The regular season is in the books for the Lakers, as the team prepares for the first round of the NEWHL playoffs on Tuesday. The team will take on Morrisville State, who is coming into the playoffs as the third seed and has faced Oswego State three times this season as one of the newest members of the NEWHL.
In the games during the regular season, Oswego State was able to defeat Morrisville State two out of the three times the teams faced off. Each game was very close, as the contests were decided by no more than two goals.
Head coach Diane Dillon stressed the importance of the little things entering the playoffs.
“It comes down to a play here or a play there,” Dillon said. “It’s making sure we’re taking care of the blue lines. Winning puck battles, crashing the net and moving the puck out of our zone. A lot of things come down to faceoffs, and we’ll make sure we’re taking care of the dots.”
The Lakers ended the season on a six-game win streak to help them earn a home playoff game for the semifinals. Senior Kate Randazzo and her teammates are all excited, and are confident in how the team is playing.
“It doesn’t really matter for us where we play,” Randazzo said. “We’re always feeding off of each other with our energy. It is nice to be home and not have to travel, but I think we would do well no matter what.”
Dillon sees playing on home ice as a huge advantage as the team’s fans will show up for the playoffs. Dillon also credited how hard the team worked to earn the second seed in the NEWHL playoffs.
“It’s outstanding for a lot of reasons,” Dillon said. “We’ve had close to a thousand people before, and it’s just so much more exciting and electric. It really does change the atmosphere of the event not only for the student body, but for the athletes as well.”
This season was Morrisville State’s first season as a member of the NEWHL, and it made a huge mark on the conference by making the playoffs as the third seed in its debut. Dillon sees the Lakers’ experience as another advantage for the team on Saturday but knows that Morrisville State will bring a lot of effort.
“It’s going to be a heck of a battle,” Dillon said. “They’re going to come and look to take it to us on our own ice. This is our house, and we’ve been in this position before. Our players know what to expect and it should help out our younger players.”
Dillon also explained how the focus for the team will be the same as it has been all year. Playing its style of hockey and focusing on itself more than the opponent.
“We have got to keep doing the little things,” Dillon said. “We’re focusing on one day, one game and one shift at a time. Making sure that we’re playing the game the way that we want to play it and not so much worried about what our opponent is up to, but executing our system. Playing Lakers hockey where everybody is involved and it’s a full team effort.”
Associate head coach Mark Digby complimented the team’s energy after its first practice of the week on Monday.
“If practice today is any indication, I’d say they are pretty excited.” Digby said. “They were going pretty good today and that’s always a good feeling to start the week that way.”
Photo by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian
