Two towns that are 152 miles apart and in different countries have a lot of similarities. Both places have populations under 20,000 people and are right on bodies of water. But, the thing that ties the two communities together the most is hockey.

The Oswego community packs at least 3,000 fans every weekend from October to March into the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena to watch the Lakers hit the ice. Around the same length of time, Carleton Place has an arena capacity of 1,000 people to cheer on the Carleton Place Canadians.

But, off the ice, the players are held to the same standards by Oswego State head coach Ed Gosek and Carleton Place head coach Jason Clarke. Players have to represent their teams well, be a good person off the ice and, most importantly, make sure they give back to the community that has given so much to them.

“Those are all the qualities that we look for in players. It’s the same things we do here,” Gosek said. “Give back to our college, give back to our community, be good people, represent the program well, along with being good players trying to win championships.”

Two of the current Lakers know the Carleton Place system well. Senior Devin Campbell played with the program from 2011-2015, and freshman Travis Broughman wore the blue and gold from 2017-2018.

Campbell, during the 2014-2015 season, was named an assistant captain for the Canadians. Broughman, in his lone season, scored 65 points in 60 games, which was second on the team during that season.

“When you go into juniors, there’s a lot of guys that leave early. Maybe they give up on hockey, maybe this, maybe that,” Campbell said. “I think [Clarke’s] way of rewarding me for sticking through the process was giving me a letter.”

Gosek said all players from the Carleton Place team are capable of playing at the NCAA Div. I level. Eleven of the players from Broughman’s team went Div. I or have committed to a Div. I program. Fourteen of the players from Campbell’s final year either went to Div. I and transferred or are currently playing Div. I.

“We’ve tried to get players from there, but most of his players go Div I.,” Gosek said. “We feel Travis Broughman was a Div. I player. Obviously, Devin Campbell was at Niagara University. We’ve tried to get some others out of there.”

While at Carleton Place, Campbell had tremendous amounts of success with the team. His team was the CCHL Champions three times and won the Fred Page Cup three times. They also attended the Royal Bank Cup Championships. He amounted 57 points in his four seasons, highlighted by a 27-point season his final season.

“I remember my first year at the RBC Cup and everything, not saying that we were happy to be there, but we were looking around and going like, ‘Holy crap, this is a lot of good hockey players and a lot of good teams,’” Campbell said. “It just makes you work that much harder to realize how many good players there are how hard some players work.”

Clarke, who has been with the franchise over 10 years, bought the team as a Junior ‘B’ squad, but applied for Junior ‘A’ status and received it in 2009. His success has come from preparing players and keeping a well-organized team, Gosek said. For a game like the one against the Lakers on Oct. 27, Clarke will know the team’s strengths and weaknesses from being in midseason form.

Campbell said Clarke is a coach that will call players out if they are not playing to their fullest potential or make some mistakes.

“The biggest thing with [Clarke] is you know where you stood at all times. He’s very honest,” Campbell said. “He just does a lot of things at Carleton Place and he’s always thinking. That’s why he’s had a lot of success.”

Campbell was drafted by Carleton Place in 2010 in the seventh round, 76th overall. However, he did not play until the 2011-2012 season. Campbell said he was a “raw hockey player” at 16 years old. He said that if he was drafted by another program, there is a possibility that Campbell would not be where he is today.

Putting emotions aside, Campbell said he is excited to see Clarke and the rest of the Carleton Place coaching staff, even if his teammates are all graduated from the program.

“It’s my former coach. He found me when I was 14 years old,” Campbell said. “He was almost like a second dad to me for a number of years, kind of like what Ed is to me.”

Gosek said that both of the former Canadians are definitely grateful for what Clarke did for both of them and that they are happy to be part of the Oswego State program that carries as much history as Carleton Place.

“I think there’s a little added pressure. They want to play well,” Gosek said. “They want to show their coach, a lot of the fans that may come, their skills at the collegiate level.”

Overall, Gosek said he is glad that the CCHL has the opportunity to see a Div. III rink. On the reverse, his team gets to play a seasoned junior program, which he is glad the team has before the regular season starts.

“It’s awesome for junior hockey, for the CCHL league, for Carleton Place, for our players,” Gosek said. “I think it’s a great situation for everybody.”

Looking at the coming weekend, Oswego State will focus on itself for the second and final exhibition game of the season. It will be about honing in the process for the new Lakers, especially when SUNY Cortland comes to town on Nov. 2.

“Right now, the emphasis is our play, still evaluating our players to make decisions for combinations, chemistry,” Gosek said. “So, really, our attention to detail is on our own execution, our own systems and still evaluating here on our last chance before the regular season begins.”

While these two teams will never play each other in an official game for the Lakers, the small, hockey-town atmosphere will always mean something from Campbell, whether it be at Carleton Place or Oswego State.

“The community is always behind us. Here, we have everyone come to the game, same thing as Carleton Place,” Campbell said. “You’d go to the grocery store and people would recognize you. It’s little things like that.”

Photos provided by Devin Campbell and Bob Lefebvre | Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian