In the Oswego State men’s hockey team first NCAA Div. III Tournament appearance since the 2016-2017 season, the Lakers will host Hobart College at the Marano Campus Center.

Last Time Out

Oswego State

The Lakers have not played a game since March 2, when they lost to SUNY Geneseo in the SUNYAC championships 4-3. Jody Sullivan, Josh Zizek and Travis Broughman all scored for the Lakers.

The game was tied at three during the third period following the Broughman goal, but after Mitch Ferguson scored on the power play for his second goal of the night, the Knights were crowned back-to-back champions.

David Richer made 26 saves in net, with the Lakers only threw 19 shots on net.

Hobart College

The Statesmen did not receive a first-round bye and hosted Plymouth State for the play-in round of the NCAA Tournament. Following a physical contest with the Panthers, Hobart College came away with a 2-1 victory.

Julien Denicourt and Alec Robitaille both scored for the Statesmen. Plymouth State scored the first goal of the game during the first period, but Hobart College answered with one goal in the second period and another in the third for the win.

Liam Lascelle only faced 14 shots and stopped 13 of them.

History of Lakers and Statesmen

It seems to be a tradition of at least one game per season between these two teams, and the trend continued this year following the game on Nov. 10. The Lakers won 4-2, propelling them to their third win of the season.

David Richer played in the last game, but the goaltenders for Hobart College most likely will switch compared to the game in November. Alexander Connal played in the previous game, but with consistent play from freshman Lascelle, he could see the starting job for the tournament in tonight’s game.

Beside the most recent game, Oswego State and Hobart College have faced each other since 1979. The Lakers boast a strong record advantage since that year.

These two teams are normally nationally ranked, especially as of late, and could be a top matchup to watch for the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA Tournament History

Oswego State

This is the first time the Lakers have entered the NCAA Tournament since the 2016-2017 season when Oswego State lost to Hamilton College in an upset at the Marano Campus Center. The Continentals won 3-1.

This is the Lakers’ 19th NCAA Tournament Appearance overall. Their last win was against Hobart College during the 2014-2015 season before falling to Adrian College in the next round.

All of the current Lakers have never won a NCAA Tournament game, and 10 of them were on the roster when they fell to the Continentals in 2017.

Hobart College

The game against Oswego State will be Hobart College’s ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in its history. The Statesmen’s last NCAA Tournament game was during the 2017-2018 when they fell to SUNY Geneseo 4-2 in Geneva.

Hobart College has now had five straight NCAA Tournament appearances, but its last tournament win was during the 2008-2009 season. It defeated Nichols College 3-0 and Amherst University 2-1 in overtime before falling to Neumann University.

By the Numbers

RECORD (conference) [vs. each other] {last five NCAA Tournament games}

OSW: 19-6-2 (11-4-1 SUNYAC) [37-5-3] {2-3-0}

HOB: 20-7-2 (11-5-2 NEHC) [5-37-3] {1-4-0}

GOALS (per game) [last five games vs. each other] {last five NCAA Tournament games}

OSW: 105 (3.9) [19 / 3.8] {10 / 2.0]

HOB: 115 (4.0) [10 / 5.0] {8 / 1.6}

SHOTS (per game) [last five games vs. each other] {last five NCAA Tournament games}

OSW: 814 (30.1) [165 / 33.0] {183 / 36.6}

HOB: 1,176 (40.6) [150 / 30.0] {197 / 39.4}

POWER PLAY (percentage) [last four games vs. each other] {last five NCAA Tournament games}

OSW: 31-119 (26.1%) [3-11 / 27.3%] {3-11 / 27.3%}

HOB: 22-136 (16.2%) [2-7 / 28.5%] {0-16 / 0.0%}

Lines (provided by Oswego State / Hobart College athletics)

Oswego State

Forwards

Jody Sullivan – Josh Zizek – Michael Gillespie

Tanner Spink – Anthony Passero – Travis Broughman

Derek Brown – Mitch Emerson – Tyson Kirkby

Joseph Molinaro – Joey Scorpio – Josh Nenadal

Defense

Devin Campbell – Max Novick

Tyler Currie – Carter Allen

Jeff Solow – Charlie Pelnik

Goalies

David Richer (starter) – Cedric Hansen (back-up) – Steven Kozikoski

Extra Skater

Cameron Berry

Hobart College

Forwards

Jonas Toupal – Zach Sternbach – Ryan Lynch

Aaron Maguyon – Travis Schneider – Zach Tyson

Alec Robitaille – P.A. Martineau – Dan Sliney

Mark Benemerito – Will Harrison – Lawson MacDougall

Defense

Julien Denicourt – Tanner Shaw

T.J. Schultz – Jack Macnee

Mike Faulkner – Matt Pizzo

Extra Skater

Blake Coffey

Goalies

Liam Lascelle (starter) – Alexander Connal (back-up) – Joe Halstrom

Prediction

There is a lot of pressure on both sides, and it all comes with the result of the game: whoever loses will be sent home and their season will be done. Both teams are pretty similar statistically, and could result in one of the better matchups of the NCAA Div. III Tournament.

For the quarterfinals, Oswego State has the advantage of home-ice. But, the positive for Hobart College is that Geneva is not that far away from Oswego, about an hour and a half.

The Lakers are able to roll all four lines equally throughout the game, and with new lines during the game against the Statesmen, including Jody Sullivan on the first line and Joseph Molinaro on the fourth, it could be interesting to see the chemistry between the lines.

Oswego State’s penalty kill has been improving all season long, even though it did not look great against a top power-play in SUNY Geneseo. But, even though it could be considered a stretch, Hobart College has not scored a power play goal in its last five NCAA Tournament games. Better yet, the Statesmen have not scored in their last 36 power play opportunities in the NCAA Tournament, spanning back to at least the 2007-2008 season. No power play stats have been shown for the 2005-2006 season in the Statesmen’s NCAA appearance.

Oswego State has not scored on the power play since the playoff game against Plattsburgh State, but a goal on the man advantage could be the difference maker.

David Richer will want to bounce back from a weaker game against SUNY Geneseo, allowing two goals on the power play from the point – a shot that a goaltender has 99 percent of the time.

One of the bigger keys might be the fact that the Lakers have not played for a couple weeks, compared to Hobart College’s one week of practice. But, asst. coach Mark Digby did say for the last two weeks the practices have been very intense for the Lakers in preparation for the game.

As for a prediction, Oswego State will advance to the Frozen Four after a 5-2 win over the Statesmen with an empty-net goal to seal the win.