The Oswego State club hockey team traveled all the way to Michigan on Feb. 2 and 3 to face the Lawrence Technological University Blue Devils in what was plenty of the Lakers’ first time playing on an outdoor rink. The Lakers split the weekend against the Blue Devils, winning the first matchup 3-2 before falling in the second matchup 0-4.

Shot after shot, neither team were able to find the goal for the majority of the first period. This was until Jeremy Keyes scored his 12th goal of the season with under five minutes to go in the period. Keyes was assisted by Trevor Jubran for his 19th assist of the season. Neither the Lakers’ nor the Blue Devils’ defense allowed a score for the rest of the period. The Lakers led 1-0 heading into the second. 

Ryan Saelens brought the Lakers’ lead up to two after a score early in the second period. He was assisted by Braydon Deming and Josh Laravia. However, the Blue Devils held the most opportunities in this period, outshooting the Lakers 13-7. Goalie Thomas McAleer had no problems stopping the Blue Devils’ offense in this period, blocking each of the 13 shots he faced. The Lakers led 2-0 heading into the third.

Things did get interesting in the third, as a score from the Blue Devils halfway through brought the game to 2-1. Jubran responded less than a minute later however, giving him his 14th goal of the season. He was assisted by Duncan Crawford. A late score from the Blue Devils cut the lead to one, but the Lakers still went on to win 3-2.

The Lakers truly had no answer for the Blue Devils in the second matchup, but they did have a better day throwing up opportunities. The Lakers outshot the Blue Devils 30-24 in this game.

The first period was very quiet, as neither goalie allowed any scoring from either side. The Blue Devils opened up the scoring early in the second period, bringing the score to 1-0. The Lakers earned 15 minutes of power play time late in the second, opening up the door to pounce.

Unfortunately nothing came out of this for the Lakers as they allowed three unanswered goals in four minutes halfway through the period. The Blue Devils went on to win 4-0. 

Taking lessons from failure is crucial this late in the season for the Lakers, and it is all about moving forward for co-captain Andrew Cardi.

“I would not sulk on the loss too long,” Cardi said. “Yeah, it would have been nice to sweep them; every game is important. We have Pitt [Pittsburgh University] this weekend which is a really good team, and we have playoffs coming up. We kind of just have to move on from it, and you obviously learn from your mistakes.”

It is interesting to note that the Lakers finish their season against Pittsburgh University, a team who have been in the consensus national top 25 for all of their season. It is great to play competitive teams before the playoffs, Keyes said.

“They [Pittsburgh University] have really established themselves and beat really good teams this year,” Keyes said. “It is definitely good for us to get tested right before going into the playoffs. We have to find our game and bring it to the playoffs.”

This Lakers team is full of experience, with plenty of graduating seniors including co-captain Braydon Deming, who emphasized that it is important to end this season with success.

“We have about six or so graduating seniors,” Deming said. “The chemistry built on this team, a lot of the young guys will stick out their necks for the older guys. They know it is a lot of our last years…I think we are set up to end it on a high note.”

For head coach Travis Hyde, experience has been the key all season. The Lakers have been at this point in the seasons prior, but moving past those devastating losses and staying locked in will put them over that hump.

“It is the mentality,” Hyde said. “Two years ago we lost the championship in the last minute against Niagara [University] and that was a real dagger for the guys. The year before that it was the COVID season, and the year before that the guys lost in the last minutes in the championship again. For us we have to keep playing the game we play and controlling our focus, not having that fear of failure, playoffs is pressure.”

The Lakers will travel to face Pittsburgh University on Feb. 9 and 10 in their season finale.

Photo by: Patrick Byrnes