The Oswego State men’s hockey team kicks off a pair of road trips this Friday as the Lakers prepare for two trips to the North Country in January. On Jan. 6, Oswego State will open play in the Comfort Inn Complex Winter Classic against the SUNY Potsdam Bears, which is hosted by the Plattsburgh State Cardinals. 

Oswego State is coming off their own New Year’s tournament where they defeated the St. Anselm’s Hawks 6-2 on Dec. 30 in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. The Lakers scored four goals in the third period as Alex DiCarlo opened the floodgates on a breakaway after the Hawks tied the game halfway through the stanza. 

The following day, Oswego State played Adrian College, the reigning national champions and third ranked team in the nation. The Bulldogs would score three powerplay goals and rally from behind to beat the Lakers 3-2. However, these two results did not show how the team played overall in the eyes of Oswego State head coach Ed Gosek.

“We [won] on Friday but we were not pleased at all with our play,” Gosek said. “On Saturday, the result [was] not what we wanted but we liked the way in which we played. There are things to learn from it. Obviously, we need to be more disciplined during the game…the [penalties] early on cost us.”

The Lakers gave the Bulldogs eight power play opportunities which gave Adrian College 18 shots on the man advantage. Ty Enns scored two goals in the second period to tie the game heading into the third period. Away from the special teams, the Lakers were able to be creative in the offensive zone with the puck.

“Five on five, I do not want to be bold, but I thought five on five throughout the game we had the better chances,” Gosek said. “I do not want to say we carried the play but five on five you look at the Grade A [opportunities], we had more than [Adrian College] did.”

On that offensive side of the puck, there are a few Lakers that are streaking heading into this SUNY Potsdam matchup. Daniel Colabufo and Matt McQuade are both on four-game point streaks after recording points in both contests this previous weekend. Both forwards have been bright spots in the deep forward lineup.

“Coming off his injury, I think [Daniel] has progressed as the year has gone on,” Gosek said. “I thought he hit a little bit of a wall in the last couple of weeks of the first semester. He plays hard, he practices hard, he trains hard. I think for all our guys it was a long semester. He seems refreshed now… no surprise he started off the way that he did.”

McQuade has made an impact so far in his first season with the Lakers. So far this year, the forward has played in 15 games this season and tallied three goals and six assists for a total of nine points.

“I do not know if [Matt] led us in Grade A opportunities and pucks did not fall for him,” Gosek said. “It was nice to see here second semester that some of [the pucks] went in for him. He is a scoring threat but that some pucks can fall for him here and give us more balanced scoring up front.”

Defenseman Ryan Dickinson is another player that has made an impact in the offensive zone this season. Dickinson leads the defenseman in points this campaign with four goals and six assists for 10 points. The Michigan native also leads the team in plus/minus rating with a +15 rating. Gosek also feels that he is a leader on the bench and in the locker room.

“Game in and game out, [Ryan] has been consistent,” Gosek said. “He is a positive voice on the bench and in the locker room. He has led by example. He has had plays that have not gone great and gone against him and he stays refocused. You need guys like that. He does not wear a letter, but he could very much wear one with his actions and his character.”

In late December, the coaching staff was active in the transfer portal looking to beef up the depth on the defensive side of the roster. Oswego State was able to get Nolan Barrett for U-Mass Boston, where he played 25 games and recorded five goals and 13 assists while playing for the Beacons.

“The guys have certainly got to feel for him,” Gosek said. “[Nolan] is a humble kid and he is grateful for the opportunity to get a second chance here. He has fit in well and he is just getting up to speed with systems, conditioning, and timing. It will give us some depth on the backend.”

In net, Oswego State have continued to turn to Cal Schell who started both games this past weekend. The goaltender has posted a 2.31 goals against average which ranks him fifth in the SUNYAC. Schell’s save percentage of .923 ranks him seventh against other goaltenders in the conference.

The Lakers will turn their attention to SUNY Potsdam with the goal of moving on to the championship game of Plattsburgh State’s tournament. Since the Bears played Oswego State on Nov. 5, SUNY Potsdam has been in and out of the win column which included a 5-2 victory against Plattsburgh State on Dec. 3.

This will be the 108th meeting between the two teams but the first at a neutral site and puck drop is set for 3:30 p.m. from Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. All of the games this weekend will be counted towards non conference play.

Photo Provided By Jim Feeney