Three periods were not enough to settle the NEWHL matchup between Oswego State and SUNY Cortland, as the game ended in a 1-1 tie after overtime on Friday night.

After four-straight games of travelling, Oswego State was finally able to host its home-opener against SUNY Cortland for the Lakers’ fifth regular season game, and third NEWHL matchup of the season. Emma Morisette was the lone goal scorer for Oswego State.

Before that, however, head coach Diane Dillon was not pleased with how her team played during the first period. While no official stat is released, SUNY Cortland dominated time in its offensive zone. Oswego State goalie Rachael Farmer made 12 saves in the first period. The Lakers only placed four shots on net in that period.

Dillon said SUNY Cortland overpowered the Lakers for a better part of the entire game.

“They beat us to pucks in our own end, which is a cardinal sin,” Dillon said. “We weren’t passing very effectively and changing or reversing their side of the ice enough to make things happen for us.”

Coming into the game, Oswego State had racked up 25 penalties in four games for 50 penalty minutes. 23 of those penalties sent them on the penalty kill. The Lakers committed six tonight – including two from Kate Randazzo. Five of those penalties put them on the man-disadvantage.

On SUNY Cortland’s second power play of the game, after Eryn Stewart was called for hitting from behind, the Red Dragons were able to convert to take a 1-0 lead.

“We’ll take, you know, if you’ve got to do something to stop a play or those kinds things,” Dillon said. “Not the lazy penalties and certainly not offensive zone penalties.”

A big note from the game was Farmer playing against her former team. She was a part of the SUNY Cortland’s team during her freshman and sophomore seasons. This was her first game against the Red Dragons. She was entering the game after posting two shutouts against Buffalo State last weekend, making 60 saves throughout the two games.

Dillon said Farmer was excited for the game.

“Academically, it was a great change for her. It’s where she needed to be,” Dillon said. “If you only give up one goal, you’ve got to get some offensive production from the team in front of you.”

While disappointed with the overall outcome, Dillon said she was pleased with getting the point after tying the Red Dragons.

“Cortland had a good game plan against us. We did not execute,” Dillon said. “We got out-worked, out-skated, out-muscled. Anytime that happens in your own rink, you’re asking for trouble.”

The two teams will meet again Saturday, Nov. 17 with a 7:00 p.m. puck drop. This time, the teams will face off at SUNY Cortland for the second of four conference games this season. Dillon said the team needs to spread the ice on the Red Dragons and make sure puck possession is strong.

“It’s about puck possession and puck support,” Dillon said. “We just didn’t do a good job of that today. Plain and simple.”

There was no scoring in the opening period of the Friday night matchup. Farmer, however, posted 12 saves compared to SUNY Cortland’s Victoria Gibson only stopping four in the opening 20 minutes. The Lakers did get off to a slow start with the Red Dragons dominating puck possession and also staying strong on the forecheck.

“We got better as the game went on. But, you can’t start a game that way,” Dillon said. “We played way too much of this game in our own zone.”

After a couple penalties for the Lakers, including a Stewart hitting from behind penalty late in the first period, SUNY Cortland scored on the power play 21 seconds into the middle period. Katie DeVoe was credited with the goal, while Emily Rose registered the assist.

Following a lot of back-and-forth play between both teams, Oswego State finally caught a break. After a pass below the goal from Katelynn Ferguson, she was able to find Morisette wide open right in the slot in front of Gibson. Morisette was able to hit the goal above Gibson’s shoulder for her second goal of the season. Ferguson registered her second assist of the season.

Morisette has gotten off to a slower start than last season. After a 10-point freshman season, Dillon said the sophomore is starting to find her legs again after the summer away from the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena.

“Emma’s in a tough spot because her class schedule is so tough. She misses a lot of practice time,” Dillon said. “I will say our class schedules are very tough. We actually practice a couple days a week at 6:30 a.m. That’s hard on college kids.”

That would be the end of the scoring for the entire game. Both teams had their fair share of chances, however. Eryn Stewart had a breakaway opportunity late in the third but the shot was stopped by Gibson. The game remained in a tie after the third period, sending the Lakers and Red Dragons to a five-minute overtime period.

This game was SUNY Cortland’s second-straight overtime matchup after tying SUNY Potsdam on Nov. 10. Dillon was impressed with the pressure her team had in the overtime period but said it was too late.

“If we had played the rest of the game with the same intensity that we did the last five minutes, it would have been a very different outcome,” Dillon said. “But that’s something we’ll hopefully pick up for tomorrow.”

After everything, Dillon said she was glad her team “didn’t roll over and die.” She said SUNY Cortland played a lot faster than Oswego State, but the Lakers did not quit and were able to get the point heading into the Saturday grudge match.

“We hung together and got better as the game went on,” Dillon said. “In a game like this, you need your goaltender to come up big and she did against her former team.”

Oswego State (4-0-1, 2-0-1 NEWHL) will head to SUNY Cortland (2-3-2, 0-3-2) on Nov. 17 for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop. Last season, after winning the first game 3-1, the Lakers won the game at Cortland 2-0.

“Normally we play at three, so we have a bit more of a recovery time,” Dillon said. “We’ll take a look at film and get some rest and hopefully, they drink plenty of water tonight and they’re ready to go.”

Photo: Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian