The Oswego State men’s hockey team heads into their final five games of the 2022-23 regular season as their hunt for home ice in the playoffs continue. The Lakers are 8-3-0 in conference play this campaign after falling to SUNY Cortland 4-3 in overtime in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. 

Alex DiCarlo scored on a breakaway in the third period to tie the game and push it to extra time. Domenic Settimo finished a wrap-around goal in overtime to secure the two points for SUNY Cortland. A positive for Oswego State however is the return of freshman goaltender Cal Schell in between the pipes who played the complete contest and made 24 saves.

With SUNY Cortland’s win over Oswego State, the top four head into the last stretch of the season within five points of each other as the Red Dragons round out the top four. Those teams all have four or five conference games remaining before the playoffs would be set.

The Lakers have only secured SUNYAC points in one of their last three matchups and have been outscored 13 to 8 across the three contests. After some key victories, Plattsburgh State has surpassed Oswego State in the standings and taken over the number one seed after defeating third place SUNY Geneseo and the Lakers. 

Since the team has returned from winter break, the Lakers are 3-3-1 compared to their 9-4-0 record entering the holiday season. Oswego State head coach Ed Gosek summarized the team’s play in the previous three games since the Lakers tournament victory in Plattsburgh.

“The last three games we have not executed,” Gosek said. “We have not competed. We have not had the urgency or aggression that you need to have to be successful. It has been building. Obviously, not the best time of year for that to happen so back to fundamentals, good habits, the basics, and nose to the grindstone in terms of work ethic.”

With the lack of wins, Oswego State’s roster has seen a rotation on the forward side. With players back from injury, the coaching staff now has more of an abundance of players to work with in terms of building the game day rosters. However, those players that are in and out of the lineup are giving it their all.

“If the guys play well, we will keep them in,” Gosek said. “The problem is that the guys on the so-called fourth line are not the issue. They are not the ones that are making the mistakes that are costing us and pucks that end up in the back of our net are Grade A chances. The guys that are throwing pucks away and not competing are guys that are our top six forwards or top four defenseman…it is the guys that feel like they should be leading the league in scoring and being on the power play.”

Oswego State heads into another two-game weekend preparing for SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Brockport. The Lakers prepare for a home game against the Knights before heading on the road to take on the Golden Eagles in Wegmans Arena. This week of practice has been crucial in finding the team’s identity prior to two big conference games.

“It starts with accountability from the coaching staff taking the time to have one on one meetings and explain in detail what we need them to do or want them to do,” Gosek said. “That is where we are at with accountability and getting back to basics and fundamentals.”

However, Gosek said at this point it is not about the results on the ice but more about the level of play the Lakers reach against SUNY Geneseo and the rest of their competitors this season.

“If we do not win against [SUNY Geneseo] quite frankly it is not the end of the world for me,” Gosek said. “What is more important is how we compete and play. If we win the game and play like crap we are right where we were. We have to improve on how we play in every aspect. The outcome of the game this time of year does not matter [and] where we fit into the playoffs. because if we do not play better it will be an exit. It is more about how we play and compete then the outcome of the games.”

On the other side of the matchup, SUNY Geneseo heads to Oswego searching for the win column after falling 3-2 to the Cardinals in their last game. The Knights are 13-5-2 so far this season and have had a different start to the calendar year compared to Oswego State with a 4-2 record in the month of January. 

The Lakers defeated SUNY Geneseo back in November for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign by a score of 4-3 on the road. SUNY Geneseo head coach Chris Schultz reflected on the previous game and noted how similar the two teams are this season.

“It is really two teams that are evenly matched up,” Schultz said. “We have had a really good run against [Oswego State] over the last five years. With us not being as dominant this year and [Oswego State] being relatively consistent through that amount of time, we are just expecting it to be a really hard-fought game going into a building that is difficult to play in. There is a lot of energy in the building similar to ours when [Oswego State] comes to our rink. We are expecting a good Division III hockey game.”

Schultz talked about the importance of playing hard right at the drop of the puck. The crowd plays a huge factor in the outcome of the game in a place like the Deborah F. Stanley Arena.

“We really love going there to play,” Schultz said. “We love the crowd. We do everything in our power to silence the crowd and get on them early. We know that momentum is huge in that building. If they put a couple goals together in a quick amount of time you are really putting yourself against the wall and doing yourself a disservice by not being ready.”

Goaltending is going to be the difference maker between the two teams. Schell is expected to be in net for Oswego State as the freshman has seen a majority of the workload this season. Schell averages 2.40 goals against and a .920 save percentage. For SUNY Geneseo, Matt Petizian returned for his senior year and has played 16 games this campaign for the Knights. The netminder has recorded a 1.87 goals against average with a .932 save percentage. 

“Friday night is going to revolve around goaltending,” Schultz said. “Usually the team that gets off the bus with a good amount of talent and the better goaltender is probably going to win that game. It is going to be a big game for both of those guys.”

The matchup on Feb. 3 is scheduled for a 7 p.m. puck drop in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena against SUNY Geneseo. The following day, the Lakers will head on the road for a 7 p.m. faceoff against SUNY Brockport.

Photo Provided By Jim Feeney