After facing a loss against the London Jr. Devilettes Oct. 15, the Oswego State women’s hockey team must rise to the challenge again versus the Nazareth Golden Flyers on Oct. 22.

Despite falling 9-5 to London, the Lakers still made memorable plays, including a hat trick from Ariella Haas. The Lakers had notable speed on the ice, clashing with the Jr. Devilettes on several occasions, racking up penalties for roughing and slashing. Despite the penalties, the Lakers had no power play goals in the first, pressuring them to improve team play into the second.

The physicality of the game continued into the second period, with London heading to the box for hooking just a minute and 40 seconds in. The Lakers quickly took advantage of the power play with a goal from Haas, assisted by forward Kensie Malone. While Joanna Hiebert made a few impressive saves, London put intense pressure on the net, sitting one goal behind Oswego at the end of the second period. 

The game concluded with a 9-5 loss as London bombarded the Lakers’ defense, finding the net for the final time with just 17 seconds left on the clock. Although the Lakers faced a setback, Ariella Haas earned the team some points and showcased her speed. 

With just a week between games, the Lakers must prepare to take on the Nazareth Golden Flyers. In February of 2020, the Lakers left the ice with a 3-2 win against Nazareth. 

Kyleigh Grugin bears an impressive play history, having 13 goals under her belt, one of which was scored against Nazareth. 

“So far, we saw what we needed to work on from this past weekend,” Grugin said. “We’re putting what we need to into our practices this week, so [we are] just tightening up areas in the d-zone so we all can get better.”

Nazareth also has an older roster, boasting several seniors. Last season, the Lakers lost some noticeable players including Philomena Teggart and Aislinn McAleer. While both teams reflect impressive play history, Oswego State faces a well-seasoned team while still trying to build chemistry at home.  

“From my freshman year playing them [Nazareth] until now, I think we’re a lot stronger of a team,” Grugin said. “ We’re quicker, and I think it’s going to be fun to see how it was from then to now playing them.”

Ariella Haas also acknowledged the ongoing process of building team chemistry, commenting on the team’s depth and mixture of ages. Haas says that team building starts off the ice, mentioning how the team has participated in community service and other team bonding activities. 

While the season has a long way to go, the Lakers look to play to their strengths and develop defense at their core during this preseason chapter. Haas states that these exhibition games will help the Lakers learn what their mistakes were, how they were made and how to remedy them in the upcoming season. 

Coach Digby’s practice regimen consists of getting players on the ice together as a line and focusing on team identity, locking in on team play and chemistry. Digby says that the Lakers are focusing less on Nazareth’s line-up, and more on strengthening their own systems. 

“This week in practice has been a good reset week for us,” Digby said. “It’s a hard balance as a coach trying to focus on the identity piece and the system structural piece. And so we have to try to work all that out, and I think we spent too much time focused on systems as opposed to identity last week”.

Despite last week’s loss, the Lakers are ready to don the green and gold once again and take to the ice. The Lakers will face the Nazareth Golden Flyers on Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena & Convocation Center.

Photo provided by Abigail Connolly