Following the loss to Buffalo State on Feb. 2, the No. 4/4 Oswego State’s men’s ice hockey team (16-4-1, 7-3-0 SUNYAC) will travel to The College at Brockport (14-6-2, 6-5-2 SUNYAC) for the second meeting of the season to finish the season series.

Last Time Out

Oswego State

In a game that was about more than just hockey with the Lakers’ annual TEAL game, Oswego State fell to Buffalo State 6-5 despite scoring three goals in the third period in an attempted rally. David Richer was pulled in the game after allowing three quick goals, while Cedric Hansen also allowed three after him. Joseph Molinaro had two goals in the loss, with Devin Campbell, Tyler Currie, Derek Brown and Anthony Passero all had two assists each. All six of the Bengals’ goals came on 20 shots. On the positive side, the Lakers’ power play unit did go 2-4 following one of Molinaro’s goals and another Max Novick power-play goal.

The College at Brockport

The Golden Eagles are coming off a sweep of a weekend series with two wins over Morrisville State on Feb. 1 and 2. For the game on Feb. 2, The College at Brockport won 5-1 following a four-goal second period. Five players posted a multi-point night. Ethan Solat, Connor Hutchins, Trevor Pray and Shane Visnick all had a goal and an assist each, with Robert Flannery contributing two assists. Matthew Schneider made 10 saves on 11 shots.

Brief History of Lakers and Golden Eagles

This game is the 106th meeting between Oswego State and The College at Brockport. The Lakers now boast a 93-6-6 record over the Golden Eagles following the 5-2 win earlier this season on Nov. 30, 2018. In that game, which was also the Teddy Bear Toss, Devin Campbell scored his first collegiate goal and Josh Zizek sent the teddy bears flying onto the ice. David Richer made 19 saves on 21 shots and Oswego State’s power-play went 3-7.

For The College at Brockport, Hunter Laslo and Danny Rock both scored in the loss against Oswego State. Jake Moore made 22 saves in the game.

The last time The College at Brockport even got a conference point against Oswego State was Nov. 21, 2014, when the game resulted in a 4-4 tie. The Golden Eagle’s last win against the Lakers was on Feb. 5, 2014, when they won 3-2 at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena.

By the Numbers

RECORD (conference) [vs. each other]

OSW: 16-4-1 (7-3-0) [93-6-6]

BPT: 14-6-2 (6-5-2) [6-93-6]

GOALS (per game)

OSW: 88 (4.2)

BPT: 68 (3.1)

SHOTS (per game)

OSW: 654 (31.1)

BPT: 704 (32.0)

POWER PLAY (percentage)

OSW: 28-102 (27.5%)

BPT: 25-126 (19.8%)

Players to Watch

OSW: David Richer

For the first time this season, David Richer was pulled from a game after allowing three quick goals against Buffalo State on Feb. 2. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back from that game. He does have a 2.10 goals against average and a .900 save percentage along with two shutouts all in 15 games this season. Last time against The College at Brockport, he made 19 saves, allowing one goal in the second period and a power-play goal in the third period.

BPT: Connor Hutchins

Following a four-point weekend against Morrisville State, Connor Hutchins now leads The College at Brockport with 24 points — nine points ahead of second-place Mitchell Parsons and Ryan Romeo. He also has a team-leading eight goals and team-leading 16 assists on the season. The junior has been held pointless only five games this season and has seven multi-point games. Expect his leadership as a captain and play-style to make a big impact against Oswego State.

Lines

Forwards

No. 93 : Josh LeBlanc | No. 13 : Josh Zizek | No. 28 : Travis Broughman

No. 16 : Michael Gillespie | No. 11 : Anthony Passero | No. 7 : Tanner Spink

No. 8 : Derek Brown | No. 9 : Mitch Emerson | No. 19 : Joseph Molinaro

No. 10 : Cameron Berry | No. 15 : Joey Scorpio | No. 27 : Josh Nenadal

Defense

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

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

No. 21 : Jeff Solow | No. 22 : Chris MacMillan

Extra Skater

No. 24 : Kristoffer Brun

Goaltenders

No. 31 : David Richer

No. 30 : Cedric Hansen

No. 33 : Steven Kozikoski

Scratches: Tyler Antonucci, Charlie Pelnik, A.J. D’Orazio, Jody Sullivan, Michael McArthur, Colton Fletcher, Thomas Horn, Ryan Bunka, Tyson Kirkby

Prediction

Similar to the last time the Lakers took on The College at Brockport, they were coming off a 1-1 weekend when they originally lost to SUNY Fredonia at the Blue Devils’ rink. Now, with the Lakers losing to Buffalo State this past weekend, the Lakers now have four losses this season with No. 2/2 SUNY Geneseo still on the schedule. Devin Campbell said that most teams who make the national tournament have five or less losses, so the Lakers will need to make a strong push both this weekend and the rest of the regular season to keep their national tournament hopes alive.

Max Novick is also a key player to watch after scoring three goals last weekend as a blue-liner — something that will help the offensive production of the Lakers in the long haul — but he needs to make sure his forwards are in front to help screen The College at Brockport’s goaltender, whether it be Matt Schneider, who stands at six-foot-two, or Jake Moore, who is five-foot-eleven.

It is no secret that the Lakers have had great success against The College at Brockport over the years and the last 105 meetings between the two teams, but Oswego State cannot back off with the Golden Eagles going 3-1-1 in their last five games, including a tie against SUNY Fredonia.

Despite the pressure that might be on the Lakers to win this game to go into the game against No. 2/2 SUNY Geneseo strong, they will come out on top for this game. As for a prediction, the Lakers will improve to 17-4-1 (9-4-0 SUNYAC) with a 5-1 win over The College at Brockport.

Photo by: Kyle Hurley | The Oswegonian