To start its final regular season weekend in the north country, the No. 3/3 Oswego State men’s hockey team will travel to SUNY Potsdam to start the final stretch to clinch the second seed in the SUNYAC playoffs and avoid the play-in round. The Lakers are 17-4-2 (10-3-1 SUNYAC), while the Bears are eliminated from the SUNYACs with a 7-15-1 (3-10-1 SUNYAC).

Travis Broughman has been suspended for the game following the five-minute major interference call against SUNY Geneseo. The suspension came from the SUNYAC following the game. Oswego State will also see Robert Clerc for the first time since the freshman left the program and transferred to the Bears during the winter break.

Last Time Out

Oswego State

The Lakers had one of their bigger weekends facing The College at Brockport, and No. 2/2 SUNY Geneseo, who is No. 1 in the SUNYAC. Oswego State shutout the Golden Eagles 3-0, with David Richer stopping all 35 shots he faced. The shutout was his third of the season, and fifth of his career. Throughout the weekend, including the 4-4 tie against the Ice Knights, Travis Broughman registered three goals and an assist. Two of the goals came during the first period against SUNY Geneseo. Joseph Molinaro also had a four-point weekend with two goals and two assists.

Oswego State’s special teams had a strong weekend, as well. Despite being shutout on the power play against The College at Brockport, the penalty kill went 4-4. Against SUNY Geneseo, the Lakers only had one power play opportunity that it did not convert on. But, short-handed, the Lakers killed two of four penalties and scored one shorthanded goal.

SUNY Potsdam

After last weekend, the Bears are now on a two-game losing streak, following a 4-3 loss to SUNY Fredonia and a 3-2 overtime loss to Buffalo State. Devin Panzeca led all scorers with three assists during the weekend. Bryce Ferrell (1g, 1a) and Mike Sweeney (2a) both had multi-point weekends as well. Nate Skidmore played in both games, registering 55 saves during the weekend. He made 16 saves in the first period alone against SUNY Fredonia.

Against Buffalo State, the Bears’ power play went 0-2, but killed the one penalty they committed. During the SUNY Fredonia game, the power play went 2-6 and went 2-3 on the penalty kill.

Brief History of Lakers vs. Bears

Since the inaugural game between the Lakers and Bears, the Lakers boast a 70-29-2 record. In the last meeting between the two teams, on Dec. 7, 2017, Oswego State won at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena by a score of 5-2. Josh Zizek had a hat trick and also added an assist, while Michael Gillespie had a goal and three assists during the game. Max Novick also had a multi-point night registering a goal and two assists. Tyler Young and Brett Horn were the goal scorers for the Bears. Cedric Hansen was in net for the Lakers, allowing two goals on 17 shots, while Nate Skidmore allowed five on 31 for the Bears. Oswego State’s power play went 2-3, while SUNY Potsdam’s went 2-4.

In the last five games, Oswego State is 4-1-0 against SUNY Potsdam. At the Maxcy Ice Arena, the Laker still hold the advantage with a 34-16-0 record while traveling to the Bears. The last time the Bears won on their own ice was on Feb. 6, 2016, when they beat the Lakers 2-1.

By the Numbers

RECORD (conference) [vs. each other / at Potsdam]

OSW: 17-4-2 (10-3-1) [70-29-2 / 34-16-0]

POT: 7-15-1 (3-10-1) [29-70-2 / 16-34-0]

GOALS (per game) [vs. each other last time]

OSW: 95 (4.1) [5]

POT: 68 (3.0) [2]

SHOTS (per game) [vs. each other last time]

OSW: 704 (30.6) [31]

POT: 686 (29.8) [19]

POWER PLAY (percentage) [vs. each other last time]

OSW: 28-108 (25.9%) [2-3 / 66.7%]

POT: 21-90 (23.3%) [2-4 / 50.0%]

Players to Watch

Oswego State: Joseph Molinaro

Once again, Joseph Molinaro has been on a little bit of a hot-streak, following the four-point weekend last weekend against The College at Brockport and SUNY Geneseo. He is now third on the team with 21 points (13g, 8a). With his three-point game against the Golden Eagles, Molinaro now has six multi-point games this season. Despite now registering a point in the first four games of the season, he is currently on a five-game point streak. In those five games, he has 10 points (5g, 5a). Expect Molinaro to be strong in this game as the Lakers make one final push to clinch that second seed in the SUNYAC, despite being held pointless last time the Lakers faced the Bears.

SUNY Potsdam: Robert Clerc

Robert Clerc did not play a single game during the first half of his freshman year with Oswego State, and then decided to transfer to SUNY Potsdam where he has played six games and registered four points (3g, 1a). Despite not being one the highest scoring players on the team, Clerc will still be a player to watch as he faces the team that originally recruited him for the first time, and at the Maxcy Ice Arena. A lot of what he will be watched for is his mental state going into the game, knowing it is his former team.

Lines (provided by Oswego State athletics)

Forwards

No. 93 : Josh LeBlanc | No. 13 : Josh Zizek | No. 26 : Thomas Horn

No. 7 : Tanner Spink | No. 11 : Anthony Passero | No. 91 : Tyson Kirkby

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

No. 14 : Jody Sullivan | No. 10 : Cameron Berry | 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. 25 : Colton Fletcher

Goaltenders

No. 31 : David Richer

No. 30 : Cedric Hansen

No. 33 : Steven Kozikoski

Scratches: Tyler Antonucci, Charlie Pelnik, A.J. D’Orazio, Joey Scorpio, Michael Gillespie, Michael McArthur, Kristoffer Brun, Travis Broughman, Ryan Bunka

Prediction

Oswego State has a strong advantage in this game, having tied No. 2/2 SUNY Geneseo and shutting out The College at Brockport, following a high-scoring loss against Buffalo State the weekend before. SUNY Potsdam, however, has a chip on its shoulder with nothing to lose since the Bears have been officially eliminated from the SUNYAC playoffs. Oswego State will be fighting for the second seed in order to avoid the play-in round and play the highest of the remaining seeds during the semifinal round.

Even though Travis Broughman is suspended for this game and will return Saturday, the Lakers will still be missing a valuable piece to their typical line of Tanner Spink, Anthony Passero and Broughman. Michael Gillespie will also not be in the game following the knee injury he aggravated during the game at The College at Brockport. He was seen with crutches on Saturday against SUNY Geneseo and was rumored to potentially be back in against the Bears, but the decision was made throughout the week that he would rest for at least one more game.

Joseph Molinaro, now on a five-game point streak, will most likely be relied on heavily again, looking to silence any potential Bears.

David Richer will be starting his fourth straight game against the Bears tonight. It is under question if he will play tomorrow at Plattsburgh State, or if he will be rested before the SUNYACs begin.

Despite SUNY Potsdam’s potential physical play to “leave it all on the ice,” Oswego State will most likely be able to take this one and head into the game against Plattsburgh State with a little bit of momentum and a better chance at clinching that second seed.

For a prediction, Oswego State will improve to 18-4-1 (11-3-1 SUNYAC) with a 4-1 win (the fourth goal will be an empty-netter) over SUNY Potsdam in its final regular season weekend.