After a commanding 4-1 win over SUNY Buffalo in the SUNYAC semifinals the Lakers will host Plattsburgh State in the SUNYAC finals.

The Lakers got caught in the penalty kill early into the game but were able to fend off the Bengals. The opening goal of the match was scored by Tyler Flack, with an assist from Trent Grimshaw and Quinn Warmuth, after 13 and a half minutes of play. 

15 seconds later, the Lakers found themselves up 2-0, with a score from Alex DiCarlo. He was assisted by Troy Robillard and Shane Bull. In the early moments of the second period, Connor Gatto found the back of the net to notch the third goal of the night for the Lakers, with an assist from Matt McQuade. 

With six minutes left in the game, the Bengals removed their goalie, and this decision led to their first goal, which came with just over three minutes remaining in the match. The Bengals’ decision to remove their goalie ultimately backfired on them when Tommy Cahill scored the Lakers’ fourth goal with only two minutes left, effectively ending the game for the Bengals. Cal Schell ended the night with 15 saves. 

Oswego State head coach Ed Gosek was satisfied with the performance of his team against the Bengals and discussed his feelings at the post-game press conference.

“I thought we got off to a good start with the two goals in 15 seconds,” Gosek said. “It was a great momentum boost for us and I think that put them back on their heels. It allowed us to have a lot of zone time…Cal (Schell) played well and kept us in on the mistakes that we made. They’re (Buffalo State) a good team and there’s a good reason for why their top three guys are leading the league in scoring, they’re very creative.”

The Lakers have not lost that unwavering determination they have held all season as they keep winning.

“The last month has been a grind for them,” Gosek said. “It hasn’t been easy, normally two weeks ago you’d start backing off and giving them an extra day off. We haven’t, we want to keep that on the gas pedal mentality, not in cruise, not in comfort mode, playing not to lose as opposed to playing to win. We feel like this is the best conditioning we’ve had, our guys have bought in, and they’ve bought in because it’s working.” 

Now the Lakers pivot towards the Plattsburgh State Cardinals, a team they have faced three times before this season. The Lakers are 2-1 against the Cardinals this season, with the most recent game going to the Cardinals at a score of 6-1 when the Lakers traveled there.  

This deep-rooted rivalry between the Cardinals and the Lakers will add another piece to the story on March 4 as both teams hope to finally conquer that mountain and win the SUNYAC championship.  

“Based on the last time we played them, they really get after it,” Gosek said. “Our guys will have to be prepared to skate, we’re certainly not going to have as much time as we’ve had the last couple of weekends. It’s up to us on how we’re going to play and how we’re going to compete, we feel good about ourselves. We’ve been saying it all season, we want to be a good team during the year and we want to be a great team at the end of the year.”

For captain Ryan Bunka, there is not a team he has seen more than Plattsburgh State over his five years playing hockey for the Lakers. Now he gets to play the Cardinals on the biggest stage in the SUNYAC championship.

“It’s awesome,” Bunka said. “For the last four years (SUNY) Geneseo has been the rivalry for us just because we’ve played them in the finals every year. But this year we’ve had some big head-to-head games against Plattsburgh, they’re definitely hungry because we took their tournament from them, that final game got very chippy between us in the end. It’s cool to keep it going, you look at the history between the programs together and I’d hope we get a good fanbase out there cheering against Plattsburgh and cheering for us.”

The last time the Lakers hosted the SUNYAC championship was 2017 when Oswego State lost to Plattsburgh State 3-2. The Lakers hope to rewrite that history and get some revenge as the Lakers face the Cardinals for the SUNYAC championship. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Deborah F. Stanley Arena on March 4.

Photo provided by: Nate Zim