For the 13th annual Pathfinder Bank/Oswego State Hockey Classic, the No. 6/7 Oswego State Lakers will take on No. 9/9 Salve Regina University. Entering the matchup, the Lakers are 8-3-0 (5-2-0 SUNYAC) and the Seahawks are 8-3-1 (6-1-1 Commonwealth Coast Conference). It is important to note that there have been no ranking changes since Dec. 10, 2018, due to the end of the semester for schools.

Updates on Oswego State

The last preview for men’s hockey The Oswegonian published was against Plattsburgh State on Dec. 8, and there have been some updates from the Oswego State men’s ice hockey team that should be included. The team lost three players during the winter break, including Tyson Bruce (transferred to SUNY Canton), Jesse Farabee and Aaron Huffnagle. Bruce left the program to play hockey elsewhere, and ended up with the Roos. The coaching staff said they did not know if Farabee would play anywhere else. However, Huffnagle left the team due to academic reasons and it is unclear if he will return in the fall, assistant coach Mark Digby said.

Chris MacMillan also made his return to the lineup against Williams College on Dec. 29 and 30 after an injury from last season. He is on the defense’s third line in the game against Salve Regina University with Charlie Pelnik. Digby also said the team will be looking for a more consistent lineup in the following weeks after a lot of rotation earlier in the season.

A Look at Salve Regina University

The Seahawks are 8-3-1 overall this season and are led by Danny Eruzione (the nephew of U.S. men’s ice hockey captain Mike Eruzione during the 1980 Winter Olympics) who has 15 points (5g, 10a) on the season. Freshman defenseman Matthew Dillon has 13 points (1g, 12a) and Paul Boutoussov has 11 points (9g, 2a). Goaltender Blake Wojtala has played in 11 of the team’s 12 games. He has a 2.63 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.

Salve Regina University gained some national recognition last season after going to the NCAA Div. III Tournament and making it to the championship game. The Seahawks fell to the champions St. Norberts College. It was the second time the team had made it to the NCAA Div. III Tournament, following an appearance in 2016.

Last Time Out

Oswego State

The Lakers took on Williams College on Dec. 29 and 30 and split the weekend. Oswego State fell 2-1 in overtime during the first game, and won 6-3 the second day. Earlier in the season, senior Devin Campbell said, on average, teams that make the NCAA Div. III Tournament typically have five or less losses and now that the team has used three of its losses before the month of February, there might be a little concern for the team. But, on Dec. 30, the team looked to be in good form with a couple different goal scorers.

Throughout the weekend, the leading scorer was Josh Nenadal with three points (1g, 2a). Campbell (2a), Jody Sullivan (1g, 1a), Travis Broughman (2g) and Michael Gillespie (1g, 1a) all tallied two points throughout the weekend. Overall, nine players registered a point. David Richer played both games, making 44 saves on 49 shots during the weekend (Game 1: 27-29, Game 2: 17-20) and allowed five goals.

Salve Regina University

It has nearly been a month since the Seahawks have hit the ice in a game. On Dec. 8, Salve Regina University took on Adrian College and fell 6-3. The two teams also faced each other on Dec. 7, where the Seahawks fell to the Bulldogs 2-0. Only one player had a multi-point weekend, Nick Cyr, who registered two assists in the second game. Vencenzo Penda, Erik Udahl and Evan Schmidbauer all registered a goal in the 6-3 loss.

Goaltender Blake Wojtala, who had an assist in the second game, went 51-58 throughout the weekend and gave up seven goals. The eighth goal came from an empty net. Wojtala is now 7-3-1 on the season.

Lakers and Seahawks History

Oswego State and Salve Regina University have only faced one other team in the entire history of either program. The only meeting was on Jan. 14, 2014, at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena where the Lakers were victorious 9-3. None of the current players on either roster were playing college hockey the last time the two teams met. Andy Boschetto was the head coach of Salve Regina University at the time. Ed Gosek was still at the helm for Oswego State.

Laker alumni Kenny Neil led all scorers during the game with two goals and two assists. Justin Gilbert and Matt Zawadski split time during the game. Gilbert let in three goals on 15 shots while Zawadski stopped all eight shots he faced. That season, the Lakers won the SUNYAC championship over then-No. 1 SUNY Geneseo. Oswego State eventually fell to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Points in the NCAA Div. III Tournament semifinals 2-1. Salve Regina University finished 11-15-0 and bowed out during the ECAC Northeast quarterfinals.

By the Numbers

RECORD (conference) [vs. each other]

OSW: 8-3-0 (5-2-0) [1-0-0]

SAL: 8-3-1 (6-1-1) [0-1-1]

GOALS (per game)

OSW: 41 (3.7)

SAL: 44 (3.67)

SHOTS (per game) [shot percentage]

OSW: 292 (26.5) [14.0%]

SAL: 417 (34.8) [10.6%]

POWER PLAY [percentage]

OSW: 15-48 (31.3%)

SAL: 16-60 (26.7%)

Players to Watch

OSW: Travis Broughman

It had been a little bit since Travis Broughman was a player that everybody was talking about. After eight points in his first six games (including a three-point game against SUNY Cortland on Nov. 2, 2018), he went pointless for four straight games. He came back against Williams College on Dec. 30 and scored two goals to push the Lakers’ lead. One of his goals was unassisted. The freshman now has 10 points, which is fourth on the Lakers.

SAL: Matthew Dillon

Matthew Dillon has also been a strong freshman for his respective team this season. He has 13 points on the season, tallying one goal and 12 assists. Dillon’s goal was an empty net goal and also shorthanded. He has also been extremely disciplined with only two penalty minutes on the season.

Lines (provided by Oswego State / Salve Regina University athletics)

Oswego State

Forwards

No. 93 : Josh LeBlanc | No. 13 : Josh Zizek | No. 7 : Tanner Spink

No. 16 : Michael Gillespie | No. 11 : Anthony Passero | No. 28 : Travis Broughman

No. 25 : Colton Fletcher | No. 9 : Mitch Emerson | No. 19 : Joseph Molinaro

No. 14 : Jody Sullivan | No. 15 : Joey Scorpio | No. 27 : Josh Nenadal

Defense

No. 2 : Carter Allen | No. 6 : Tyler Currie

No. 4 : Devin Campbell | No. 20 : Max Novick

No. 22 : Chris MacMillan | No. 5 : Charlie Pelnik

Goaltenders

No. 31 : David Richer

No. 30 : Cedric Hansen

No. 33 : Steven Kozikoski

Extra Skater

No. 8 : Derek Brown

Scratches: Tyler Antonucci, Cameron Berry, A.J. D’Oraio, Michael McArthur, Kristoffer Brun, Thomas Horn, Ryan Bunka, Robert Clerc, Tyson Kirkby

Salve Regina University

Forwards

No. 6 : Eric Lipa | No. 10 : Evan Schmidbauer | No. 18 : Timothy Sweeney

No. 25 : Erik Udahl | No. 61 : Tyler Carangelo | No. 22 : John McLean

No. 96 : Danny Eruzione | No. 88 : Paul Boutoussov | No. 93 : Brent Hill

No. 53 : George Sennott | No. 21 : Sage Englund | No. 23 : Colin Clapton

Defense

No. 2 : Matthew Dillon | No. 8 : Nick Cyr

No. 5 : Kevin Clare | No. 8 : J.J. Layton

No. 74 : Frankie Sullivan | No. 27 : Dylan Carabia

Goaltenders

No. 1 : Blake Wojtala

No. 29 : Louis-Felix St. Jean

No. 31 : Ulysses Lalor

Extra Skater

No. 13 : Kyle Moore

Prediction

It is another contest between two nationally-ranked programs for the Lakers and the Seahawks. Salve Regina University had the more recent national ranked game against Adrian College, where it lost both games to the Bulldogs.

The forwards are generally the same compared to the game against Williams College for Oswego State. However, the the third line of defense has shifted around again with Chris MacMillan and Charlie Pelnik getting the position in the game. Derek Brown is the extra skater and Colton Fletcher is in his third career game as a Laker on the third offensive line. Assistant coach Mark Digby said the team will look to get a more solidified third defensive line, and said the first two lines are pretty much locked for the season.

Salve Regina University does have five short-handed goals, while the Lakers are still first in the nation on the power play at 31.3 percent. It should be another battle between the teams for special teams, which will make a strong difference. Both goaltenders are around the same talent, as well, heading into the game.

These two teams are pretty evenly matched, and it should be interesting for the first game of the Patherfinder Bank/Oswego State Hockey Classic. Depending on the outcome of the game, either team will play SUNY Canton or Concordia University-Wisconsin on Jan. 5.

For a prediction, Salve Regina University takes this one 3-2 — late in overtime.