Oswego State dropped its first game this weekend, 4-0, against No. 2/2 Plattsburgh State. The Cardinals got on the board with two goals in the first period, followed by two more in the second period.

Rachael Farmer was in net for the Lakers the first two periods, stopping 30 of the 34 shots against her. Farmer was replaced by freshman Hannah Lindey in the third period. Lindey stopped all 5 shots she faced.

Lakers head coach Diane Dillon was happy about the play of her goaltenders against an aggressive Plattsburgh State attack.

“The goaltending at times looked pretty darn good,” Dillon said. “For a freshman to come in the third and pitch a 20-minute shutout, we’re thrilled with that.”

Even with Lindey stopping all five shots in the third period, the decision on who will start tomorrow for the Lakers has yet to be made.

“We haven’t made that decision yet,” said Dillon. “We’ll look at the video then go from there.”

After a 4-0 loss, Oswego State was still able to take away several strengths. Its penalty kill unit stopped two out of the three Plattsburgh State advantages. The effort level for the Lakers was also clearly there, something that was lacking early on in NEWHL play.

“Our work ethic was outstanding,” Dillon said. “I think that was the hardest we’ve worked so far this season. We rose to the occasion. You compare this to that Cortland game? It’s night and day. I told the team this is our new standard. We have to bring this on a daily basis.”

Although the first two periods did not go as planned for the Lakers, the third period was a whole different story. Oswego State outshot Plattsburgh State 15 to five. That third period effort will have to be brought to the ice tomorrow against the same Cardinals’ team.

“The third period was our strongest period,” Dillon said. “We outshot them 15 to five, had more scoring chances than they did. Shut down the odd man scoring chances. We set a good tone in that third period to start off with tomorrow.”

To go along with the positives were, of course, the negatives. There is no official stat regarding puck possession, but Plattsburgh State was able to control the puck in their offensive zone for almost the entirety of the first two periods. This led to a peppering of shots that resulted in the Cardinals’ four goals. Dillon recognized the need to control the puck better.

“We need to be able to handle the puck better and create some zone pressure,” Dillon said. “You saw what we did in the third period. We were able to create some things. You’ve got to make Plattsburgh play defense. We didn’t do that today, that’ll be our goal for tomorrow”.

A scary moment came for the Lakers in the third period when forward Leah Czerwinski went down with an apparent head injury and was helped off the ice by the Oswego State training staff. Fortunately, the injury looked worse than it may have been.

“She just got the wind knocked out of her,” Dillon said. “We’ll evaluate her tonight and hopefully she’ll be good to go tomorrow.”

Czerwinski has been an important part of the Laker squad this season, totaling two goals and two assists.

Oswego State enters play tomorrow afternoon taking away many positives. A 4-0 loss may look bad on the scoreboard, but this is an extremely tough Plattsburgh State team that has been that way for a long time. The young Lakers squad was able to hold their own, and look to build off a solid third period.

“For a team as young as we are, I’m impressed with our composure,” Dillon said.

Photo: Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian