have to solve the puzzle of Justine Silva, who has had a strong season when not injured during the middle of the season.

However, with Emma Morisette and Kate Randazzo on recent hot-streaks for the Lakers, it might lead to a close matchup despite losing 4-1 the first game of the weekend. Players such as Olvia Ellis and Andrea Noss, who have had success against Buffalo State, will need to step up at least vocally to give the Bengals a run for their money.

Buffalo State wins 3-1 over the Lakers.