It was a physical and chippy game, but the Oswego State men’s hockey team were able to gain two crucial conference points over The College at Brockport Friday night by a final score of 5-2 on the annual Teddy Bear Toss night.

Throughout the week, head coach Ed Gosek knew that the Golden Eagles were going to be a physical team. Devin Campbell said he remembered the team being a very physical team last season when the Lakers travelled to Brockport last season. There were a lot of hits thrown, especially in the opening minutes of the period, including hits from freshman Josh LeBlanc, sophomore Tanner Spink and junior Mitch Emerson.

But, there was a lot of post-whistle play that Gosek said his team was not completely expecting.

“Other than what we saw on tape, we didn’t see anything to lead us to believe that it was going to be as chippy as it got,” Gosek said. “You’re going to have those games. They’re not all going to be pretty. I’m proud of the guys for finding a way to get through it.”

There were a couple key plays that highlighted the physicality throughout the game. Josh Nenadal was knocked down late in the game and skated to the bench under his own power, but was still attended to by the trainer. But, in the first period, the Golden Eagles’ Bryan Collete was falling down and eventually got an incidental skate to the head from Tyler Currie. No call was given by the referees. On the ice, it appeared Collete was given concussion testing protocols and eventually had to be helped off the ice. The Oswego State SAVAC eventually made its way to the Golden Eagles’ bench, but were not needed by the trainer.

Collete did eventually return to the game.

“I was just glad to see that he wasn’t cut. It was just a series of events,” Gosek said.

The Lakers were able to push the pace of the game early, scoring three goals in the first period and only allowing seven shots on net. Goaltender David Richer stopped all seven in the opening frame. Spink opened up scoring at 4:37 of the first period for his second goal of the season, and his third point.

However, Spink’s goal was about more than opening up scoring for Oswego State. As is tradition for the Teddy Bear Toss, fans threw stuffed animals onto the ice following the Spink goal. In total, 803 bears were thrown and given in donation to the Toys for Tots in Oswego County. Since the Teddy Bear Toss started in December of 2016, 2,112 stuffed animals have been collected for the organization by the Lakers’ team. Despite the high numbers this year, Gosek was hoping for more.

“We improved from last year. I was hoping for 1,000,” Gosek said. “It’s great for the local Toys for Tots. It’s a great event. We’ll keep it going.”

The other two Lakers to score in the first period Travis Broughman, his fourth of the season, and Emerson, his second of the season, both scored on the power play. Gosek said the special teams were a strong factor in the win against the Golden Eagles. Joseph Molinaro also scored on the power play, and Oswego State went 3-6 on the man advantage. There were a couple 5-on-3 opportunities for the Lakers, especially during the five minute major interference call, and eventual game misconduct, from The College at Brockport’s Bryan Carville late in the third period.

“In crucial games like this, down the stretch, they have to perform well,” Gosek said. “The power play came through. Two goals, especially in the first period, gets some momentum going. That’s huge.”

A bigger penalty was before Spink appeared to score, but it was immediately waived off after the referees called an interference penalty. That call came in the middle of the third period. While fans in the arena were mad at the call, Gosek did not show any emotion on the bench during the game, nor could he really talk about it during the post-game.

“I’m not supposed to comment on the officials,” Gosek said.

The College at Brockport’s penalty kill, which was at 91 percent before the game against the Lakers, was the best in the SUNYAC for men’s hockey. Defensively, the Lakers were able to kill all five penalty kills they were faced with. Gosek said special teams “were the difference.”

In the second period, Campbell was able to get his first goal of the season. Even more, it was his first collegiate goal between playing at Oswego State, as well as NCAA Div. I Niagara University. The last time Campbell scored a goal in a recorded game was during the 2014-2015 season when he played for the Carleton Place Canadians in the Central Canada Hockey League in juniors.

“It’s a big goal for him,” Gosek said.

Returning to the lineup tonight was Cameron Berry, who had not seen a game since the exhibition games earlier in the season. He was out with a lingering hip injury. Tonight, he was a defensive presence with a couple blocked shots and also committed an interference penalty. Tonight was the first game that all three captains, Campbell, Berry and Josh Zizek, were all in the lineup in the regular season.

“They’re major, major players. They contributed at the right times,” Gosek said. “They got the guys pumped up for the third period.”

While the team was able to get the two conference points in the SUNYAC against The College at Brockport, Gosek said the team does have some things to work on heading into the rest of the season. He emphasized the importance of puck control and staying disciplined throughout the entire game. But, there were some positives to this game, he said.

“The guys grinded it out,” Gosek said. “We were better at not giving up odd-man rushes.”

No. 6/8 Oswego State (5-1-0, 3-1-0 SUNYAC) will head to No. 2/2 SUNY Geneseo (10-1-1, 5-1-1 SUNYAC) on Dec. 1 for another SUNYAC matchup. The Ice Knights are first in the SUNYAC with 11 points. They have also played considerably more games than the Lakers to start the season. Oswego State has played six games, compared to SUNY Geneseo’s 12. The Ice Knights came away with a win on Nov. 30 against SUNY Cortland by a score of 2-0 for their seventh straight win.

Gosek said the game against the No. 2 team in the country will be a “good measuring stick” to see where the Lakers are when it comes to playing tough teams in crucial games, such as this one.

“We’ve got to be better than we were tonight, otherwise we can’t expect to be successful,” Gosek said. “We have to be better in all aspects of the game. We’re excited to go up there. They’re a very good team.”

Photo provided by Ryan Zaldoundo via WNYO 88.9 FM