The Oswego State club hockey team is reaching the end of its regular season with only four games left. The Lakers are looking to enter the playoffs the same way they entered their 2023 campaign: on a hot streak.
The Lakers’ first matchup against Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was on Jan. 25 at home. The RIT Tigers had a tough time staying clean in this matchup as they had just above 30 minutes of penalty time assessed.
The first period immediately began with a Lakers power play, as within ten seconds the Tigers were given a roughing penalty. Right after the power play ended, the Lakers put up the first point of the game, as Stephen Matro found the net. He was assisted by Brayden Palfi and Matt Cardi. Again, penalties were the downfall of the Tigers as the Lakers found themselves up 2-0 after a goal by Andrew Cardi on the power play. Matt Cardi came up with his second assist on the goal and Carter McWilliams was also given the assist. The game went back and forth until the last two minutes of the period, as the Lakers went up 3-0 off the back of Trevor Jubran. He was assisted by McWilliams and Jeremy Keyes. Just under a minute left in the period, the Tigers found their first goal of the game to make it 3-1.
The Tigers helped their chances in the matchup after a goal early in the second period to bring the score to 3-2. However, defenses tightened up and there was no scoring action for the rest of the period.
The Lakers found plenty of chances early in the third period, as two Tigers were put in the penalty box within the first two minutes. However, the Lakers could not capitalize and put the nail in the coffin. The Tigers on the other hand did capitalize on the power play as they tied the game up late in the third period to make it 3-3 heading into overtime.
After plenty of nail-biting moments in overtime, it was Keyes who ended up saving the Lakers from a 3-0 collapse. He found the goal just over four minutes into overtime, and was assisted by Palfi to bring the final score to 4-3.
The Lakers headed to the Lakeshore Hockey and Sports Center to face the Tigers once again on Jan. 27. The Lakers had a much easier time keeping control of their lead in this matchup, as they dominated the Tigers 6-2.
The Tigers seemingly fixed their penalty problems from the first matchup against the Lakers, as both teams were clean in the first period. The Tigers also played better defense early in this matchup, as scoring broke out with under a minute left as Trevor Jubran found the net. He was assisted by Keyes and McWilliams as the period ended with a score of 1-0.
Less penalties do not mean that they did not affect this game for the Tigers, as Adam Jubran scored 20 seconds into a power play. Trevor Jubran and Ryan Durand were given the assist. Once again, the power play helped the Lakers as they brought the score to 3-0 on a McWilliams goal. Adam Jubran was given his 19th assist of his season, and Keyes his 20th. Eight minutes later, the Lakers were up 4-0 after a score from Josh Laravia, assisted by Adam and Trevor Jubran. The Tigers did not go down without a fight, as they brought the score to 4-1 as the second period ended.
The Lakers had two insurance goals by Trevor Jubran in the third period as he left the day with three scores. Halfway through the period the Tigers scored their final goal of the matchup, ending the game at a score of 6-2.
After a couple of weeks, the Lakers find themselves on a four-game winning streak. The two wins against RIT give them their well-deserved division win and first round bye in the playoffs. The Lakers hope to continue this streak on the road against Lawrence Technological University on Feb. 2 and 3.
Photo by: Patrick Byrnes
