The Marano Campus Center had a different look to it. NCAA banners all around; a stand selling NCAA Quarterfinals T-shirts and hats; the scoreboard showed the NCAA logo on its screen instead of the normal Oswego State logo.

But, the rink still had the same atmosphere. A couple thousand fans cheering on either the Lakers or the visiting Hobart College Statesmen; the same jeers and cheers the now-smaller student section brought during the entire game; the few fans who stood along the entrance to the rink to give high fives and fist bumps to the Lakers as they entered the ice.

But, after shaking hands with the other team and consoling hugs between teammates and coaches, some of those players walked through the tunnel one final time, still being cheered on by the Laker faithful. It did not matter what the score was on the scoreboard.

For the three seniors who played – Devin Campbell, Cameron Berry and Josh Nenadal – the walk through the tunnel to the dressing room after receiving high-fives was their final time in the tunnel wearing the Oswego State logo after the Lakers fell 3-2 to Hobart College in the NCAA Div. III Quarterfinals, marking the end of the 2018-2019 season.

“What was going through my head was bittersweet,” Campbell said. “As much as this sucks, it’s been a heck of a ride.”

Oswego State never led in the game after allowing the first goal of the game off a breakaway 15 minutes into the first period. Lawson Macdougall was able to get past Campbell and deke around the pads of David Richer.

“He had a lot of speed and I couldn’t really catch up to him,” Campbell said. “It was a good goal. There’s nothing we could do about that one. It was just an unlucky break.”

While the Lakers scored quickly following a Joseph Molinaro goal, the first period ended in a tie. The Statesmen scored two more goals — one, a shorthanded breakaway and the other a power-play goal.

Travis Broughman scored the other Laker goal with 11 seconds left in the contest.

Both Campbell and Berry, along with head coach Ed Gosek, said that goaltender David Richer is one of the hardest working guys on the team and puts a lot of pressure on himself to help the team as much as he can. None of them blamed the goals on Richer.

“There’s five other guys on the ice before it gets to Richer and he’s not the one to blame on any of those,” Berry said. “We have all the faith in the world that he can make all those saves. It’s not always on him. It’s on us too.”

But for Richer, who is only a junior and potentially has another year to bounce back from a tough couple of weekends between Hobart College and SUNY Geneseo, he said he felt he could have played better.

“As a goalie you can’t make any mistakes, and I made three tonight. That’s what cost us the game,” Richer said. “I could’ve done better. I’m not proud of the way I played at all.”

Scoring has been a problem the last couple seasons for the Lakers when it came down to the heart of things. During the 2016-2017 season, in the NCAA Tournament, the Lakers fell to Hamilton College 3-1 ending that year. Last season, Oswego State was shutout by SUNY Potsdam and Plattsburgh State before only scoring once in the SUNYAC semifinals.

Gosek said that the defense played well, but the offense is the more crucial part while trying to convert on the opportunities the team receives.

“With our team defense, they had a few heavy shifts, but I thought we kept [Hobart] to the perimeter,” Gosek said.

With the win, Hobart College now advances to the Frozen Four which will be hosted by Wisconsin-Steven’s Point on March 22 and 23. The Statesmen will face Wisconsin-Steven’s Point in the semifinals. The other matchup will be SUNY Geneseo and Norwich University.

But for Oswego State, the 2018-2019 season comes to an end. Different community members hugged while saying, “See you next season,” at the same time the seniors were consoled on the ice by the Oswego State ship wheel logo.

Gosek said he is proud of the senior class and how they represented the team both in school and in the community.

“They deserved better. But, life goes on,” Gosek said. “As much as it hurts and you don’t want the season to end, they overcame a lot of adversities not just through the hockey but to make themselves better people throughout the course of the year.”

Campbell and Berry said they both love Oswego State and the memories that it brought them, both on and off the ice. While Campbell has only been here two-and-a-half years compared to Berry’s four, the sacrifices and strides both players made do not matter.

“For me to come here was a big step. I never thought in a million years I would do it,” Campbell said. “When I finally got here, I was scared. Then, through two and a half years here, I’ve come to just love this place.”

But for Berry especially, who started his senior year injured, it is the community and crowd that make the difference while playing for the Lakers.

And when he saw the fans above the tunnel for one last time, he remembered why he committed to Oswego State in the first place and what makes a small Div. III hockey team in Oswego, New York, one of the most unique and special places to play.

“I came to Oswego because I wanted hockey to matter,” Berry said. “You look around and it definitely does matter. I’m grateful for it.”

Photo: Alexis Fragapane | The Oswegonian