The Oswego State men’s ice hockey team is traveling to SUNY Canton to play the first of two games this weekend. The Lakers have a 1-0-0 record (1-0-0 SUNYAC), while the Roos have a 1-3-0 (N/A) record. Oswego State and SUNY Canton last played on Nov. 11, 2017. The Lakers came away with a 3-2 win at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena during the team’s Military Appreciation Night.

Last Time Out

Oswego State

Oswego State played in its first SUNYAC matchup on Nov. 2 against SUNY Cortland. The Lakers came away with a 4-2 victory over the Red Dragons, highlighted by freshman Travis Broughman’s three-point performance, including two goals and an assist. David Richer played the entire game, allowing both goals in the third period and while on the penalty kill. Overall, he made 16 saves on 18 shots for a .889 save percentage.

The special teams were key for the Lakers, both positively and negatively. While the team only committed four penalties throughout the game, three came in the third period. At one point, Oswego State was on a 4-on-3 penalty kill. While the Broughman penalty was a little controversial, according to head coach Ed Gosek, the Carter Allen penalty for interference did not help the Lakers’ situation. Mitch Emerson was also called on a cross-checking penalty, resulting in the Red Dragons’ second goal of the night. Offensively, Oswego State went 2-5. Broughman and Derek Brown both scored on the power play.

SUNY Canton

SUNY Canton also played against SUNY Cortland for its most recent game on Nov. 3. The Roos lost to the Red Dragons 3-2 in overtime. Sophomore Jake Mayette had a two-point game with a goal and an assist. Four other players registered a point, including Jeffrey Gauld, who scored the Roos’ first goal of the game at 18:42 of the first player. Michael Cerasuolo came away with the loss in overtime despite making 26 saves throughout the game, including a nine-save second period. He faced 29 shots in total.

The Roos committed eight penalties in the game, only allowing one power play goal from Sean Perichak of SUNY Cortland in the third period. SUNY Canton was also able to go on the power play a good amount of times after the Red Dragons also committed eight penalties. However, the Roos were unsuccessful only putting 10 shots on goal throughout all eight power plays and did not come away with a goal on any of the man-advantages.

Lakers and Roos History

While the Lakers and Roos have only faced each other 15 times in their history, these two teams have games dating back to 1967, where Oswego State was victorious 11-1. SUNY Canton has won only one game against the Lakers. The game was on Nov. 18, 1972, where the Roos won 6-5 in Oswego. In recent years, the Lakers and Roos have faced each other in back-to-back games. But, similar to last season, they only only play once this season.

Oswego State boasts a 5-0 record against SUNY Canton while on the road. Most recently, the Lakers traveled on Feb. 11, 2017, coming away with a 6-0 victory. On Nov. 11, 2017, the Lakers came away with a 3-2 win at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena. Josh Zizek, A.J. D’Orazio and Cameron Berry all scored in the game. Cedric Hansen made 20 saves during the game.

By the Numbers

RECORD (conference) [vs. each other]

OSW: 1-0-0 (1-0-0) [14-1-0]

CAN: 1-3-0 (N/A) [1-14-0]

GOALS (per game)

OSW: 4 (4.0)

CAN: 15 (3.8)

SHOTS (per game)

OSW: 33 (33.0)

CAN: 113 (28.3)

POWER PLAY (percentage)

OSW: 2-5 (20.0%)

CAN: 6-27 (22.2%)

Players to Watch For

OSW: Travis Broughman

Broughman had three points in his collegiate debut for the Lakers, something Gosek called impressive for any player, let alone a rookie in his first game. Broughman has a lot of talent, and, according to Gosek, he easily could have gone Div. I like a lot of him teammates did from Carleton Place in the CCHL. He was also named the SUNYAC Rookie of the Week after the game against SUNY Cortland, and should be a name to watch this weekend. With a team like Hobart College on Saturday, it will be interesting to see what his production is like against a nationally-ranked team.

CAN: Joe Devney

Devney has registered at least one point in all four games for the Roos this season. He had an assist against SUNY Cortland. He also had two goals against Wilkes University on Oct. 27. In total, he has six points (three goals, three assists) on the season. The senior, who is also captain this season, has been extremely disciplined in his four years so far at SUNY Canton. He has no penalty minutes this season, and only has 16 penalties throughout his entire career.

Lines (provided by Oswego State athletics)

Forwards

No. 16 : Michael Gillespie | No. 13 : Josh Zizek | No. 8 : Derek Brown

No. 7 : Tanner Spink | No. 11 : Anthony Passero | No. 28 : Travis Broughman

No. 19 : Joseph Molinaro | No. 9 : Mitch Emerson | No. 21 : Aaron Huffnagle

No. 27 : Josh Nenadal | No. 93 : Josh LeBlanc | No. 25 : Colton Fletcher

Defense

No. 4 : Devin Campbell | No. 6 : Tyler Currie

No. 2 : Carter Allen | No. 20 : Max Novick

No. 3 : Tyler Antonucci | No. 24 Kristoffer Brun

Extra Skater: No. 76 : Ryan Bunka

Goalies

No. 30 : Cedric Hansen

No. 31 : David Richer

No. 33 : Steven Kozikoski

Scratches: Charlie Pelnik, Cameron Berry, A.J. D’Orazio, Jody Sullivan, Joey Scorpio, Michael McArthur, Tyson Bruce, Chris MacMillan, Jesse Farabee, Thomas Horn, Robert Clerc, Tyson Kirkby

Prediction

Oswego State has a lot of strong history against SUNY Canton, considering the last time the Lakers lost the Roos was in 1972. Hansen played against the Roos last season, and will again tonight. While Richer will most likely see more games throughout the season, it is good to get Hansen on the ice to have a steady and stable backup goaltender. Either way, with the forward lines as strong as they have been, especially with the second line (Spink / Passero / Broughman), the Lakers should have a steady flow of offense.

SUNY Canton has struggled the last couple games. While the team does not go down easily, with its last two games going to overtime, the Roos just do not have enough firepower to handle a strong defense from the Lakers. Oswego State will have to be disciplined, especially at the end of the game. That is where the team got hurt in the game against SUNY Cortland. While the Lakers did not fall to the Red Dragons, there was a lot more pressure put on them while on the penalty kill.

As it has been repeated a lot this season, the added depth has helped the Lakers early on in the season, allowing guys to stay fresh and allow rotation for consistency purposes. Gosek has used this early, already switching out a couple players between games, including some freshmen making their collegiate debut (Ryan Bunka, Tyler Antonucci, Josh LeBlanc and Colton Fletcher).

Oswego State is victorious over SUNY Canton 4-3.

Photo: Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian