Mikaela Ditonto stood in the hallway first in line, ready to skate to the goal crease before starting lineups were announced. Victoria Rankin was not far behind, skated to the right side of the goal. Both seniors were in the starting lineup for their last regular season game at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena.

Their opening moments did not last long. Rankin only a couple minutes on the first line before her shift ended, while Ditonto played the opening three minutes before being replaced by Rachael Farmer during a stoppage in play. The standing ovation for Ditonto, which included a large group of SAVAC personnel that had signs that spelled out “DITONTO,” was not silenced easily.

Rankin, who has been with the team for three years, had her parents fly out from Yellowknife, Northwestern Territory, Canada, which is more than a 12-hour flight to Oswego. Ditonto, a four-year Laker, had family from hometown Orchard Park, only a two-and-a-half hour drive.

Better yet, the seniors closed out their regular season career at home with a 4-1 win over SUNY Potsdam, thrusting the team into a fight for the second seed in the NEWHL.

“I don’t want to say it, it sounds like they’re pets, but they’re locker room favorites,” head coach Diane Dillon said. “I’m really happy for them. They’re both incredible people.”

The Lakers snapped a four-game losing streak following the win over SUNY Potsdam, while the Bears continue to fall and have now lost four straight. Before the game today, coming into the week, Oswego State, depending on how it played this weekend, could be fighting to even get in the playoffs, or chasing after the second seed for the playoffs, giving the Lakers the chance to host a playoff game for the first time since the 2014-2015 season when they were in the ECAC West.

Dillon said she thought all four offensive lines were effective against SUNY Potsdam and that the team stuck to the game plan for the entire game.

“It was nice to see that they brought a solid team effort and the hard work paid off, especially on senior night,” Dillon said. “For a young team, it’s important to have that success and have a little bit of momentum going into tomorrow and into the playoffs.”

Oswego State had four different goal scorers. Ten players in total registered a point. Sara Cruise opened up the scoring only 23 seconds into the second period for her team-leading sixth goal of the season after a breakaway and a backhanded shot that went next to the right shoulder of Samantha White into the back of the net. Eryn Stewart also added her sixth goal only six minutes later for a 2-0 lead. Her goal came after she got in the ice from the bench and had a breakaway behind the Bears’ defense.

“Sara is fast. That kid is fast. It’s nice to see that energy,” Dillon said. “She got the puck in motion today instead of standing still or coming back into our zone facing our defense. That was really the difference.”

Katelynn Ferguson and Leah Czerwinski were the other two goal scorers in the game for the Lakers. Rylie Murray was the lone goal scorer for the Bears. Oswego State’s four goals are the most it has scored since Jan. 15, when it netted five against Plymouth State.

“We’re just not getting the offensive production,” Dillon said. “So to be able to pop a few up on the board and let our goalies just take a deep breath is really helpful.”

The defense only allowed 19 shots that Rachael Farmer had to stop. The junior stopped 18 of them. She allowed one on the power play. During the four-game skid, the Lakers allowed 12 goals. Despite being strong in the first half of the season, Dillon said the blue liners had struggled in recent games. During practices, Dillon said they focused on defensive zone fundamentals.

“We’ve been showing video of the mistakes we’re making and people were scoring right over top of us,” Dillon said. “So it was nice them have a better effort today.”

Oswego State was able to take advantage of SUNY Potsdam’s lacking bench players. The Bears only rolled three offensive lines and two defensive lines. One of the defensemen is normally a forward. Dillon said the Lakers were able to make plays while the Bears had some slower changes, making sure the pace was in Oswego State’s favor.

“They were having trouble changing, especially in the first and second,” Dillon said. “They just didn’t have the legs that we did. It certainly worked to our advantage.”

Now, the team has to focus on traveling to SUNY Potsdam on Saturday to attempt the sweep against the Bears for a better chance at the second seed in the NEWHL. If Oswego State does sweep SUNY Potsdam, the seeding will be determined following the SUNY Potsdam and Buffalo State game on Sunday.

Heading into Saturday’s matchup, the Bears and Lakers have a 1-1-1 season record against each other. Oswego State and SUNY Potsdam both have 12 points in the conference, with Oswego State having one more game played than SUNY Potsdam. If there is a tie in points, the head-to-head record will determine who will get the higher seeding.

For the Lakers, the mindset remains the same: stick to the game plan and maintaining offensive zone time.

“With a shorter bench on their end, we want pucks in deep,” Dillon said. “Our forecheck is one of our strongest elements, so getting that set up, we’re generating offense off of that.”

As the players, including Rankin and Ditonto, left the locker room to celebrate the win with friends and family, Dillon was equally as happy about the win. And when she walked into the office to close up shop for the night, there was one thing that might have been just a little more important than senior night.

“Finally a W,” Dillon said.