Oswego State hits the road to begin the NEWHL playoffs with a semifinals matchup with No. 2/3 Plattsburgh State. The Lakers represent the fourth seed in the NEWHL, while the Cardinals are the first seed.

If Oswego State wants to keep its season alive, they will have to do something that no NEWHL team has done this year: beat Plattsburgh State. The Cardinals are 16-0 in league play and it has not even been close. The Cardinals have outscored their NEWHL opponents 96-6. Even tougher, Plattsburgh State is 12-0 at home inside the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. Furthermore, the Cardinals have not won a game by less than four goals in NEWHL play. They have dominated the league to this point.

On the other side, Oswego State enters play on a bit of a slide. The Lakers have lost five of their last six games heading into this afternoon’s matchup and are once again looking for answers on the offensive end. Their last loss to SUNY Potsdam was the fourth time the Lakers have been shutout this season, something they cannot afford today. Oswego State will have to play a perfect game this afternoon if they wish to pull the first round upset.

Last Time Out

Oswego State

The Lakers lost a 1-0 road heartbreaker against SUNY Potsdam. The game followed a 4-1 emotionally charged win over SUNY Potsdam on senior night where it looked like the Lakers were going in the right direction. The loss pushed the Lakers from the two seed in the NEWHL playoffs all the way down to the four seed and a matchup with Plattsburgh State.

In the 1-0 loss, Oswego State won the shot battle and dominated in the face-off circle, but still were unable to get any shots past Bears’ goalie Alexa Pfeiffer. The seven penalties committed by the Lakers left them short a man at several key moments, including a third-period tripping call on Philomena Teggart that resulted in the lone SUNY Potsdam goal.

After a promising 5-0-1 start to the regular season, the Lakers find themselves on the ropes of elimination against one of the nation’s best.

Plattsburgh State

Plattsburgh State had a bit of an unusual last game of the season. They played against a non-league opponent in No. 10 Middlebury College, a makeup from a canceled game in early February. The game was played just four days ago, one last tune-up before the NEWHL playoffs. The Cardinals won 3-1 with goals from Kaitlin Drew-Mead, Abby Brush, and Annie Katonka. The win was Plattsburgh State’s 12th in a row heading into Saturday’s matchup.

By The Numbers

Record (Conference)

OSW: 10-12-3 (5-9-2)

PLA: 23-2-0 (16-0-0)

Goals (Per Game)

OSW: 50 (2.0)

PLA: 125 (5.0)

Shots (Per Game)

OSW: 742 (29.7)

PLA: 1,168 (46.7)

Power Play (Percentage)

OSW: 6-95 (6.3%)

PLA: 29-108 (26.9%)

Keys to the Game

Oswego State

The Lakers need to avoid penalty box. Coach Dillon stressed during the week that the game becomes much easier against Plattsburgh State when it is played five-on-five. Plattsburgh State’s power-play unit is among the best in the nation, ranking third in goals and fourth in percentage. The seven penalties the Lakers committed last game will not fly against Plattsburgh State. If they want to pull an upset, they’ll have to stay disciplined.

Plattsburgh State

The Cardinals have to come out and score first. As a heavy favorite, the worst thing they could do is to allow Oswego State to have early momentum. With all the offensive firepower that Plattsburgh State has, they should look to put the pressure on early and often. Not to mention their speed has helped them draw 108 penalties this season. Scoring early is huge is combating a team in Oswego State that has nothing to lose.

Players to Watch

OSW: Eryn Stewart

Stewart leads the Lakers in points (15), assists (9) and is tied for first in goals (6). However, she has been quiet lately with just one point in her last ten games. As a junior, Stewart is one of the few upper-class leaders on this young Laker squad. They wil look to her to try and create some type of scoring chances this afternoon against a tough Plattsburgh State defense.

PLA: Taylor Whitney

One of the biggest tests in any playoff game is seeing how the freshman react to the moment. Whitney has not shown many nerves at all this season, tallying 10 goals and 13 assists during a stellar freshman year. With a whole slew of offensive talent to choose from, Whitney is already a leader in her first year. She could have a big impact this afternoon.

Final Thoughts

The Lakers understand they are the underdog going into today’s matchup, but they have embraced that. Pulling an upset would require playing a highly disciplined game, strong goalie play, a couple of nice bounces and scoring early. Scoring first may be the biggest key for Oswego State shocking the NEWHL playoff bracket. On the other side, Plattsburgh State wants to score early and often to stifle any chance of being knocked out in the first round.

Once again, the starting goaltender is to be determined for Oswego State. Rachael Farmer played the majority of both games against SUNY Potsdam, but Cassie Shokar started the three previous games. The person in-between the pipes will be huge, as the Cardinals come in shooting 46.7 shots per game.

The good news for the Lakers is that they have nothing to lose. They can play loose and fast because many people are not giving them a chance to win. That loose playstyle can be dangerous for any opponent. Not to mention, Oswego State has done it before. In the Cardinals’ 2016-17 national championship run, they went 28-1-1. That one loss came 3-2 at home against the Lakers.

Oswego State will look to cook up some more of that magic once again this afternoon.