Oswego State ACHA club hockey sits in the middle of the pack at 6-5 in the NECHL conference going into their road trip at Villanova University.
The Lakers, who were supposed to play Rutgers University last week, were rescheduled to Syracuse University where they bested in a tight game 4-3. Head coach of the Lakers Travis Hyde and his team have been on an up and down ride thus far this Fall, but he and his team have one job to accomplish on the road, steal two victories.
This will be the first time these two teams have ever met in their programs history and will be a strength test for both teams. Villanova University is coming off a commanding 5-1 victory against Western Michigan University in which they were able to produce on the powerplay with several man advantages. For the Lakers against the Orange they fought for three periods and an overtime before Syracuse University won in the shootout.
One of the major statistical differences between these two interstate foe’s is their penalty management. So far in 2021, Oswego State has 86.54% overall penalty kill and a 91.67% efficiency in that category on the road. This will be an advantage for the incoming road team as Villinova’s powerplay has been inconsistent in four games played sitting at 20.7%. Another thing Oswego State has going for them in this weekend’s series against the Wildcats is their experience in playing more games.
The ACHA Lakers have already tallied nine total games on the season to Villinova’s four, making their experience strong at their midseason point. Oswego State has built a strong cast of weapons so far this season to back their championship aspirations in junior forward Trevor Jruban, seniors Andrew Cardi and captain of the Lakers Chase Nies.
Jruban, Nies and Cardi have a combined 40 points, 18 goals and 22 assists. This first line for the Lakers is carrying the load offensively and are a heavy source of production game in and game out.
Looking at the Wildcats in their first four games, Matt and Tim Arena are both off to a great start with a total of 17 total points between the brothers. There will be some explosive weapons on both sides of the ice in this matchup and a pivotal game for both clubs heading into this weekend.
Following up this weekend’s results, Oswego State will hit the road against Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), the team they lost 5-3 in their season home opener. This will be a crucial stretch in their schedule with four of their next seven season games consisting of conference opponents.
Alexis Fragapane | The Oswegonian
