Following the postponed game on Friday, the Oswego State men’s hockey team (11-8-1, 8-2-1 SUNYAC) hosts No. 3 SUNY Geneseo (16-3-2, 9-1-2 SUNYAC) today for a mid-afternoon matchup. SUNY Geneseo won the first matchup between these two teams in November.

In that game, Oswego State committed 80 penalty minutes, not including the three game-misconducts and the match-misconduct. The Knights prevailed to a 9-1 win. Since that game, the Lakers have gone 7-7-1, after starting 4-0-0 on the season.

SUNY Geneseo comes in on a five-game unbeaten streak, with a tie to Plattsburgh State on Jan. 25. The Knights’ last loss was a 4-2 loss to Elmira College on Jan. 14.

Mitch Emerson was the only Laker to score, with assists from Carson Vance and Tyler Currie. For SUNY Geneseo, Tyson Empey had four points (three goals, one assist), as well as Matthew Doran (2g, 2a). Chris Perna had four assists in the matchup. Devin Brink had two goals, while David Szmyd and Tanner Salsberry rounded out the scoring for the Knights.

David Richer and Cedric Hansen split time in net. Richer played 48:19 of the game, allowing seven goals while Hansen played the remainder and allowed two goals. Richer made 24 saves. Aaron McKay also made 24 saves for the Knights.

(Author’s note: there was no game story for that game, since I did a weekly feature about riding the team bus and what it is like to be on a road trip with Oswego State. You can read that feature here.)

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Last Time Out

Oswego State

In its first tie of the season, and first tie since Feb. 9, 2019, a year ago to the day, against SUNY Geneseo, the Oswego State men’s hockey team played 65 minutes to end with a 2-2 tie against The College at Brockport. Alex DiCarlo and Travis Broughman both scored for the Lakers, while Steven Kozikoski made 22 saves in net. Michael Gillespie added two assists in the matchup. Oswego State could not capitalize on a strong power play toward the end of the third period, and neither team found the back of the net during the five-minute overtime period.

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SUNY Geneseo

The Knights continued their winning ways with a high-powered offensive effort in a 7-1 win over SUNY Cortland on Saturday. The game was also SUNY Geneseo’s senior night, recognizing its seven seniors that have been with the program. Fifteen players recorded at least one point in the contest, with Andrew Romano tallying two goals and an assist. Conlan Keenan added three assists. Kyle Hartman contributed one goal and one assist. Tyson Empey, Teddy McCabe, Tyson Gilmour and Carson Kelley all rounded out the scoring for the Knights. Aaron McKay made 18 saves on 19 shots. Only two of the SUNY Geneseo goals were on the man-advantage.

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By the Numbers

RECORD (conference)

OSW: 11-8-1 (8-2-1 SUNYAC)

GEN: 16-3-2 (9-1-2 SUNYAC)

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GOALS (per game)

OSW: 77 (3.9)

GEN: 108 (5.1)

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SHOTS (per game)

OSW: 723 (36.2)

GEN: 872 (41.5)

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POWER PLAY (percentage)

OSW: 19-81 (23.5%)

GEN: 37-117 (31.6%)

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PENALTY KILL (percentage)

OSW: 64-83 (77.1%)

GEN: 69-80 (86.2%)

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Statistic Leaders

Oswego State

Goals

1. Travis Broughman — 12
2. Josh Zizek / Alex DiCarlo — 8
3. A. Passero / M. Gillespie / M. Novick — 5

Assists

1. Anthony Passero — 16
2. Michael Gillespie / Max Novick — 14
3. Travis Broughman — 11

Points

1. Travis Broughman — 23
2. Anthony Passero — 21
3. Michael Gillespie / Max Novick — 19

Plus/Minus

1. Carter Allen — +16
2. Max Novick — +14
3. Travis Broughman — +12

Save Percentage (total saves)

1. Steven Kozikoski — .936 (102 total saves)
2. David Richer — .906 (307 total saves)
3. Cedric Hansen — .819 (59 total saves)

Goals Against Average (goals allowed)

1. Steven Kozikoski — 1.71 (7 goals allowed)
2. David Richer — 2.46 (32 goals allowed)
3. Cedric Hansen — 4.41 (13 goals allowed)

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SUNY Geneseo

Goals

1. Tyson Empey — 17
2. Conlan Keenan — 16
3. Andrew Romano — 13

Assists

1. Andrew Romano — 30
2. Conlan Keenan — 21
3. Chris Perna — 16

Points

1. Andrew Romano — 43 (No. 2 in Div. III)
2. Conlan Keenan — 37
3. Tyson Empey — 29

Plus/Minus

NOT LISTED ON COLLEGEHOCKEYSTATS.NET

Save Percentage (total saves)

1. Christian Roth — 1.000 (2 total saves)
2. Aaron McKay — .912 (237 total saves)
3. Matt Petizian — .902 (156 total saves)

Goals Against Average (goals allowed)

1. Christian Roth — 0.00 (0 goals allowed)
2. Matt Petizian — 1.75 (17 goals allowed)
3. Aaron McKay — 2.04 (23 goals allowed)

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Starting Lineups

Oswego State

Forwards

Michael Gillespie — Josh Zizek — Travis Broughman

Tanner Spink — Anthony Passero — Alex DiCarlo

Joey Scorpio — Mitch Emerson — Jody Sullivan

Josh LeBlanc — Tyson Kirkby — Mac Lewis

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Defense

Carter Allen — Carson Vance

Max Novick — Tyler Antonucci

Charlie Pelnik — Tyler Currie

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Extra Skater

Joseph Molinaro

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Goaltenders

Steven Kozikoski

David Richer

Cedric Hansen

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Scratches: Derek Brown, Jeff Solow, Chris MacMillan, Ryan Bunka

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SUNY Geneseo

Not provided at time of publishing.

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Players to Watch

Oswego State: Anthony Passero

Anthony Passero is a primary player to watch for two reasons: one being that he has not recorded a goal since the Jan. 25 routing of SUNY Canton, where he had one goal in the game. Against a team like SUNY Geneseo, the more goals the better for Oswego State and Passero needs to get on that list. However, the secondary reason is because of what happened last time at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena. Passero received a two-minute minor, followed by another two-minute cross-checking call with a 10-minute misconduct and a game-misconduct (the first of three for the entire team that game). He will need to keep his emotions in check going into this game, especially with the Lakers fighting for first place.

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SUNY Geneseo: Andrew Romano

The No. 2 scorer in all of Div. III has been held pointless in just two games. Once against Williams College on Dec. 1 in the 6-4 loss for the Knights, and he was also held pointless in the 9-1 win over Oswego State surprisingly enough. Romano will not want to be held scoreless against the Lakers twice, especially since his team put on a field day against Oswego State in November.

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SUNYAC Update

Following all the action from Saturday, here are the updated standings for the SUNYAC heading into this afternoon’s matchup:

1. SUNY Geneseo — 20 points (16-3-2 overall, 9-1-2 SUNYAC)
2. Oswego State — 17 points (11-8-1 overall, 8-2-1 SUNYAC)
3. Buffalo State — 15 points (11-8-2 overall, 7-4-1 SUNYAC)
4. The College at Brockport — 13 points (13-7-1 overall, 6-5-1 SUNYAC)
5. SUNY Potsdam — 12 points (6-15-2 overall, 5-8-2 SUNYAC)
6. Morrisville State — 10 points (9-11-0 overall, 5-7-0 SUNYAC)
7. SUNY Cortland — 10 points (10-9-1 overall, 5-8-0 SUNYAC)
8. Plattsburgh State — 8 points (6-13-3 overall, 3-8-2 SUNYAC)
9. SUNY Fredonia — 7 points (5-9-7 overall, 2-7-3 SUNYAC)

With the game between Oswego State and SUNY Geneseo being a rescheduled game, most teams in the SUNYAC are not playing today. As such, however, here is the schedule for those playing today or their next game:

• SUNY Geneseo travels to Oswego State to make up the game that was cancelled on Friday for a 6 p.m. matchup
• Oswego State hosts SUNY Geneseo after inclement weather postponed Friday’s game; today’s game is at 6 p.m.
• The College at Brockport does not play again until this Friday, Feb. 14, in a SUNYAC matchup at home game against SUNY Fredonia with a 7 p.m. puck drop
• SUNY Potsdam will not play against until Saturday, Feb. 15, against North Country rival Plattsburgh State at home with a 7 p.m. start-time
• Morrisville State returns to conference play but not until this Friday, Feb. 14, with a home game against Oswego State with the game scheduled for 7 p.m.
• SUNY Cortland will play non-league SUNY Canton on Tuesday on the road for a 6 p.m. game
• Plattsburgh State will travel to SUNY Potsdam on Feb. 15 for a 7 p.m. league matchup
• SUNY Fredonia will travel to the North Tuttle Ice Arena in Brockport for a game against the Golden Eagles on Friday for a 7 p.m. game

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Prediction

It is plain and simple, Oswego State has to remember what happened last time and, obviously, avoid the 80-plus penalty minutes it committed to avoid going on the penalty kill, which allowed seven goals against SUNY Geneseo last time. Special teams for both sides could make a big difference in this game.

SUNY Geneseo also has a lot of speed, not just with their forwards but its blue-liners as well. The Knights’ defenders are also not afraid to get into the rush and make the shot when necessary. The defense is also crucial for the Knights’ power play systems, giving all sorts of teams trouble when they are down a man.

This game will also be a strong goaltender battle, with Aaron McKay who has been a top goaltender all year for SUNY Geneseo, along with Steven Kozikoski, who has taken the reigns for the Lakers as of late. Even though the sophomore only came away with the tie, he looked strong. The defensive turnovers are what hurt the Lakers, leaving Kozikoski hung out to dry.

Alex DiCarlo, Travis Broughman and Michael Gillespie will all be crucial players, with the recent scoring tirades they have had within the last four or five games. Anthony Passero will also need to find the back of the net. Nonetheless, all four forward lines need to contribute, no matter what.

Prediction: SUNY Geneseo takes this one 5-3 over Oswego State.

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Photo by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian