Oswego State has dropped two SUNYAC games so far this year. That number bears significance because since the 2011-12 season, only three top-two seed in the league had more than two league losses.
A top-two seed in the league guarantees a first-round bye and home-ice for the first league playoff game. The Lakers’ 3-2-0 league record is their worst start since a 0-3-1 start in 2015-16. In that 2015-16 season, Oswego State finished 14-11-2 and lost in the SUNYAC semifinals. That being said, head coach Ed Gosek said it is not time to panic just yet.
“They [the team] understand the importance of taking care of our business,” Gosek said. “We’re still in a good position. When you don’t control your own destiny, you don’t want that. At this point, we’re fine.”
The Lakers have kept their eyes on the league without panicking too much.
“We look at the standings every day,” Gosek said. “We know what’s going on there.”
Lakers’ captain Devin Campbell knows how big the rest of the season is. Making the Div. III tournament is no small task, and losing two games this early makes the battle that much more difficult.
“To make it to the tournament, you can only have about five losses, honestly, to guarantee a spot, and you need 20 wins,” Campbell said. “We’ve already used two of those losses so far, so you have to start stringing wins together.”
Stringing those wins together starts this weekend against rivals SUNY Potsdam and Plattsburgh State. Oswego State is 35-13-2 all-time against SUNY Potsdam at home. However, it has dropped three out of its last four against SUNY Potsdam at the Marano Campus Center. One of those losses came last year to kick off Whiteout Weekend. These struggles have been noticed by the team.
“This weekend is about proving to ourselves that we can win these games, especially at home,” Campbell said. “We’ve obviously had a bad track record against these guys for some reason, but now, it’s all right. We don’t have to just focus on who we’re playing.”
Even if SUNY Potsdam enters play this weekend at 1-4-0 in SUNYAC play this year, every league game is fought hard.
“Everyone in the league comes in and competes hard every night, and that will make us a better team,” Gosek said.
Last weekend, the Lakers dropped a tough road game against SUNY Geneseo. Oswego State was unable to score and lost 3-0. The biggest challenge for the Lakers this season has been finishing out weekends. The last two weekends have resulted in 1-1 splits. Both losses during those weekends came on the road. But the Lakers are using the losses to SUNY Fredonia and SUNY Geneseo as a wake-up.
“Not that the games against Fredonia and Geneseo were a good thing, but it brought us back down to earth,” Campbell said. “That was something that we didn’t have last year.”
Last season, those games were dropped late in the year against SUNY Potsdam and Plattsburgh State. It sent the Lakers to the SUNYAC playoffs on a cold streak, something they will look to avoid this year.
“Obviously, you want to win as many league games as possible,” Campbell said. “But if we’re struggling all year and then catch fire for the postseason, I’d rather have that.”
That lack of weekend-long consistency looks to be halted this weekend. The Lakers have yet to lose at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena, sitting at a perfect 3-0 home record. But this weekend is important for reasons beyond two big rivalry games.
“It’s important that we gain some confidence and momentum and the consistency in which we play,” Gosek said. “That’s our main concern here. We’ve got to clean up a lot of areas.”
The Lakers currently sit in fourth place in the SUNYAC standings. However, they have played three fewer games than first-place SUNY Geneseo. Oswego State is still ranked No. 8/9 in the country, but the wins have to start coming for the Lakers in league play. That starts during Whiteout Weekend.
“I think we’re one of the best teams in the country, and we’ve got to start playing like it,” Campbell said. “This weekend is the time to put our foot down.”
Photo: Greg Tavani | The Oswegonian
