Oswego State got off to a good start in the 2018-2019 campaign, defeating the London Jr. Devilettes 4-3.

After London jumped to a 2-0 start, the Lakers battled back with help from veteran leaders and also some new faces.

Emma Morisette cashed in the Lakers first goal of the season to cut the lead to 2-1 after one period. After a 13-point season last year, Morisette was all over the ice making plays.

Sophomore Leah Czerwinski scored on the power play in the second period to tie things up at two apiece. Even with a go-ahead goal for London with 13 minutes left, the Lakers immediately tied it back up with a blast from Philomena Teggart.

One of the heroes for the Lakers was junior Eryn Stewart, who hustled to avoid an icing call and passed the puck to Teggert to tie the game at 3-3.

The icing on the cake was the game-winner for Oswego State, scored by freshman defenseman Avery Webster for her first career goal.

With many questions pertaining to goaltending this season, senior Mikaela Ditonto was given the first period by head coach Diane Dillon.

“She’s the seasoned one out of all of them. Although she hasn’t gotten a ton of minutes, she’s the one that was prepared and ready to go,” Dillon said. “I thought she did a fine job.”

Ditonto came up with five saves in the first including two big saves early on a weak side shot by London forward Jaymee Nolan and another shot by Emma McKnight.

Ditonto did allow two goals, but the first came on the power play and the second was on a beautiful set up from Emma McKnight to Julia Gosling, a pass that went from behind the net to right in front with no Laker defenseman in sight.

When Cortland State transfer Rachael Farmer took her place in goal to start the second period, a show was put on. Farmer was active and seemingly everywhere making saves. London was unable to score in the second period with Farmer between the pipes.

Freshmen goalies Hannah Lindey and Cassie Shokar split the third period, with Lindey giving up one goal and Shokar keeping the Lakers’ 4-3 lead en route to a victory. Dillon expressed the need to get every goaltender playing time, especially the freshmen.

“Each of them did well,” Dillon said. “You obviously want to get them in there, get those first few shots. Have them feel the puck a little bit.”

Overall, Dillon said each of the four goaltenders played well.

“Everybody got a shot out there, and I thought everybody came through,” Dillon said.

The Lakers’ defense was shaky at the start, with some easy opportunities in front of the net for London to capitalize on. However, it did tighten up as the game went on.

“It’s one of those things where you have to take a deep breath, and that’s exactly what the coaching staff told them in between periods,” Dillon said. “They settled in a little bit. They started to control the puck better. And they just started doing what we executed in practice.”

Nerves can be expected, especially with the large freshman group the Lakers have. Forward Sara Cruise was the lone freshman to start, but Bailey Thomas also saw significant ice time. Thomas, who is originally from the HTI Stars, used good body control to keep the puck out of Oswego state’s zone while also pushing forward on offense.

Although it was just an exhibition, it is always a good thing to start in the win column, especially before starting a four-game road trip next weekend against King’s College in Pennsylvania.

“We always like to start hard and start fresh and come up with a ‘W,’” Dillon said. “It always feels good.”