The Oswego State women’s hockey team is right back to where the team left off at the end of the 2019-20 season. The Lakers head into the month of January looking to build off their 6-3-1 overall record. The team was able to string together a three-game win streak prior to the start of the holiday break. More recently, the Lakers dropped a 3-2 game against non-conference opponent Utica College. This group, mostly underclassmen and transfers, has kept the same winning culture after losing out on playing during the 2020-21 academic year. Senior Captain Philomena Teggart feels the new group has found their chemistry and is heading in the right direction at the turn of the new year.

“The scoreboard really showed the team chemistry in the first half,” Teggart said. “Going through all this adversity due to schedule changes is really pushing us together and is building us closer.”

There was plenty of adversity for the Lakers to battle through at the start of the month. During the first week of January, Oswego State had four opponents cancel its contests with the Lakers due to issues from COVID-19.

The first half of the season featured wins against nationally ranked opponent Adrian College, NEWHL conference wins against SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Cortland, and dominating performances against non-conference opponents like Williams Smith College and Trine University. The Lakers currently average 3.0 goals per game while limiting opponents to just 2.1 goals per game. Ariella Haas leads the team in points with two goals and seven assists after transferring to the team this season from Elmira College. Head coach Mark Digby spoke highly of the player as she is a role model on and off the ice for her teammates.

“She has a good lifestyle, and is good in the classroom,” Digby said. “Everything you ask in a player, she does it. When she is the one doing that, it is easy for a lot of players to follow along.”

On the defensive side of the puck, Oswego State has new defenseman in its defensive core along with three new goaltenders that joined the team. The three sophomores have been great additions to the roster as the group looked to replace graduate Rachel Farmer at the end of the 2019-20 season. Currently, the goaltending core posts a 2.08 goals against average and .886 save percentage heading into their eleventh game of the season. Joanna Hiebert and Bryn White have split time in between the pipes and the duo has done a solid job for the Lakers.

“They have done a great job,” Digby said. “We can get back into the rhythm and alternate back and forth like they were. They both came from programs where they have been seeing a lot of shots and now, they face less shots per game. For them to learn a new style it was intriguing to see them learn that and have their own styles come out later in the semester.”

Digby is in his second season with the team but first season as head coach for the program. Digby was an associate head coach during the 2019-20 season and transitioned to the head coaching role after Diane Dillon retired from the position. Digby has brought experience from the men’s hockey team from time at Oswego State and SUNY Brockport.

In terms of the NEWHL conference, the Lakers find themselves in a similar situation heading into the next calendar year. Oswego State’s 3-2-1 conference record puts the team in third in the conference with a total of seven points, trailing only Plattsburgh State and SUNY Cortland. These two teams have given the Lakers some trouble after Oswego State fell to the Red Dragons 2-1 in Cortland and 5-0 to the Cardinals on home ice. These back-to-back losses came in the middle of November, but the Lakers were able to string together a three-game win streak that featured a third period comeback against SUNY Cortland. The 5-4 score line featured Oswego State with four goals in the third period and Mack Hull getting the game winner with eight minutes to go in regulation.

Oswego State has five conference games scheduled during the month of January. Three of those contests are against the Cardinals and Red Dragons as the Lakers take on Plattsburgh State this Friday, Jan. 14. Oswego State will then follow up the next day with a game against SUNY Cortland in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. The match up on Jan. 15 is Girls Hockey Day and puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m. in the Marano Campus Center. The home match up on Friday will be the team’s first conference contest in 2022 after their game against Morrisville State was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. 

“Most of the time we talk about playing a faceless opponent,” Teggart said. “Right now, we just need to play the best Laker hockey we can.”

The Lakers will sprinkle in non-conference opponents in between their NEWHL matchups over the course of the month. Oswego State will go on the road to face off against Hamilton College. The 5-3 Continentals started their season undefeated after four matchups but has recently dropped three before getting back in the win column prior to the holidays. After the break, Bowdoin faced off against Hamilton and the teams split the weekend games. The Lakers will head to William Smith College to face off against the Herons for the second time in the 2021-22 season. Oswego State defeated William Smith by a score line of 1-0 back on Nov. 23 the week of Thanksgiving. 

The Lakers will turn their focus to Plattsburgh State and SUNY Cortland who both travel to the Deborah F. Stanley Arena this weekend. Both games are a 3:00 p.m. matchups as the Cardinals play the Lakers Friday afternoon.

Image via Oswego State Athletics