Oswego State will not have much time to acclimate to the new season before their schedule really picks up.

In just the second weekend of the regular season, the Lakers will face off against their biggest rival, Plattsburgh State. The Cardinals do not have much time to prepare either, as they face just two SUNYAC opponents before traveling to the Marano Campus Ice Arena in their first road game of the season.

Oswego State head coach Ed Gosek will not see a familiar face on the opposing bench Nov. 8, as former Plattsburgh State head coach, Bob Emery, retired after 30 seasons. Gosek considers Emery to be a great friend and knows the Laker faithful will miss him, despite the “hatred.”

“Our fans loved to hate him. You heard me say many times, I don’t think hate’s the right word. They dislike him for a reason: because they’ve won a lot of games,” Gosek said “His teams are always well prepared … there’s a reason why they won as many championships as they did. They’re usually the most disciplined team in our league. He was a very good coach.”

Emery focused his coaching and team philosophy around defense, emphasizing the cliché of defense wins championships. The Cardinals’ scoring numbers were a bit misleading, as they played a very difficult nonconference schedule. In those games, the Cardinals scored just 1.38 per game compared to their conference average of 3.12.

Emery’s replacement will be his former assistant coach of 13 years, Steve Moffat. Moffat is a strong recruiter who has brought in 13 All-Americans and a SUNYAC Player of the Year. With three seasons as head coach with Castleton University, there will not be much of an adjusting period needed for Moffat.

The Lakers will not have much time to breathe after Whiteout Weekend, as they have a two-week revenge tour. After hosting The College at Brockport on Nov. 15, Oswego State travels to SUNY Geneseo to face the Knights on Nov. 16, the same team that handed the Lakers a loss in the 2019 SUNYAC Championship. The next weekend, Oswego State will face Hobart College who ended the Lakers season at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena in stunning fashion.

SUNY Geneseo is still as dynamic as it was last season, but has some holes to fill. Div. III Player of the Year Devin McDonald graduated after posting a .951 save percentage. His replacement is expected to be junior Aaron MacKay who has only played five games in his two seasons. Last year, he recorded a 2-0 record with a save percentage of .926. Mackay will only have five chances to get in game action before taking on the Lakers, something Oswego State could take advantage of if he has not adjusted to the starting role. Despite the absence of McDonald, the Lakers recognize SUNY Geneseo as a threat to their SUNYAC champion aspirations.

“We’ve got to bring our best. If we don’t bring our best, you can’t beat anybody. We have the best conference in college hockey,” alternate captain Anthony Passero said. “He was a great goalie, but there are six or seven of those in our conference.”

Offensively, the Knights look to be tremendous, returning Andrew Romano and Conlon Keenan who combined for 100 points in 56 games.

As for Hobart College, they return most of their scoring as well. Six players graduated and will not return to the roster, including leading scorer Jonas Toupal. To combat this, the Statesmen are flush with young talent like leading goal scorer Travis Schneider, who scored 16 goals as a sophomore. The team returns 80% of their goals from 2018-19. In terms of goaltending, Liam Lascelle returns between the pipes as a sophomore. He played extremely well in the quarterfinals contest, making 26 saves on 28 shots, arguably keeping Hobart College in the game until they managed to pull away in the second period.

At the turn of the calendar, Oswego State will host the Pathfinder Bank Hockey Classic, where Saint Mary’s University, Williams College and University of New England will visit Oswego State.

Saint Mary’s University has struggled the last several seasons, as they have not held a record above .500 since 2016-17. University of New England is coming off its second straight NCAA Championship appearance, as they lost in the quarterfinals to the Norwich University Cadets 2-1 in overtime. The University of New England is upperclassmen-heavy, with 15 juniors and seniors. Williams College was ranked at some point last season but slowed down at the end of the year, dropping three of its last five games.

The second half of the season is highlighted by the north country trip on Jan. 30-Feb. 1. SUNY Geneseo returns to Oswego on Feb. 7.

Graphic by Patrick Higgins | The Oswegonian