Following its first loss of the season, the No. 3/5 Oswego State Lakers (3-1-0, 1-1-0 SUNYAC) finish up their western road trip with a game at Buffalo State (3-2-1, 1-1-1 SUNYAC) on Nov. 17.

Last Time Out

Oswego State

The Lakers suffered their first loss of the season to SUNY Fredonia by a score of 3-2. This is the second straight time the Blue Devils have beat Oswego State. The most recent being the in the second round of the SUNYAC playoffs last season at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena. David Richer was the starting goalie, making 20 saves on 23 shots. Oswego State was pretty even, producing 24 shots while Eric Bogart stopped 22 of them.

Carter Allen scored the first goal for the Lakers, his first goal of the season and his first goal as a Laker. Derek Brown registered an assist on the play.  The third period was shakey for the Lakers, despite the Allen goal cutting the Blue Devils’ lead in half in the middle of the second period. After a couple big penalties, including Thomas Horn’s five-minute major for contact to the head and then a game misconduct immediately following, the Lakers were able to tie the game up with a shorthanded goal from Tyler Currie with assists from Josh Zizek and Josh Nenadal. However, Ethan Kirbis of SUNY Fredonia would score the eventual game-winner at 6:53 on the power play.

Buffalo State

The Bengals are coming off a SUNYAC win against SUNY Cortland on Nov. 16. Buffalo State is now on a two-game win streak after defeating Skidmore College 5-1 on Nov. 10. There were four different goal scorers, including Mac Wood who had a hat-trick. Andrew Logar was the lone goal scorer for Buffalo State in the first period, with assists from Cody Symonds and Anthony Tulipane. Wood started his domination in the second period on the power play with assists from Michael Guerrera and Zach Remers. After the second period, both the Red Dragons and Bengals were tied at three after another Wood goal, with Jon Colley Connor Zak registering assists on the goal.

That would be the end of the SUNY Cortland scoring with Buffalo State running away with the game in the third period. Andrew Husted scored unassisted for the Bengals’ fourth goal. Wood would score his third goal of the game at 10:48 of the third period with assists from Symonds and Colley. Vadim Vasjonkin rounded out the scoring for the Bengals with Guerrera and Remers registering the assists. Goalie Connor Minch made 20 saves in the contest.

Lakers and Bengals History

Oswego State and Buffalo State have met 54 times since Nov. 30, 1993. During the team’s first matchup, the Lakers and Bengals finished in a 3-3 tie at Buffalo. Since that game, the Lakers have boasted a 46-3-5 record against the Bengals. Four of the five ties were the first four matchups between the two teams. The last tie came in 2002. While on the road, Oswego State has a 20-3-3 record against Buffalo State. The last time the Bengals beat the Lakers was on Dec. 10, 2016, in a 5-1 rout. Anthony Passero, then a freshman, had a goal and an assist in the game.

During last season’s two SUNYAC matchups between the teams, Oswego State was victorious in both. On Nov. 17, 2017, Oswego State won 4-3 in Oswego and followed that win with a 4-1 victory in Buffalo on Feb. 2, 2018. Aaron Huffnagle (1g, 1a), Michael Gillespie (2g), Tanner Spink (1g, 1a) and Josh Zizek (2a) all registered two points against Buffalo State. David Richer played both games, making 35 total saves and allowing four goals. In the November matchup, Passero, who transferred from Buffalo State to Oswego State this season, scored a goal.

By the Numbers

RECORD (conference) [vs. each other]

OSW: 3-1-0 (1-1-0) [46-3-5]

BUF: 3-2-1 (1-1-1) [3-46-5]

GOALS (per game)

OSW: 16 (4.0)

BUF: 23 (3.8)

SHOTS (per game)

OSW: 118 (29.5)

BUF: 162 (27.0)

POWER PLAY (percentage)

OSW: 6-22 (27.3%)

BUF: 6-22 (27.3%)

Players to Watch

OSW: Anthony Passero

While Passero was held pointless against SUNY Fredonia, he has already registered four points (2g, 2a) this season. But, the major reason why he is the player to watch against Buffalo State is not because of his recent play. This game will be a homecoming for Passero. The junior played his first two seasons at Buffalo State and even lived at home while playing for the Bengals. He grew up in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. Nonetheless, his playmaking ability will be crucial as the Lakers look to rebound after their loss against the Blue Devils. Oswegonian Sports did a feature on him this week as he prepares to face his former team.

BUF: Mac Wood

Wood leads the Bengals with nine points (4g, 5a) on the season. However, against SUNY Cortland on Nov. 16, Wood scored a hat-trick propelling the Bengals to a 6-3 win. After the game, he will most likely be looking to keep the momentum going not only for him, but for the Bengals who will try to overtake an Oswego State team who suffered the set back against SUNY Fredonia.

Lines (provided by Oswego State athletics)

Forwards

No. 8 : Derek Brown | No. 13 : Josh Zizek | No. 9 : Mitch Emerson

No. 28 : Travis Broughman | No. 11 : Anthony Passero | No. 16 : Michael Gillespie

No. 19 : Joseph Molinaro | No. 21 : Aaron Huffnagle | No. 7 : Tanner Spink

No. 14 : Jody Sullivan | No. 27 : Josh Nenadal | No. 91 : Tyson Kirkby

Defense

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

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

No. 76 : Ryan Bunka | No. No. 3 : Tyler Antonucci

Extra Skater

No. 12 : A.J. D’Orazio

Goaltenders

No. 30 : Cedric Hanse

No. 31 : David Richer

No. 33 : Steven Kozikoski

Prediction

Following its first loss of the season, Oswego State will be hungry to get back in the win column against Buffalo State, a team which the Lakers have had a lot of success against in recent history. However, the team will be headed back home after the game, so the players will want to end the road trip on a high note, for sure.

Last season, a major concern for the team was the lack of scoring from the blue line with defensive players. Last night, after the Carter Allen and Tyler Currie goals, that should bring some hope to the team. That will hopefully continue in not only tonight’s matchup but will be a consistent factor for the rest of the season.

The player to watch for Oswego State, Anthony Passero, will look to shine against his former team. He was an assistant captain before he left the Bengals, and has taken a strong vocal role with the Lakers this season, head coach Ed Gosek said. Travis Broughman will also look to register at least one point again tonight after being held pointless for the first time yesterday. Cedric Hansen got the nod after David Richer played last night. Goaltending-wise, the team is seeing a lot of back and forth, as the coaching staff has not placed a true starter on the ice quite yet.

Despite recent dominance against the Bengals, this game will be a lot closer than most expect, especially after the Lakers’ loss last night against SUNY Fredonia.

No. 3/5 Oswego State (3-1-0, 1-1-0 SUNYAC) defeats Buffalo State  (3-2-1, 1-1-1 SUNYAC) 2-1.

Photo: Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian