The Lakers bounce back after losing in their first exhibition game to defeat William Smith College in a 4-1 victory. The Lakers are 1-1 in their two exhibition games and have a boost of confidence with the regular season beginning next week. 

The Lakers got off to a strong start in the first period. They came out looking very aggressive offensively, which led to plenty of scoring opportunities. Despite this, Mia LaPlante was able to score early for the Herons, giving them a quick 1-0 lead. 

Penalties were once again an issue for Oswego State, as it found itself in the penalty box three times in the first and six overall. That did not have a negative effect for the Lakers in the box score, as they did not surrender a single power play goal.

Avery Webster and Kate Randazzo played a huge part in this contest, being the most consistent defensive pairing for Oswego State. Neither of them put up any points offensively for the Lakers, but they made up for it with their play defensively. The two were not able to play every shift together, as the Lakers dressed only five defenders with Molly Evans scratched.

“We had different combinations at different times, but you saw them a lot on the power play or the penalty kill together,” head coach Diane Dillon said. “Special teams does play a factor into it, but I think you’re gonna see a lot of that combo.”

In the second period, the team was able to continue to dominate in the offensive zone, moving the puck a lot better than they did previously. This led to more scoring opportunities, especially from Megan Teachout. Teachout was heavily involved in the Lakers offensive scoring chances, whether it be spreading the puck around to her teammates or using her impressive wrist shot.

After peppering Olivia Williams in net, the Lakers were finally able to capitalize late in the second period with Eryn Stewart scoring a goal, top shelf, to tie the game 1-1. This gave the Lakers momentum to end the period with Rachael Farmer looking rock solid in net for Oswego State.

Heading into the third coach Dillon decided to make a change in net with freshman goalie Tia Trovato, which was exactly what we saw last week with Farmer getting two periods of play. This was a great opportunity for Trovato to improve off of last week, when she surrendered three goals. Unlike her last time out, Trovato did not allow a single goal today for Oswego State.

“She battled hard and finished a couple of high traffic shots,” Coach Dillon said. “I think she held her ground well, and it was exciting to see her comeback and make some really nice saves for us.”

The flood gates opened for Oswego State’s offense in the third, as freshman Megan Teachout was finally able to capitalize on her offensive opportunities by scoring two goals for the Lakers.

“What’s fun about Meg is she’s got an excitement to her,” coach Dillon said. “As soon as she touches that puck and she’s rushing up the ice, you see the whole bench just kinda lean and watch. I think she’s gonna add a nice punch to the Lakers … hopefully this is just the beginning for many more goals to come.”

On top of the heavy scoring, the Lakers were 6-6 on the penalty kill which looks like one of the teams biggest strengths for this season. Even though they have looked good on the penalty kill these past two games, associate head coach Mark Digby still sees some small miscues that can be corrected.

“I think more than anything, they just wanted to go out and compete for each other,” coach Digby said. “It certainly wasn’t perfect, but a lot of mistakes can be covered up when you work that hard for your teammates.”

The Lakers will now prepare for their first regular season matchup, as they hit the road next week. They travel to Vermont to face Castleton University. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Nov. 1.

Oswegonian file photo from 2018