The Oswego State men’s hockey team heads into the month of February on a six-game win streak, with five of those wins being in SUNYAC conference play. As a result, Oswego State was ranked No. 13 in the nation this past week by the USCHO poll. The Lakers climbed into the top fifteen the week prior.

The Lakers went 6-1-0 through the first month of the new year with their first win of the streak dating back to their contest on Jan. 2 against SUNY Canton. Over the course of the month, the Lakers got wins against notable opponents like Plattsburgh State on Whiteout Weekend and a road win against SUNY Cortland this past weekend. With these conference wins, the Lakers now have themselves tied heading into the most important weekend of the year in terms of playoff implications.

Although the Lakers have been getting the points they needed, Ed Gosek did not like how the team played this past weekend against SUNY Cortland and SUNY Fredonia.

“We will take the six points, but we do not want to be blinded by winning both games,” Gosek said. “We did not play to our standards, and we have to be better in certain areas down the stretch here. We have to be better defensively in our own end. We need to close gaps quicker and keep play to the outside. We need to take away grade A’s and limit the heavy shifts against us.”

The Brockport Golden Eagles travel into the Deborah F. Stanley Arena for the first time this season with the game set to be Pride Night and Senior Night for the Class of 2022. Oswego State will honor six seniors Friday evening after the contest. This group includes Tyler Antonucci, captain Travis Broughman, Ryan Bunka, Steven Kozikoski, alternate captain Josh LeBlanc and Mac Lewis. 

Broughman said it feels surreal to be having his own senior night, but is thankful to be where he is surrounded by his team. 

“It is crazy that the journey is already at our senior night,” Broughman said. “We have already been here for four years, and it is almost done. You got to be grateful for being here and having the guys before you and who is here right now.”

The current group of players lost a year of hockey due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the cancellation of last season, there were a lot of question marks surrounding this team along with this group of players. The leadership core was able to respond and lead the team in the correct fashion when the Lakers were able to get back together on the ice.

“Unfortunately, these guys all lost a year,” Gosek said. “They have all been very important and represented our program well. They are all good in the classroom. They have all been important parts of what we have done. We are proud of them and how they stuck it out.”

The Lakers traveled to Brockport back in November and were able to get a 2-1 victory in Tuttle Arena. Oswego State got the victory with goals from underclassmen and a solid goaltending performance from Steven Kozikoski.

SUNY Brockport enters the contest with sixteen points and a conference record of 6-4-1. The Golden Eagles are currently slotted in the fourth spot in the conference standings as the team looks to improve their position prior to the start of the SUNYAC Championship in March.

SUNY Brockport is coming off their north country road trip which featured the team going 0-1-1 on the weekend after tying SUNY Potsdam and losing to the Cardinals of Plattsburgh State. Broughman touched on what fans can expect this Friday when SUNY Brockport rolls into the Deborah F. Stanley Arena.

“They are an honest team that plays a 200 feet game,” Broughman said. “They use the body and have some good skill guys that know how to play hockey. They are always a good, average team that plays against us well. For us, we need to keep our momentum and keep looking in the mirror and keep bringing that effort.”

The Lakers have momentum heading into the contest against the Golden Eagles. However, the powerplay unit for Oswego State needs to get back to form after not scoring on the man advantage since the SUNY Potsdam game on Jan. 21. The Lakers had two power play goals against SUNY Brockport last time these two programs met. Oswego State enters the weekend with a powerplay percentage of 26.8% which ranks the team second behind SUNY Geneseo with a percentage of 28.2%.

On Saturday, the Lakers will load up the bus and travel down Interstate 90 to take on the Geneseo Ice Knights in the Ira S. Wilson Arena. The number two team in the nation will take on the new No. 13 team to decide who will take sole procession of the number one seed in the SUNYAC standings. 

“We need to keep bringing the effort and we keep getting better,” Broughman said. “We just have to stay focused with three weeks left. We know what is at stake here and the guys keep coming out each day at practice and it leads into the weekend. We will keep rolling with it and hopefully come out with another six points this weekend.”

SUNY Geneseo heads into the weekend on their own six game win streak as they will travel to SUNY Cortland for a tough game prior to the Saturday night contest back in their hometown. The Red Dragons pushed the Ice Knights to overtime last time the two teams met and the contest ended in a 2-2 tie. The Ice Knights had a successful trip up north with a 6-3 win over Plattsburgh State and a 12-2 win over SUNY Potsdam last weekend.

Oswego State has dropped the last five contests against SUNY Geneseo. Their last win dates back to Feb. 9 of 2018 with a 4-2 win during the 2017-18 season. This current group of seniors is still looking for their first win against SUNY Geneseo since joining the team and putting on the green and gold uniforms.

Oswego State men’s hockey will host SUNY Brockport Friday evening at home with a 7:00 p.m. puck drop scheduled in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena.

William Rogers | The Oswegonian