Carter Allen was simply referred to as “Captain Carter,” by men’s hockey head coach Ed Gosek.

On the ice and in the weight room, he had a “work-man’s attitude,” Gosek said. Allen was the most physically fit player on the roster. Sometimes that forced the coaching staff to tell Allen he had to “tone it back.”

“Every time the referees felt like they had to call something because he would literally crush guys [with a hit],” Gosek said.

Allen led by example in the classroom, holding other players accountable and was a good role model for the community standards that Gosek sets for his team year after year.

“Nowadays, it’s hard to find someone with that maturity and really being an extension of the coaching staff,” Gosek said.

But, that is just the way Allen has been doing things since his early days in Junior A hockey in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, all the way until his final days at Oswego State.

“The way he played here was the way he played in Wellington. He has an aggressive, physical presence,” Gosek said. “For me, personally, for the way that I think I should be held accountable, Carter’s personality and lifestyle is spot on with my values and beliefs.”

Growing up, Allen always played hockey but was also big into lacrosse. Both of his brothers played lacrosse collegiately, but once Allen hit 16 years old, he decided to focus on hockey and try to make it to the collegiate level, putting lacrosse on the backburner.

That eventually led him to the OJHL, playing for two seasons with the Wellington Dukes. Once he got to the point of receiving interest from some college scouts, Gosek said Oswego State’s coaching staff was “consistently on Carter for a long period of time,” despite some Div. I schools coming up to Allen with offers.

“Not that he needed a lot of attention, but everyone likes to feel wanted,” Gosek said. “Right up to the end, we were scared that we were going to lose him, basically until the day he walked on campus.”

Allen said the conversations he had with Gosek and then-assistant coach Mark Digby aided his decision to choose Oswego State. Plus, he saw the Lakers’ first annual Teddy Bear Toss, watching the fans throw hundreds of stuffed animals on the ice following the team’s first goal.

Allen added that he also asked follow-up questions to then-assistant coach and assistant general manager of Wellington, Ryan Woodward, who was the captain of Oswego State’s 2007 national championship team, who “gave [him] a good idea of what he was getting himself into going to Oswego.”

With the top-notch facilities for Div. III plus the academics at Oswego State, Allen said it “just seemed like the best offer.”

“[The coaching staff] seemed to be regulars in the Wellington arena. I don’t know how they were ever at the rink in Oswego because it always seemed like they were on the road recruiting,” Allen said. “A majority of what made me want to go to Oswego in the first place was the contact I had with the coaches. That connection itself was more than enough for me.”

From day one with the Lakers, Gosek said Allen was a consistent player, where they always knew what they were going to get out of him. In his three years, he played all 81 possible games for Oswego State.

The biggest change that Gosek noticed from Allen was just the fact that he got “stronger and filled out” a little more.

In a league like the SUNYAC, where it is considered a little more rough and tough, Allen fit right in with the style of the rest of the conference. But Allen said his true “welcome to college hockey” moment was just seeing fans right on top of the glass at games in the Marano Campus Center.

“The first time experiencing the Oswego fanbase when you’re at home and they’re sold out, and the student section is doing all the chants, it’s pretty exciting stuff,” Allen said. “But on the ice, there was never any real ‘introductory period.’ I welcomed that physical play. From that aspect, I felt it was perfect for my game.”

Allen’s leadership, however, was what stood out to Gosek over the three years of coaching him. Gosek called him a “quiet leader” who just “got work done.” During his junior season, Allen was named one of the assistant captains on a team that had 13 seniors.

Despite some players who felt they should have had the ‘A’ over a junior like Allen, Gosek said Allen was “totally respected” by those on the team, whether they were older or younger than him.

“Every program wants it where you’ve got freakin’ great guys who are leaders in the right way,” Gosek said. “There’s no doubt that Carter, even as an assistant captain, had those qualities.”

Those qualities led him to being named captain this season, but it was short lived. He only had a few months before the season was officially canceled due to COVID-19. Even though the team was limited to small off-ice practices for a short period of time, Allen proved his leadership yet again with the incoming freshmen.

“Last year, at this time, Carter was contacting all of our recruits that were committed, getting to know them and explaining how we do things. He stayed in contact with them all summer long and in the fall,” Gosek said. “Even after we were put on pause, it was important that our leadership did the right things … all it would have taken is for Carter to say, ‘To hell with this. We’re still getting together.’ He didn’t. He knew what was at stake.”

When Allen was given both the ‘A’ and the ‘C’ by the coaching staff, he was able to reflect on his time at Oswego State, while also carrying the banner from former captains like Devin Campbell, Mitch Herlihey and Josh Zizek.

“When you think back on it, it’s incredible that you’re at least considered among all the great guys that we had on our team,” Allen said. “The fact that I was able to get a letter my junior year, it was awesome. It was more of a testimony to the support system that I had around me and just let me come in and play my game.”

All is up in the air now for Allen, who said he is “definitely not ruling out the possibility of coming back” to Oswego State, since the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to players. Even if he does not come back, Gosek said they will miss Allen for his on-ice presence, but also the “intangibles,” such as leading by example.

“There was no doubt in my mind that we were lucky to have him for the three years that he was able to be here,” Gosek said. “He played through injuries. He played hurt and sick sometimes for the betterment of the team … he’s a hell of an athlete and a hell of a specimen.”

With numerous factors to consider moving forward, such as being older than the “normal” college student and international student rates, “Captain Carter” said merely that “things are up in the air” right now.

“It’s a tough year. Not the way anyone wants to end their college hockey career … it’s a weird position to be in,” Allen said. “If there’s a chance at coming back, I might try to take advantage of it. It’s just got to be in the right setting … if this is it, it’s been a great time playing at Oswego.”

---

The Oswegonian file photo from 2019