Last Night
For the first time since the 2014-15 season, No. 4/4 Oswego State walked into the Ice Arena at Buffalo State and knocked off the No. 13/14 Bengals by a score of 4-2 to claim first place in the SUNYAC with 21 points and a 10-0-1 record. With the win, the Lakers magic number is five. If Oswego State can get five of 10 possible remaining points, they will clinch first place and home ice in the SUNYAC playoffs. Their opponents tonight, the SUNY Fredonia Blue Devils, are coming off beating the SUNY Cortland handedly on home ice by a score of 5-1. The win moved them to fourth place in the SUNYAC, so the Blue Devils will be looking for a chance to give themselves some separation from the pack and move them closer to the top three teams in the conference.
Streaking
In one of the biggest surprises of the season for Oswego State, forward Trent Durocher registered another assist last night on the Jody Sullivan empty net goal against Buffalo State to extend his point streak to five games. This has been the longest stretch of his career.
Herlihey Watch
The senior captain for Oswego State, Mitch Herlihey, was held off the scoresheet last night keeping him at 94 points for his career. Herlihey is guaranteed to play six more games, so he will need to score at a point per game pace for the remainder of the game to reach the 100 point milestone.
Lineup Card
No lines available at time of publishing.
Players to Watch
OSW- Michael Gillespie
The Ohio State transfer has goals in five consecutive games. That is impressive. The forward will need to have another big showing tonight in what promises to be a high scoring affair.
FRE- Bobby Polachek
The junior forward has seven goals and three assists on the season, but one of those goals came in a clash with the Lakers on Nov. 18 at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena. With his massive 6’5″ frame, Polachek is the type of player that can cause headaches for the Oswego State defensive core.
Prediction
SUNY Fredonia is a Jekyll and Hyde type of team. You never know which team will show up. They have a win over No. 6/7 SUNY Geneseo, but they also have a 4-1 loss at the hands of SUNY Potsdam. On home ice, the Blue Devils are a much better team with a record of 7-2-3, compared to a 1-6-0 record as the visiting team. Oswego State has had difficulty in the past against SUNY Fredonia in the past, especially earlier this season when the Blue Devils took a 3-1 lead before falling 4-3. But, when looking at how the Lakers have played recently, especially after collecting their best road win of the season last night, you can never count them out. Expect the Lakers to keep rolling and down a game Blue Devils team as they move closer to clinching their second consecutive SUNYAC regular season championship.
Oswego State win 5-4.
