This year has been very different for the Oswego State women’s hockey team. With COVID-19 looking like it could derail the upcoming season, the Northeast Women’s Hockey League announced on Oct. 23 that winter sports would be canceled. This was a tough pill for the team to swallow, after finishing last season with a record of 16-7-4 and with high expectations for this season. However, seniors will be allowed to have another year of eligibility next season so they can finish out their athletic careers at Oswego State.

One of those seniors is Philomena Teggart, who finished last season as the most productive defenseman on the Lakers with 21 points, more than double the amount of points she contributed her sophomore season. While it is devastating that this season was canceled, she was excited to find out she would have eligibility for next season.

“I’m really happy [about the extra year of eligibility],” Teggart said. “If not, me and the other seniors would have to end our careers like this, without playing. So thank God for next year that we can play.”

Junior defenseman Avery Webster is glad Teggart will be beside her on defense again, discussing how much of a great leader she is and how her positive attitude has such a great effect on the entire team.

“Phi is a great leader,” Webster said. “She always has our best interest in mind, definitely looks out for others and doesn’t only care about herself. She just makes everyone feel comfortable and is really easy to talk to.”

From head coach Mark Digby’s perspective, he praised Teggart for her work ethic and consistency as a player, not just what she can do on the ice, but also what she does off it.

“I would say first and foremost, she is a very passionate player,” Digby said. “She brings a very intense mindset to every practice and every game. That’s just her personality. Anytime there is anything to compete in, whether it’s practice or games, she knows when to turn it on, but also knows when to have fun and just be one of the girls.”

When it comes to Teggart, her coaches all believe her biggest strength is consistency. That proved to be true toward the end of last season where she recorded a point in seven of the last nine games in the month of February. Digby also credited Teggart’s leadership and how she treats her teammates as a huge contribution to the team.

“I think what her teammates appreciate about her the most is they know Phi is gonna be there for them no matter what,” Digby said. “They all know that away from the rink, if they need something or just need to talk to somebody that Phi is going to be there for them. It’s pretty rare when you find a leader that can do that.”

When it comes to leadership, Teggart learned a lot from former captains and upperclassmen on how to help new members of the team adjust to being a part of Oswego State women’s hockey. She follows in the footsteps of a former two-year captain, Kate Randazzo, who epitomized the “Laker Way” and what it meant to be a student-athlete. As a sophomore last year, Webster saw first hand how great Teggart and Randazzo are at bringing in underclassmen.

“The upperclassmen in the past have made us feel welcomed right off the bat,” Webster said. “It’s very intimidating coming in as an underclassman. The upperclassmen here have made it very easy and a smooth transition from high school to college.”

When it came to the team communicating this offseason, Digby gave a lot of credit to Teggart and the rest of the upperclassman for constantly keeping in touch with each other, especially with the incoming freshman and new transfer students that joined the team in the fall. Digby said that it has led to the team building chemistry with each other even though the players cannot practice at this moment in time.

“Our upperclassmen have been communicating extremely effectively with everyone,” Digby said. “They can’t be together physically in person, but they can be together socially and mentally through Zoom or Snapchat. We can’t get better at stickhandling, shooting, forechecks or D-zone, but we can become a better team. That has really been the main focus.”

Teggart and the rest of her teammates are already focused on next year and doing whatever they can on or off the ice to improve by that time. The entire team has high expectations for next season and are excited for the future of their team. 

“I think we could go all the way,” Teggart said. “We even thought that this year, if we did have a season.”

The Oswegonian file photo from 2019