A “large senior class” is typically six or seven players, according to Oswego State head coach Ed Gosek.

During the 2017-2018 season, the Lakers only graduated three players. The next season, there were only four seniors.

Entering the 2019-2020 season, Oswego State returns to the same situation it had during the 2016-2017 season: a senior class that is double what Gosek considers “large” with 13 seniors.

“To have [13], extremely large, I don’t look at it as a negative,” Gosek said. “We’re not worried about next year. All we’re worried about is this year.”

Even when there were only four seniors last year, the looming question was how Oswego State was going to be able to replace Devin Campbell, who was the captain during the 2018-2019 season and a two-time SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Year.

During the preseason press conference, Gosek said every year there is always a void the team needs to fill, whether it be Campbell or even replacing players from the 2007 National Championship team.

“It’ll be no different next year when we’re sitting in here and you ask me, ‘How do you replace all the scoring? How do you replace two senior goaltenders? How do you replace the senior defensemen?’” Gosek said. “You work hard to bring in good people. Obviously, they’ve got to be good players, but more importantly, good people that are here for the right reasons.”

This senior class is extremely versatile both on the ice and off the ice.

From players who can find the back of the net almost every game, to those with passes that manage to find the tape of a teammate’s stick without fail and to those who are a mainstay in the defensive zone and block shots, Oswego State seems to have it all within this single class.

Two of the three goaltenders for the Lakers are seniors, with David Richer having a record-breaking season during his sophomore year with a 1.52 goals against average and a .934 save percentage. Cedric Hansen, who served as the backup goaltender last year, played in seven games with a 6-1-0 record and a 1.48 GAA and .920 save percentage.

On the offensive side of the puck, 70 of the team’s 107 goals last season were recorded by this year’s senior class, including Joseph Molinaro who led the team with 15 goals, followed by Josh Zizek who had 13. Anthony Passero led the team in points with 30, with Michael Gillespie not far behind at 26 points.

Three of the four captains are also from this year’s senior class, which include Zizek wearing the ‘C’ and Jody Sullivan and Passero being named alternate captains this season.

“We’re very fortunate to have so many good leaders in there, that, as a coaching staff, it’s not that it limits our role in what we have to do, but it certainly helps us,” assistant coach Jon Whitelaw said.

Passero and Zizek also bring leadership experience to this year’s roster. Zizek was an alternate captain his junior season with Oswego State. Passero was the captain for his junior team, the Fort Erie Meteors, during the 2015-2016 season and an alternate captain during his sophomore season at Buffalo State in 2017-2018.

“Right off the bat, it’s a huge honor,” Passero said. “You’ve got to be on top of things. I think I learned that [at Buffalo State].”

Other seniors have also held leadership roles on previous teams, Whitelaw said.

“When you have [13] seniors, especially the guys that we have in our program year after year, a lot of them have been leaders on other programs,” Whitelaw said.

A large senior class is not something new to the Oswego State program, as it had 12 seniors during the 2016-2017 season and 13 during the 2008-2009 season.

One of the biggest senior classes Gosek has had to replace was the 2012-2013 senior class, with 14 seniors, where Whitelaw was a senior and the captain.

The Lakers also had to replace players like Paul Rodrigues and Luke Moodie, who were both All-Americans during their time at Oswego State.

“This isn’t the first time, especially Ed, has had to go out and recruit a large class,” Whitelaw said. “I know when my group came in, we replaced a group that helped win a national championship. Those were some pretty big shoes to fill.”

With the experiences that Whitelaw had with a large senior class, he said he has been able to help the current senior class with any problems that might arise during the season. At the same time, the senior class has also reached out to him for suggestions and advice for the upcoming season.

“The biggest benefit I have, as a coach, is pulling on my own experiences just because I’ve lived and done it in the same exact fashion that they are in,” Whitelaw said.

Whitelaw also said this year’s senior class has a different mindset. They all know this is their last season at Oswego State, so there has been an increased sense of intensity and a lot more focus.

For some, going to a professional league after playing at Oswego State is typically limited. Most alumni who make the jump to professional hockey after college go to Europe or join smaller leagues, like the Southern Professional Hockey League. Two of last year’s seniors, Josh Nenadal and Campbell, both play in the SPHL.

“It’s their last chance to play for [their] school, [and they] play for different reasons than the guys who will move on and play after here,” Gosek said.

The senior class also knows what is at stake, and Whitelaw remembers it all too well, even though it was almost six years ago since he last played for the Lakers. His last game was in March of 2016 in the NCAA Championship game where he fell to University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire.

“You can tell the tone this year, whether it’s workouts, practice, meetings, video sessions, it just seems like everybody’s a little more dialed in,” Whitelaw said. “A lot of that plays into the fact that, having such a large senior group and older group, that they realize this is their last shot.”

Photos by: Casey Stone, William Rogers and Alexis Fragapane | The Oswegonian