Oswego State women’s hockey has no games this weekend in order to prepare for their semi-final playoff game vs. SUNY Cortland. 

The Lakers currently have a NEWHL record of 11-6-1 and they are ranked as the No. 3 seed. The Red Dragons currently have a NEWHL record of 12-4 and they are the No. 2 seed. This matchup will be the fourth time these teams have faced off against each other this season. 

Each game between these two has shown why they are a rivalry. On Nov. 18 2022 and Nov. 19 2022, Oswego State pushed past Cortland in both games, winning each game by one goal. Although the Lakers won the first two matchups against the Red Dragons, Cortland won the most recent matchup on Feb. 10 by a score of 2-0. 

That was the third time these teams matched up. Cortland ran away with it in the third period. They scored one goal quickly, one minute into the third, and then scored again on the power play to put the game out of Oswego State’s reach. Cortland’s use of the power play helped them capitalize and walk away with the 2-0 victory. 

Oswego State sophomore goalie, Lexi Levy, had 32 saves across all three periods. Cortland goalie Molly Goergen had 28 saves across all three periods. Because these two teams face off one more time on Feb. 25, we get to witness another classic matchup between Cortland and Oswego. Only this time, the stakes are much higher. A spot in the NEWHL championship game is on the line. Expect a competitive one. 

On Feb. 11, the Lakers closed out their regular season with a strong 9-1 win over Buffalo State. Lakers senior Morgan Shines recorded a hat-trick, scoring two goals in the second period, and she added one more in the third period to cap it off. Lakers senior Ariella Haas recorded two goals and two assists to help the Lakers cruise past Buffalo State. 

Four different sophomores scored for Oswego State in this matchup against the Bengals. Their goal contributions were from Lakers sophomores Ashlyn McGrath, Lizzie Burke, Mack Hull and Rylee Preston, scoring one goal each. 

Oswego State recorded a few game highs in this game vs. Buffalo State. The Lakers had a season record of 50 shots against the Bengals on Feb. 11. They also tied their game-high for goals this season with nine. The Lakers previously scored nine against Buffalo State the first time they met this season on Dec. 2, 2022. 

Lakers Kensie Malone and Avery Webster both recorded two assists each, their unselfish style of play helped the Lakers cap-off their regular season with a big win.

With the next matchup for the Lakers being the most important of the season, they will be using the off time that they have to work on and improve what went wrong when they last played Cortland on Feb. 10. 

The winner of Oswego State vs. Cortland will go on to play the winner of SUNY Canton or SUNY Plattsburgh. Canton took the No.4 seed with a record of 7-8-1 in the NEWHL. Plattsburgh seems to be the team to beat with a record of 15-1 as they hold the No.1 seed. In all competitions, Plattsburgh women’s hockey has won 13 straight games and are on a hot-streak to close out their season. 

The teams that have not qualified for the NEWHL playoffs include: SUNY Potsdam (No. 5 seed), SUNY Morrisville (No.6 seed) and Buffalo State (No.7 seed).  Regardless of results, next week is the beginning of playoff hockey. 

Photo via: Oswego Athletics

The Lakers women’s hockey team celebrates their NEWHL playoff berth, looks to defeat Cortland in the semifinal round to avenge last year’s loss.