The last time the Oswego State men’s hockey team defeated Plattsburgh State in the playoffs, David Titanic was the captain of the Lakers. Current captain Devin Campbell was still with the Carleton Place Canadians of the CCHL.

After the win, Oswego State went on to NCAA tournament semifinalist after falling to Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the Div. III tournament.

For the first time since 2014, the Lakers defeated Plattsburgh State in the playoffs 3-2 at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena on Saturday night.

The win sends Oswego State to the SUNYAC Championship game on March 2 for their first appearance in the championship game since the 2016-2017 season.

Oswego State will battle SUNY Geneseo, who defeated SUNY Fredonia 5-2 on Feb. 23 in the other SUNYAC semifinal, for the league crown at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena in Geneseo.

“I think the fans got their money’s worth. It was an exciting college hockey game,” head coach Ed Gosek said. “You have to find a way. It’s not always going to be pretty. I think tonight was one of those games.”

Jody Sullivan, shorthanded, and Josh Zizek, on the power play, both scored for the Lakers’ special teams units. Overall, the Lakers went 1-3 on the power play and went 4-5 on the penalty kill.

Zizek’s goal came after a scrum in front of the net and had a wide-open net to shoot at following a pass from Travis Broughman. Michael Gillespie had the secondary assist. His goal was the second of the game.

“…all I saw was the open net,” Zizek said. “I had a couple seconds to settle it down and throw it in. It was a great play.”

Joseph Molinaro, assisted by Anthony Passero, was the third goal for Oswego State after a Plattsburgh State miscommunication. Molinaro and Passero had a two-on-zero opportunity, leaving them alone with Cardinals’ goalie Jimmy Poreda.

All of the Cardinal skaters were at the bench while Passero and Molinaro skated in going back and forth, shifting Poreda across his crease.

The biggest question for Oswego State, however, was how it would respond in this game. The Lakers lost to Plattsburgh State on Feb. 17 with no game in between at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.

The Cardinals had the game on Wednesday against The College at Brockport for the SUNYAC’s first round to reach the semifinals.

Gosek said the team had a couple days off to “recharge” for the weekend and had a “fun week of practice.”

“Last Saturday we got off to a slow start, I thought we played solid in the second and third periods last weekend, we were just chasing the scoreboard,” Gosek said. “Tonight, I thought we stuck with our approach throughout the game for 60 minutes.”

David Richer made 23 saves during the game, including 10 in the third period. Oswego State threw 25 shots at Poreda, who stopped 22 of them.

But now, the focus turns to SUNY Geneseo for the championship game. During the regular season, the Ice Knights finished with a 22-1-2 (13-1-2 SUNYAC) record. Their lone loss in conference came to Plattsburgh State, and one of its two ties came to Oswego State.

At SUNY Geneseo’s rink, the Lakers lost 3-0 while the two teams tied 4-4 when at the MCC Ice Arena.

“We gained a lot of confidence last time we played them,” Gosek said. “I don’t want to say we have play a perfect game, but we have to play an intelligent game.”

The Ice Knights, coming into the game, were ranked No. 2/2 in both major polls, while the Lakers were ranked No. 5/5.

For Campbell, he now has to wait a week for the finals. He said all season the team has had to look at the standings and see SUNY Geneseo on top, but now the teams are on “even terms.”

“It’s been annoying hearing about the hype,” Campbell said. “They had a great year, but we’re going to be on even terms here next weekend. We’re going to take it to them.”

But for Gosek, who just beat a close friend in Plattsburgh State head coach Bob Emery for the first time in the playoffs since 2014, Gosek is taking in the entire rivalry.

While the team has to focus on the game against SUNY Geneseo, he made sure to emphasize the team will be enjoying the night following the win over the Cardinals: one of the best rivalries in Div. III hockey.

“You go back to Romney days, and you go back to Stafford before it was renovated, and the bagels and the tennis balls … there’s an awesome tradition,” Gosek said. “To get the win against them tonight, move on to the finals, it’s an awesome feeling. More importantly, happy for the guys being rewarded for all their work and effort throughout the year.”