On Saturday, the Oswego State women’s hockey team will take on the Buffalo State Bengals in the NEWHL semifinals. The Bengals finished the season 9-6-1 in conference play, four points ahead of the Lakers. Despite how close the two teams are when it comes to the standings, each team differs stylistically.

Buffalo State is a fast team. As a result, they jump on loose pucks quicker than the opposition and can limit their extended zone time. As fast as the Bengals are, they do have some trouble with transitions. More often than not, Buffalo State chips the puck out of their own end instead of carrying it over the blue line. Sometimes, this works well for the Bengals. It helps them pick up speed through the neutral zone since, without the puck, they skate faster. Once they reach the puck at max speed, they are generally in a good position to generate an odd-man rush. On the flip side, if the opposition can turn around into the neutral zone, they will have an easy route to retrieve the puck.

With their speed, Buffalo State forwards back-check hard on every rush. Because the skater coming back can catch the puck carrier, Oswego State needs to be mindful to ensure skaters do not get the puck stripped off their stick. If the Lakers can move the puck amongst themselves on the rush, it will be easier to maintain possession and generate quality chances. Despite their speed, the Bengals do not have a relentless forecheck because they do not play that physical. Instead, they use a more methodical approach where one skater attacks the puck carrier. They force the carrier to make a poor pass in which they can deflect the puck or have their linemate can intercept the pass at the blue line.

Regardless of Buffalo State’s lack of physicality, they still manage to keep the opposition out of the slot. Defensively, the Bengals force opposing forwards to the outside. The back-checking forward helps out a lot as they come through the middle and angle the puck carrier to the boards. As a result, the opposition cannot generate a good scoring chance since a wide angle shot is easier to save.

Offensively speaking, the Bengals do not get much tertiary scoring. Three players, Erin Gehen, Rachel Lenard, and Emma Ruggiero, have scored 50 percent of their goals. Additionally, the defense has provided them one goal and 24 assists. For comparison, the Lakers have received eight goals and 25 assists from their defense.

Their real strength is in net. Goaltender Justine Silva has the third best save percentage and goals against average amongst NEWHL starters with a .937 and 1.76, respectively. When it comes to special teams, they are not very special as their power play ranks fourth in the NEWHL, scoring at a 10.1 percent clip. Even though their penalty kill started the season a perfect 23-23, it has regressed quite a bit as they sit third in the NEWHL at 84.7 percent.

The Lakers have their hands full with this shifty Bengals team. However, if they can use their size to cycle and grind, it would not be shocking to see the puck in Buffalo State’s end for a majority of the game.