Jeff Solow’s time on the Oswego State men’s hockey team was already abbreviated when he stepped onto campus in January 2019.

After Solow transferred from Div. I Merrimack College, playing two-and-a-half seasons with the Warriors, the Oswego State coaching staff promised it would give Solow an extra year of eligibility following a redshirt freshman year.

Due to COVID-19, Solow will not exercise that extra eligibility he was granted, and he is choosing not to return to Oswego State next season. Gosek called Solow’s shortened time as a Laker “unfulfilled.”

Gosek mentioned that Solow had been training hard in the off-season, looking to come out of the shadow from the large senior class from last year.

“This year, I don’t want to say it would’ve been a breakout year for him, but I think he would’ve been able to put closure in his college career in the way in which he would like,” Gosek said. “But, unfortunately, with the way that the season never materialized, we never got to see that.”

Growing up, Solow went all around the country to play top-level hockey for his age group. In Florida, Solow’s home state, competition was limited. He used to drive an hour-and-a-half to play for a team based near Tampa, Florida, every weekend for a few years.

Now at just 24 years old, Solow has visited 47 of the 50 states, thanks to traveling for junior hockey. With stops in Alaska and Iowa, among others, Solow eventually found his way to Amarillo, Texas, home to his favorite program to play for, the Amarillo Bulls of the North American Hockey League

Going from Amarillo to Merrimack College in Boston, Massachusetts, Solow added it was definitely a big shock, especially when it came to the winter.

“In Amarillo, where it was 60 or 70 degrees in January, then I get to Merrimack and there’s snow everywhere and it’s freakin’ 10 degrees outside,” Solow said.

Also while in Florida, he was close with his cousin, Zach Solow, who is a couple years younger than him. The two never played with or against each other growing up, being in different stages of youth hockey. 

After Amarillo, Solow committed to Merrimack College, joining the program halfway through the 2016-2017 season. Zach committed to Northeastern and was a freshman a year later. For the first time, the two played against each other competitively. In the one game they squared off against each other, Zach scored a short-handed goal in Northeastern’s win. 

“[Zach’s] the captain at Northeastern now. He’s really embraced that program,” Solow said. “Him being my little cousin, I still see him as this little guy, but he’s definitely grown up into a great guy and player.”

After playing only 10 games during his second full season with Merrimack College, Solow decided it was time for a change of scenery. He contacted numerous colleges, mainly Div. III. He reached out to some friends at Oswego State — Tommy Horn, Colton Fletcher and Joseph Molinaro — and once he visited in January 2019, Solow was sold.

Gosek claims Solow visited Oswego State in the middle of a snow storm, but Solow added that with all the snow, “it could have been a storm, but you can never tell in Oswego.”

Solow recorded his first collegiate point with an assist against Morrisville State on Jan. 26, 2019. He did not find the back of the net until the following season, with his first goal against SUNY Potsdam on Nov. 9, 2019, where the Lakers won 8-1.

 But that season, Solow did not always find the lineup, playing just 15 games. Plagued by an injury, Solow could not evolve into the top-six defenseman for the Lakers that Gosek hoped he would be.

Solow was moved around a lot, as well, whenever he did crack the starting lineup. There were a couple games that he skated on the second or third forward line, using his speed to his advantage.

“You could never question him on his work ethic or his commitment to the team,” Gosek said. “He had a couple of games that there were mistakes that occurred that were glaring on him, where the puck ended up in the back of the net. Had the goalie made those saves? Things may have been different.”

Now that Solow’s collegiate career has concluded, he said that he has a lot to consider after graduation in May. He mentioned that he would love to play professional hockey for a year after college, “just to say [he] did it,” but also wants to get a job somewhere. 

With his extensive traveling across the country, Solow said that hockey has set him up for later in life, in terms of where he may want to live.

“I really like Boston or Florida. Ideally, I’d like to be in one of those spots. If I play pro hockey somewhere, I might be in the middle of nowhere again,” Solow said. “Whatever I choose, I’m just going to go with it. If I choose to work and I don’t like it, maybe I’ll try to make a comeback for a year.”

While his collegiate career was anything but normal, Solow said he has no regrets about his time as a Warrior and a Laker. He added that some of his favorite moments while at Oswego State included the atmosphere of Whiteout Weekend and feeding off the “natural energy from the crowd.” It was all about the relationships for him.

“The relationships you make along the way, they carry more than the sport. You’re not going to have hockey your whole life,” Solow said. “The relationships that I made with the guys that I played and lived with, even the freshman this year, I think it’s going to last a lifetime.”

The Oswegonian file photo from 2020