For the last non-conference weekend of the season for the Lakers, No. 5/5 Oswego State (11-3-0, 5-2-0 SUNYAC) will be taking on local rival Utica College (9-5-0, 7-2-0 UCHC). This season, the Pioneers will be making the 90-minute drive to Lake Ontario for the 25th game — the Silver Anniversary — all-time between the Pioneers and the Lakers.

Last Time Out

Oswego State

The Lakers went to the Allyn Ice Arena in Skaneateles, New York, on Jan. 8 for a neutral-site matchup against Nazareth College. The game was originally a Nazareth College home game but instead moved the game in order to raise money for Griffin’s Guardians, and to showcase the three Skaneateles natives that the Golden Flyers have. After scoring 18 goals in their three previous games, the Lakers were held to just three against Nazareth College. But, Oswego State shutout Nazareth College.

Oswego State scored all three times on the power play, going 3-4 on the night, with Michael Gillespie (unassisted), Joseph Molinaro (Anthony Passero) and Josh Zizek (Tanner Spink, Gillespie) all registering goals. Gillespie now leads the team with 18 points (5g, 13a). Cedric Hansen made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season and second of his career. The Lakers are now on a four-game win streak.

Utica College

The Pioneers won their fifth-straight contest on Jan. 4 against Skidmore College by a score of 5-1. While Will Steele of Skidmore College did score first, Utica College scored five unanswered goals to seal the win. Jarrod Fitzpatrick (J.T. Entelisano, Jacob Gerson), Entelisano (Fitzpatrick, Cameron Bartkoski), Brett Everson (Gregg Burmaster, Shawn Lynch), Joey Rutkowski (Everson, Gerson) and Conor Landrigan (Nick Yzaguirre, Tyler Dill) all scored for the Pioneers. Gianluca Baggetta made 21 saves for the win, including 11 in the third period.

The special teams for Utica College went 5-5 on the penalty kill and 0-3 on the power play.

Game Notes

Oswego State

• The Lakers’ power play rose to No. 1 in the nation after the game against Nazareth College. They are converting at a 31.82 percent success rate, going 21-66 on the season.
• Cameron Berry returns to the lineup tonight (fourth line center). The senior’s last game was on Dec. 8 against Plattsburgh State following a hip injury.
• Following the talk with assistant coach Mark Digby about the defense’s third line wanting more consistency, Chris MacMillan and Kristoffer Brun will be playing on the line again today, after playing together against the Golden Flyers.
• David Richer will get his 11th start of the season against the Pioneers.

Utica College

• The Pioneers have allowed three goals in their last five games, including two shutouts in this win-streak. They have 55 goals all season (averaging 3.9 per game). They are 15th in the nation for goals.
• The team has not been ranked since the week of Nov. 12, but Utica College did receive votes in both the USCHO poll (2) and the D3hockey poll (4).
• Senior Greg Burmaster is currently riding a seven-game point streak after an assist against Skidmore College. He leads the team in points (18), tallying 10 goals and eight assists.
• The name Joey Rutkowski should sound familiar to the Laker faithful. He transferred from Oswego State to Utica College in the middle of last season. He appeared in 21 games while wearing the green and gold, posting two assists.

History of Lakers and Pioneers

Utica College and Oswego State have faced each other at least one time every season since the 2002-2003 season. The very first meeting was on Oct. 26, 2002, where Utica College won 5-2 and would not win again until 2005. The Lakers boast a 14-6-4 record over the Pioneers. Last season, at Utica, the two teams ended in a 3-3 tie. Michael Gillespie, Mitch Emerson and Mitchell Herlihey (who tied it 29 seconds left in the game) all scored. David Richer made 31 saves throughout the 65-minute contest.

The Pioneers have not won over the Lakers since Jan. 5, 2013, when Utica College shutout Oswego State 6-0 at Utica’s rink.

By the Numbers

RECORD (conference) [vs. each other]

OSW: 11-0-0 (5-2-0) [14-6-4]

UTI: 9-5-0 (7-2-0) [6-14-4]

GOALS (per game) [vs. each other]

OSW: 56 (4.0) [78 / 3.3]

UTI: 55 (3.9) [68 / 2.8]

SHOTS (per game) [shot percentage]

OSW: 398 (28.4) [14.1%]

UTI: 471 (33.6) [11.7%]

POWER PLAY (percentage)

OSW: 21-66 (31.8%)

UTI: 10-67 (14.9%)

Player to Watch

OSW: Michael Gillespie

Gillespie has led the team all season in points, now totalling 18 points (5g, 13a). Despite going down in the game against SUNY Canton with a knee injury, he came right back on the ice and has been on fire the last few games. He is currently on a four-game point streak, with seven points in his last four games (3g, 4a). Despite his physical play, including his notorious post-whistle play while getting into players’ faces, the Div. I transfer from Ohio State has only amassed four penalties all season — two of which came against SUNY Canton on Jan. 5. Gillespie has also tallied two game-winning goals. In last season’s game against Utica College, he had a goal (the opening goal for the Lakers at 10:42 of the first period to respond to Utica College’s first goal, and then tallied an assist on the Mitch Herlihey goal to tie the game.

UTI: Gregg Burmaster

The senior captain has done much more than lead Utica College this season. Burmaster leads the team for points (18) and shots (48), and is tied for the team lead with eight goals. Burmaster is third on the team with nine assists. Burmaster originally played for NCAA Div. I Colorado College, similar to Gillespie as a Div. I transfer, and has been held pointless only four times this season.

Lines (provided by Oswego State athletics)

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. 10 : Cameron Berry | No. 27 : Josh Nenadal

Defense

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

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

No. 24 : Kristoffer Brun | No. 22 : Chris MacMillan

Goaltenders

No. 31 : David Richer

No. 30 : Cedric Hansen

No. 33 : Steven Kozikoski

Extra Skater

No. 8 : Derek Brown

Scratches: Tyler Antonucci, Charlie Pelnik, A.J. D’Orazio, Joey Scorpio, Michael McArthur, Thomas Horn, Ryan Bunka, Robert Clerc, Tyson Kirkby

Prediction

This is one of the tighest out-of-conference rivalries for Oswego State, between players leaving to go to Utica College, or the fact that Utica College has been nationally ranked before. While the Pioneers are not ranked for this meeting, they did receive some votes from both ranking parties, USCHO and D3hockey.

Ever since the Williams College weekend, the Lakers have slowly crawled up the rankings, going up to No. 5 in both rankings — up one from D3hockey and two places on USCHO. Utica College has faced its fair share of tough programs, including Adrian College, ranked No. 6/7 this week, Endicott College, ranked No. 11/11 this week, and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Points, who is ranked No. 1 in the nation. This game will still be a tough test for the Lakers, as the Pioneers are equally as hot right now. Both teams are on a decent game streak.

For the 25th meeting of these two teams, the goalscoring will be crucial. As obvious as that sounds, both teams are scoring a lot. The Lakers have scored 21 goals in their last four games, while the Pioneers have scored 22 in their last five. With players like Michael Gillespie and Gregg Burmaster, who are both on point-streaks, it will be interesting to see who scores the opening goal.

David Richer has been a strong goaltender all season, but so has Gianluca Baggetta, who was named UCHC’s goaltender of the week on Jan. 8. There has also been a couple key freshmen for both teams, as well — Oswego State with Travis Broughman and Utica College’s J.T. Entelisano, who was named the UCHC rookie of week on Tuesday.

The two teams are pretty even heading into this matchup — the Silver Matchup — and will be close all game.

Prediction: 3-2 overtime win for Oswego State.