The Oswego State men’s hockey team has reached the last weekend of the regular season. The Lakers will head on the road this weekend to Buffalo to take on SUNY Fredonia and Buffalo State.

The final weekend of SUNYAC play features the Oswego State team looking to lock up the number two seed in the playoffs or possibly be the number one seed depending on how the Geneseo Ice Knights play in the final stretch.

Coming into the final two games, the Lakers have an overall record of 16-5-1 and a conference record of 11-2-1. The only two conference losses came against the current number three seed in the SUNYAC, SUNY Geneseo.

The rest of the standings feature a log jamn which has six teams clinching a playoff berth but none securing a specific seed in the postseason. Based on games played, Plattsburgh State has jumped SUNY Geneseo as the Cardinals recently defeated Morrisville State during a middle of the week contest to take over the second spot.

SUNY Cortland, SUNY Fredonia and SUNY Brockport are all separated by two points in the fourth through sixth seed. The Golden Eagles are the only team out of the three that have one game left to play. On Saturday, SUNY Fredonia will take on SUNY Cortland that will have huge playoff implications.

In terms of this weekend, the Lakers have fared well against the Blue Devils and the Bengals so far this season. When both teams came to the Marano Campus Center this season, Oswego State came away with a total of six points.

Oswego State’s offense has continued to score as the team averages 3.5 goals per game, a stat line that has improved over the course of the season. Captain Travis Broughman leads the team in points with a total of 27, which puts him in sixth in the SUNYAC conference based on the stat.

He is the only Oswego State player that is above a point per game as Alex DiCarlo trails him with 20 points in 20 games played. Both of the players are tied for first place in goals with a total of 12 for each player. Broughman touched on his linemates and their style.

“We all know my line has shooters,” Broughman said. “Whatever happens, we just want to shoot the puck and not make a lot of cute passes.”

Underclassmen Tommy Cahill has improved his game as of late. The transfer from King’s College has seven points in the past six games for the Oswego State Lakers. Cahill was a healthy scratch for a majority of the first semester before slotting into the center role on the fourth line alongside Mac Lewis and alternate captain Josh LeBlanc.

“It has been great playing next to those guys,” Cahill said. “We all play the same brand of hockey, that hard nose hockey and not afraid to get into the corners. I have been able to get more opportunities and take advantage of those situations.”

Another newcomer that has stepped to the plate is Ontario native Tyler Flack. Flack has six goals and 10 assists so far in his first season at Oswego State. In the lineup, the forward usually is the second line center who is key in the faceoff battle for the Lakers. The captain spoke highly of Flack, complimenting his work ethic as a new player.

“He is a great playmaker and works hard,” Broughman said. “He is not the biggest player but he gets into those scrums and wins battles. That is what we need and that is what he is doing. He makes good plays and makes good passes.”

On the defensive side of the puck, goaltender Steven Kozikowski continues to dominate in between the pipes for the Lakers. With 19 games played, the senior has a record of 13-4-1 while manning the net for Oswego State. The Syracuse native posts a 1.84 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. These stats rank him towards the top of the conference along with nationally among all goaltenders in Division III men’s hockey.

On Friday, the Lakers will travel to Fredonia to take on the Blue Devils who are coming off a 3-2 win against the Geneseo Ice Knights while on the road. The 9-9-1 Blue Devils completed the comeback after netting two goals in the third period. Last weekend, SUNY Fredonia got a shutout victory against SUNY Brockport to steal points in the standings.

The matchup history goes in favor of Oswego State as the Lakers are 50-29-4 against the Fredonia Blue Devils. The squad is on a four game win streak versus SUNY Fredonia as the Blue Devils defeated the Lakers in the 2018-19 season in Fredonia. This season, Oswego State beat SUNY Fredonia 3-2 in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena.

“We just have to battle and play between our systems Friday night,” Broughman said. “We have to keep working every day out here and trust our teammates. We are going in with the attitude that they are not light work and are a good team. We have to come ready to get those three points.”

On Saturday, Oswego State will take on the Bengals of Buffalo State on their alumni weekend. The Bengals got an overtime win against the Golden Eagles of SUNY Brockport but dropped the previous thirteen games prior to that contest.

Oswego State is 50-4-5 when facing the Bengals and the Lakers have not lost a contest against Buffalo State since the 2018-19 season which was in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. Since then, the Lakers have won the last three contests.

This weekend makes or breaks the Lakers playoff position as conference play wraps up. Two wins guarantee Oswego State hosting a semifinal game in the SUNYAC playoffs which would mean the Lakers secure the second seed in the standings. A mental slip from Geneseo in the final weekend means the SUNYAC Championship runs through the Marano Campus Center.

Photos provided by Jim Gemza