Oswego State dropped its second straight game this afternoon to Plattsburgh State. The Lakers got a goal just under two minutes into the game from Annika Neufeld-Kreider, but that would be the only scoring Oswego State could muster. Plattsburgh State responded with six straight goals en route to a 6-1 win. That goal from Neufeld-Kreider set the Lakers’ bench and home crowd on their feet early, as it represented the first goal Plattsburgh State allowed in NEWHL play this year.

“We got after them right off the bat,” head coach Diane Dillon said. “And that’s exciting stuff. It shows them that they can execute.”

The excitement was short-lived, however, as Plattsburgh State notched a power play goal off the stick of Hanna Rose with 47 seconds remaining in the first period. The penalty kill for Oswego State came into this afternoon’s game killing 84.2 percent of penalties. However, Plattsburgh State was able to score three times on the power play against the Lakers today.

“We got a little confused,” Dillon said. “They do a great job disguising their power play.”

When it was all said and done, Plattsburgh State scored on three of its five power plays. The five penalties committed by the Lakers were too many in the eyes of Dillon.

“You’re going up against the top power play in the country. Any time you’re as undisciplined as we were today, it causes problems,” said Dillon. “You can’t give a unit with that kind of talent that many opportunities.”

The other area the Cardinals dominated was shots on goal. Plattsburgh State outshot the Lakers 48-10 on goal. Freshman Hannah Lindey was given the start for Oswego State, and she stopped 27 shots while allowing five goals. With so much traffic in front of her seemingly every offensive possession for Plattsburgh State, Lindey stood tall.

“She fought like heck. I mean, the kid battled,” Dillon said. “There was a lot of traffic in front. She did an excellent job playing big, playing the percentages when she couldn’t even see the puck. That’s when a goalie has to rely on her instincts and her training to make sure she’s positionally sound.”

Lindey was relieved in the third period by fellow freshman Cassie Shokar, who stopped 15 of the 16 Plattsburgh State shots she faced. That marked the second straight game in which the starter was pulled after two periods.

“[Lindey] earned the start, I thought she played well,” Dillon said. “Just like yesterday, it was no fault of her own that we decided to change it up in the third period.”

Dillon was happy with the overall performances from both of her young goaltenders.

“Goaltending fought like heck, even if you can’t see it in the numbers,” Dillon said.

Two areas Dillon stressed last night coming into today were puck control and effort level. Both were up and down for the Lakers today.

“At times, the effort was good,” Dillon said. “But it was sometimes inconsistent.”

Puck control and offensive zone time was once again a problem for Oswego State and Dillon recognized this.

“Puck control? We really didn’t have it,” Dillon said. “We didn’t have any puck possession and any time you’re chasing the whole game, you’re going to have problems.”

The Lakers were unable to show it on the scoreboard, but strides were made against a very experienced Plattsburgh State team. Against a tough Cardinals team ranked No. 2/2 in the country, the mistakes the Lakers made this weekend will be exposed.

“I thought we had a good game plan going in,” Dillon said. “At times we executed well, but at times we broke down. We’ve really got to bear down on the unforced errors. You can’t have those against a team of this caliber”.

The Lakers return to the ice Dec. 7 on the road against Hamilton College. Puck drops at 6 p.m.