By Alexander Abramovich

The Oswego State men’s hockey team finished up their 2021-2022  season with a win on the road in Buffalo against Buffalo State. The Lakers ended the season with an impressive 17-6 record and 12-3-1 in conference play, clinched the number two seed in the SUNYAC, and received a first-round bye in the tournament. 

This weekend, the SUNYAC playoffs run through SUNY Geneseo. With the Knights running the gauntlet, the Lakers will most likely have one home playoff game.

The Lakers had a shaky start to their season, losing their first two games of the season against Hobart College and Elmira College followed by a 2-1 win at SUNY Potsdam and a 2-2 tie at SUNY Plattsburgh. The team went on quite a tear from that point on, going 16-4 with big wins over SUNY Cortland, SUNY Plattsburgh on whiteout weekend, and SUNY Brockport. SUNY Geneseo happened to be the Lakers kryptonite this season, losing the first affair 6-1 at home and losing 4-2 on the road against the Knights.

The offense really picked up their game as the season went on, after struggling to score at the beginning of their campaign. The team-leading scorer this year was none other than the captain himself, Travis Broughman. He scored 13 goals and had 16 assists for a total of 29 points this year and was a constant contributor to the Lakers on both ends of the ice. Other big performers this season were forward Alex Dicarlo, who had 13 goals and 12 assists and first-year players Connor Sleeth and Tyler Flack were third and fourth on the team in points. Some late-season heroes were Tommy Cahill, who went on an absolute tear towards the end of the year, with Shane Bull and Rocco Andreacchi playing big roles in the offense as well. 

The defense was rock solid all season long and made it very easy for goaltender Steven Kozikoski. The first pairing on defense consisted of Ohio State University transfer Ryan Dickinson and freshman Ben Addison and this pair was one that played together all year long, which is extremely impressive because they are both first-year players. Troy Robillard was solid all year long and created many chances due to his aggressiveness when he gets the puck on his stick. Ryan Bunka got better as the season progressed and cemented his role on the second pairing of defense with Robillard, he also led the team in plus/minus this year. The third pairing of defense does not normally get as much love as the top two pairs, but Tristan Francis and Quinn Warmuth were extremely efficient and earned the trust of head coach Ed Gosek right away.

Kozikoski had a stellar season for the Lakers, one could even say he was their most valuable player. The wizard or Koz went 13-4-1 on the season with an impressive 2.00 goals-against average, a .926 save percentage, and four shutouts. Kozikoski was elite and was one of the best goalies in all of the SUNYAC, finishing in the top five in all goalie categories. He should be locked and loaded heading into the SUNYAC tournament.

The outlook on the SUNYAC tournament is an interesting one, as all of the teams who made it are very close in the talent department. Number three seeded SUNY Plattsburgh will host number six seeded SUNY Brockport, and number four seeded SUNY Cortland will host number five seeded SUNY Fredonia in the first round of the tournament. SUNY Plattsburgh is the favorite over SUNY Brockport, and the SUNY Cortland versus SUNY Fredonia should be extremely interesting because both of these teams are playing their best hockey at the right time. 

The Lakers will face whoever the highest seed is left after the first round, and SUNY Geneseo will face the lowest seed remaining. The Oswego State men’s hockey team will play on Wednesday, Mar. 2nd, at the Deborah F. Stanley ice arena.

Photos provided by SUNYAC.com