The Oswego State women’s hockey team is off to a 2-0 start to the season after traveling to Vermont and defeating Castleton University twice this past weekend. The Lakers will hit the road once again this weekend to take on their known rivals at Plattsburgh State.
Last year, Oswego State only managed to score two goals during the four games it faced Plattsburgh State. Plus, the Cardinals are coming off a season where they have won their seventh Div. III National Championship, so they will be looking to continue their success against the Lakers. The Cardinals beat Oswego State in their last matchup by a score of 7-1 in the NEWHL semifinal game.
“In the second half of last year, we started to tail off and we really struggled,” head coach Diane Dillon said. “It was a frustrating experience.”
Plattsburgh State has been beating Oswego State in a very dominating way for quite some time. Since 2007, the Lakers have a record of 1-34-1 against the Cardinals. However, with the team off to a strong start, Oswego State will look to change things up this weekend.
“We’re excited for the opportunity,” Dillon said. “It’s fun to play them, Plattsburgh, early. Gives an early measurement of where we are and then we get another whack at them later in the season.”
This will definitely be a challenge for Oswego State this early in the season. The only recent success the Lakers have had against the Cardinals is two seasons ago when they finished a game in a tie. Three years ago, Oswego State beat Plattsburgh State 3-2. Dillon thinks they can take away some of their style of play from those games and turn it into a win this weekend.
“We have to take advantage of the opportunities we get,” Dillon said. “I think where we have struggled against them is we had chances to put the puck in the net and missed.”
As a team, Oswego State is not looking at this game any different than another game. Even though it is Whiteout Weekend at Oswego State, and Plattsburgh State is their biggest rival, the team is not trying to make this game bigger than it is. The Lakers are still excited to be playing hockey, no matter who they are facing.
“Every game is exciting, especially at the beginning of the season,” senior captain Kate Randazzo said. “We are all excited to play every game.”
As a team last season, Plattsburgh State was almost unstoppable, especially at home. The Cardinals finished last season with a home record of 16-0 and an overall record of 19-2. To add to that already impressive accomplishment, they have not lost a game since last Jan. 7. They are a team that knows how to take advantage of every opportunity given to them and it shows, converting 24.6% of power play opportunities last season.
“They are very disciplined,” Dillon said. “They organize what they do and execute it very well. They are not particularly fancy, but they move the puck very efficiently. They are smart with the things they do and do not do, which is staying out of the penalty box.”
This season, Oswego State has racked up a total of 34 penalty minutes. Even though the Lakers power play has been strong so far, they will not want to give the Cardinals any type of advantage that will help them get easier scoring opportunities. If the Lakers can be disciplined against Plattsburgh State, they feel like they have a good shot to win this weekend.
“We had way too many penalties this past weekend,” Dillon said. “Against a team of that caliber with their kind of speed and ability to execute, you have to make sure that you are defensively sound.”
One area that has shown improvement for Oswego State is the power play. During their first two exhibition games, the Lakers were not able to find the back of the net and convert on the power play. That changed this past weekend as Oswego State was able to convert on the power play three times against Castleton University. If Oswego State can continue to show improvement on the power play and take advantage of their opportunities like Dillon emphasizes, then it will definitely help the team walk away this weekend with a win.
The Lakers head to Plattsburgh this Saturday with the hopes of achieving their first win against the Cardinals in three years. With an emphasis on taking advantage of their opportunities, this weekend presents the biggest opportunity for this team to make a mark in the NEWHL this season.
Photo by Casey Stone | The Oswegonian
