When the Oswego State men’s hockey team fell to SUNY Fredonia in the SUNYAC semifinals last season, former captain Mitchell Herlihey was uncertain if that game would be the last of his collegiate career.

The team’s fate was left to the hands of the NCAA Div. III selection committee. The Lakers looked like they would receive at least an at-large bid in the tournament. But the committee decided to give the bid to Marian University, and Herlihey’s career was over.

This season, with Devin Campbell as the captain, after losing to SUNY Geneseo in the SUNYAC championship, Campbell knew that this game would not be his last. 

Oswego State was the No. 5 team in the PairWise and was the second at-large bid. Wisconsin-Stevens Point University gained the first at-large bid, as its conference champion does not receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

“Usually, your last game, there’s uncertainty on whether or not you’re going to move on, if you’ll receive one of [the at-large bids],” head coach Ed Gosek said. “With the PairWise, we were pretty confident after the game that we could openly discuss that it wasn’t Devin’s and our other seniors’ last game.”

But before the Lakers even hit the ice for the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, they must wait to find out who their opponent will be. On March 16, Oswego State will face the winner of the Hobart College and Plymouth State game who play in Geneva on March 9.

The Lakers have played Hobart College once this season but have not seen Plymouth State since the lone game between the two teams in 2012. Against the Statesmen this season, Oswego State won 4-2 on Nov. 9 at the Marano Campus Center.

“Obviously, you want to know who you’re playing to direct your systems and everything to it, to understand power play, penalty kill, what they’re trying to do on the forecheck, all of that,” Campbell said. “I think this week is more of a rehabilitation week, I guess you could say, trying to get everything back on track, back together and playing the way we know we can play.”

During this week with no game on the weekend, Gosek said the team has to focus on the mistakes it made during the game against SUNY Geneseo and improving on all aspects of the game, playing a complete, 200-foot game.

For assistant captain Josh Zizek, who is a key cog in both the five-on-five offense and on the power play, fixing the little things on the offense is what will help the team in the NCAA tournament.

“It’s little things. It’s those things that make or break a season,” Zizek said. “We’ve talked about it as lines with coaching, we just got to stick with what we’ve been doing. There’s no need to panic and veer away from it.”

Gosek said he was pleased with how the defense and goaltending played against the Knights in the league championship, highlighting the third defensive pairing. He said Charlie Pelnik and Jeff Solow, who have become a mainstay on that pairing, have shown consistency all season long, creating chemistry and now complementing each other well.

“It’s nice to see Charlie, especially, all season long, his confidence level and understanding the role he needs to play … That trust in one another, understanding in one another, where they’re going to be, how they need to play,” Gosek said.

Despite giving up four goals in the contest against SUNY Geneseo, David Richer also had a strong outing. The first SUNY Geneseo goal, along with the game-winning goal, were both off the stick of Mitch Ferguson on the power play. Ferguson took a wrist shot from the offensive blue line while Richer was screened, leading to both goals.

Richer said he just wants to “turn the page” on what happened and keep the momentum of his strong play going into the national tournament.

“It’s a wrist shot from the blue line. It’s a shot that I should have 100 percent of the time,” Richer said. “I’m still upset, but one thing’s for sure. It’s not going to happen again.”

After receiving the first-round bye and home-ice advantage for the quarterfinal round, the team is looking to gain its energy from the 3,000 fans in the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena. 

There have already been some big games in the arena this season, such as the Whiteout game against Plattsburgh State, the senior night tie against SUNY Geneseo and the SUNYAC semifinal against the Cardinals. But Campbell said the crowd really boosts the energy of the team and the playoff crowd is completely different.

“It’s hard not to have a smile on your face and really enjoy the game when you have all the hometown support,” Campbell said.

Richer is hoping for the same type of atmosphere but in a completely different sense. During a press conference on March 5, Richer knew exactly what he wanted from the crowd.

“Whiteout No. 3,” Richer said.

Photo by: Kyle Kurley | The Oswegonian