The Oswego State men’s hockey team begins its fight to hold onto the second seed for the SUNYAC Championships to keep home ice for at least the semifinals in the playoffs.

The Lakers travel to Morrisville State for a two-game road series against the Mustangs with puck drop at 7 p.m. for both games. Morrisville State comes into the weekend having won its last game, ending a five-game losing streak.

Oswego State has not seen the Mustangs since last season, on Jan. 25 and 26. The Lakers won both games by scores of 2-1 and 7-2. Anthony Passero had a four-point weekend with two goals and two assists. Cedric Hansen made nine saves in the 2-1 win, while David Richer made 14 in the 7-2 win.

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Last Time Out

Oswego State

The Lakers lost to No. 3 SUNY Geneseo, giving the Knights a five-point lead in the SUNYAC by a score of 5-3. Oswego State originally tied the game 3-3 toward the end of the third period, but the Knights quickly responded with the game-winning goal followed by an empty-net goal. Carson Vance had a goal and an assist, with Michael Gillespie and Max Novick registering goals as well. Steven Kozikoski made 26 saves in the loss.

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Morrisville State

Morrisville State won for the first time since Jan. 8, with a 6-4 non-league win over SUNY Canton. Christian Vella had two goals in the game, while Nick DeVito, Ben Sprague and Jesse Anderson all had two assists each. Eric Melso and James Boisvert both contributed a goal and an assist in the victory. Owen Liskiewicsz made 41 saves despite allowing four goals in the loss.

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By the Numbers

RECORD (conference)

OSW: 11-9-1 (8-3-1 SUNYAC)

MOR: 9-11-0 (5-7-0 SUNYAC)

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GOALS (per game)

OSW: 80 (3.8)

MOR: 50 (2.5)

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SHOTS (per game)

OSW: 755 (36.0)

MOR: 488 (24.4)

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POWER PLAY (percentage)

OSW: 20-85 (23.5%)

MOR: 17-88 (19.3%)

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PENALTY KILL (percentage)

OSW: 67-87 (77.0%)

MOR: 54-75 (72.0%)

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Statistic Leaders

Oswego State

Goals

1. Travis Broughman — 12
2. Josh Zizek / Alex DiCarlo — 8
3. Michael Gillespie / Max Novick — 6

Assists

1. Anthony Passero — 17
2. Michael Gillespie / Max Novick — 14
3. Travis Broughman — 11

Points

1. Travis Broughman — 23
2. Anthony Passero — 22
3. Michael Gillespie / Max Novick — 20

Plus/Minus

1. Carter Allen — +15
2. Max Novick — +14
3. Travis Broughman — +11

Save Percentage (total saves)

1. Steven Kozikoski — .921 (128 total saves)
2. David Richer — .906 (307 total saves)
3. Cedric Hansen — .819 (59 total saves)

Goals Against Average (goals allowed)

1. Steven Kozikoski — 2.17 (11 goals allowed)
2. David Richer — 2.46 (32 goals allowed)
3. Cedric Hansen — 4.41 (13 goals allowed)

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Morrisville State

Goals

1. Eric Melso — 12
2. Nick DeVito / Jestin Somero — 6
3. Ben Sprague / Ryan Bochert — 4

Assists

1. Nick DeVito — 15
2. James Boisvert — 9
3. Jestin Somero — 7

Points

1. Nick DeVito — 21
2. Eric Melso — 18
3. Jestin Somero — 13

Plus/Minus

1. Steven Ford / Tristan Archambeault — -1
2. J. Edwards / C. Street / C. Bedard — -2
3. Kyle Wadden — -4

Save Percentage (total saves)

1. Jared Young — .895 (528 total saves)
2. Owen Liskiewicz — .880 (125 total saves)
3. Jorgen Johnson — .864 (19 total saves)

Goals Against Average (goals allowed)

1. Jorgen Johnson — 4.01 (3 goals allowed)
2. Jared Young — 4.06 (62 goals allowed)
3. Owen Liskiewicz — 4.92 (17 goals allowed)

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Starting Lines

Oswego State

Forwards

Mitch Emerson — Anthony Passero — Alex DiCarlo

Michael Gillespie — Josh Zizek — Travis Broughman

Joey Scorpio — Mac Lewis — Jody Sullivan

Tanner Spink — Josh LeBlanc — Tyson Kirkby

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Defense

Max Novick — Tyler Antonucci

Carter Allen — Carson Vance

Charlie Pelnik — Tyler Currie

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Extra Skater

Joseph Molinaro

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Goaltenders

Steven Kozikoski (starter)

David Richer

Cedric Hansen

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

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Morrisville State

Lines not provided by time of publishing.

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Players to Watch

OSW: Max Novick

In the game against SUNY Geneseo, one thing was apparent: the Knights can do what they do primarily because of their scoring from the blue line. After the game, Max Novick might be aware of this. He was able to add a goal against SUNY Geneseo. He had a three-point game against SUNY Potsdam, which included two goals, but had not registered a goal since his one-goal, one-assist game against Plymouth State in November. While Oswego State has many forwards capable of getting pucks in the net, having a defenseman that can score every once and awhile does not hurt either.

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MOR: Nick DeVito

A lot of this team’s offense stems from Nick DeVito. While he does not lead the team in goals, his passing with 15 assists on the team is crucial. DeVito is going to be looked upon against a team like Oswego State which is fighting for the second seed. While Morrisville State cannot catch the Lakers, the Mustangs came play for pride in this one.

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Prediction

Oswego State’s lineup saw a good amount of changes from the weekend against The College at Brockport and SUNY Geneseo. That means one of two things: the coaching staff is either mixing things up before the playoffs in a couple weeks, or they are trying to change things up just for Morrisville State. Notably, Tyler Antonucci got bumped up the first defensive pairing, Alex DiCarlo is on the first line and Mac Lewis got moved to the third line. Jeff Solow is scratched tonight.

Morrisville State has a solid goaltender for what it is worth, but the defense seems to fall apart, resulting in some high-scoring games for themselves and other teams.

Oswego State is going to need to rely on their top scorers in this one. But, this is the perfect weekend to try some different systems and to also see who will be able to contribute on scoring in future weeks, with the Western New York teams coming to town next weekend and then the playoffs right after that.

The Lakers come out on top of this one 7-1.

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Photo by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian