The Oswego State women’s hockey team is on the road to for an afternoon matchup against Utica College. The Lakers are coming off a 4-2 win against Morrisville State, while the Pioneers were defeated by Nazareth College in their last game by a score of 3-1. 

Keys to the Game

Oswego State

Limiting turnovers will be the key to Oswego State leaving Utica with a win. In the past couple of games, the Lakers have had stretches in games where they turn the puck. This stagnates the offense for Oswego State and it struggles to generate high danger scoring opportunities. Turnovers in the neutral zone and defensive zone typically led to dangerous rushes or chances against. If the team wants to extend its winning streak to two games, it will have to improve on that this afternoon. 

Utica College

Staying out of the penalty box will be the key to Utica College winning this afternoon. Oswego State was able to convert twice on the power play against Morrisville State in five tries and seem to be trending in the right direction, when it has the extra skater advantage. In order to prevent this, the Pioneers will need to play disciplined hockey.

By the Numbers

Record (Conference)

OSW: 10-6-4 (7-4-4)
UTI: 7-12-1 (7-4-1)

Goals (Per Game)

OSW: 55 (2.8)
UTI: 44 (2.2)

Shots (Per Game)

OSW: 626 (31.3)
UTI: 616 (30.8)

Power Play (Percentage)

OSW: 15-79 (.190)

UTI: 10-78 (.128)

Players to Watch

Oswego State: Rachael Farmer

The senior goaltender is coming off of a game where her strong play in the third period against Morrisville State played a big role in Oswego State’s comeback win. With Farmer being the lone goalie on the roster for the remainder of the year, she will need to have a strong performance in net.

Utica College: Georgiana Santullo

Santullo is coming off of a game where she did not register a single point against Nazareth College. As the leading scorer for Utica College, expect her to have plenty of ice time and to have a bounce-back game at the expense of the Lakers.

Final Thoughts

This game is going to be very interesting to see how the Lakers play this afternoon. The team seems to have learned from its mistakes last year in dropping five of the final six games. While this is not a conference game and will not affect the NEWHL seeding, it is important to have extended success down the stretch.

This should be a close game from the start as both teams play close-scoring games. With the way the Lakers have been playing as of late, they should be the favorites to win this afternoon.

Photo by: Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian