The Rundown

SUNYAC No. 1 seed Oswego State is coming off two consecutive 1-0 losses to SUNY Potsdam and Plattsburgh State last weekend. No. 5 seed SUNY Fredonia just ended Plattsburgh State’s season in the opening round of the playoffs and come into the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena with a three game win streak. But, in these win or go home type games, past records and seedings do not hold much weight.

Huge Losses

Earlier this week Oswego State assistant coach Mark Digby told WNYO Sports that multiple players on the team were suffering from illness and it showing in tonight’s lineup. Two top five scorers for the Lakers will be sidelined tonight, Cam Berry and Joey Molinaro. This development leaves Oswego State significantly weaker down the middle and takes away one of their most effective offensive duos. Especially with the recent scoring woes for Oswego State, losing two of their best offensive players could sink the SUNYAC’s top seed.

Power Play Drought

Since the 4-2 win over SUNY Geneseo on Feb. 9, Oswego State has not been able to score on the power play. They have played three games and had 16 chances on the man advantage since then, including a five minute window last Saturday against Plattsburgh State. With core power play guys like Berry and Molinaro out, Mitch Herlihey, Josh Zizek and Michael Gillespie will need to pick up the slack or the Lakers season could be over.

Lineup Card

OSW-

FRE-

Players to Watch

OSW- Josh Zizek

Zizek is the Lakers leading scorer and centers the Oswego State first line. In his first NCAA playoff game as the top scoring option, the sophomore will need to step up and take over this game to revive the Lakers offense that has fallen flat as of late.

FRE- Anton Rosen

Rosen has had a great blueprint given to him by Brendan McMenimen of SUNY Potsdam and Jimmy Poreda of Plattsburgh State: do not allow the Lakers to get on the board. These two goaltenders came into the Marano Campus Center and shut down the Oswego State offense. It goes without saying, but if Rosen can have a career performance, the Blue Devils are in prime shape for the upset.

Prediction

This game should go to Oswego State and it should not be close. The talent of the Lakers team and the pedigree of head coach Ed Gosek would typically make this outcome a foregone conclusion, but there are some signs pointing to the contrary. The power play drought is one thing, but it is not really a long term concern because of the scoring ability in the Lakers top six. What is really concerning is the loss of Berry and Molinaro tonight. Berry constantly leads the backcheck and is never afraid of taking a hit in order to make the extra pass. Molinaro provides a large presence in the offensive zone that always seems to create a disruption. Following last weekend, Oswego State has shown some cracks in the armor while SUNY Fredonia has been flying high. I expect the Lakers to score early, but without two of their top six forwards, may struggle keeping their foot on the gas for three periods. As the top seed on home ice in a playoff game, they have a target on their backs, so this game will come down to who can get the last goal. Look for this one go into extra time, with the more desperate team coming out on top. It’s a coin flip, but this one will go to the better team.

Oswego State wins 2-1 in overtime.