The Oswego State men’s hockey team hosted rival no.6 Plattsburgh State on Feb. 24 for a chance to move on to the conference championship game during their “Gold Rush Weekend.”

This was the third game of the season between the two squads, the Lakers won the first two meetings in the regular season. 

Senior forward AJ Ryan said the Lakers have looked to make adjustments heading into the playoff matchup.

“We are going to watch video and see the way they scored their goals,” Ryan said. “We are going to tune up our defensive zone and the neutral zone. We will try to be the aggressors and keep doing what we are doing.” 

The Lakers came out fast to begin the game with the offense having multiple two-on-one attempts, but they were all shut down by the Cardinals’ defense. The Lakers kept up the pressure and caused a Cardinals penalty to gain the first power play of the game. In the dying seconds of the man-advantage, the Cardinals attempted to clear the puck, but Tristan Francis leaped in the air to keep the puck in and found Tyler Flack by the goal line, who roofed the puck top shelf to put the Lakers up 1-0. The Lakers controlled the remainder of the period and went into the first intermission with a one-goal lead. 

Just over three minutes into the second period, the Cardinals went to work. The Lakers attempted to clear, but Cardinals’ Jack Ring kept the puck in and lofted one towards the net which was snuck by goalie Cal Schell to tie the game up at one. Later in the period, the Lakers headed back onto the power play. Just 20 seconds in, Quinn Warmuth ripped a shot from the point and Cam Symons tipped the puck into the back of the net. However, the goal was overturned due to a crease violation. After 40 minutes of play, the score was tied 1-1 despite the Lakers leading in the shot department 23-14. 

The score remained tied until just under seven minutes remaining in the game. After the Cardinals forced a turnover in the Lakers’ zone, Ryan Hogg got the puck at the far point and wristed one past Schell for the lead. As time ticked away the Lakers went back on the power play after an interference call on Hogg. The Lakers converted once again as Rocco Andreacchi fed Shane Bull for a one-timer for his 22nd and most important goal of the season. As the final seconds of the third period trickled down the heavyweight bout headed to overtime tied at two. 

The sudden-death goal did not take long. Just under three minutes in overtime the Cardinals gained possession in the Lakers zone. Kevin Weaver-Vitale rifled a shot from the point that barely went over Schell’s net. The Cardinals got the loose puck and worked it back to Weaver-Vitale who swung it cross-point to Hogg. Hogg took one stride in and flicked one on the low-blocker side and into the back of the net to clinch the 3-2 playoff win. 

The Lakers had 37 shots on net, 14 blocks, and won 60% of faceoffs. Their special teams were productive as they went two for three on the power play and killed off all three penalties. Schell finished with 3 goals against and 22 saves. Flack and Bull were the goal scorers, both assisted by Francis. Warmuth and Symons led the team in shots with five each. 

On the other side, the Cardinals had 25 shots on goal, 20 blocked shots and won 40% of faceoffs. They went zero for three on the power play and one for three on the penalty kill. Hearne ended the game with 2 goals given up and 35 saves. Hogg was the difference-maker, scoring twice on four shot attempts. 

The Lakers ended their season with a 16-9-1 record, 12-4 in conference play. They were dominant on the shores of Lake Ontario, going 10-4-1 at home. Their power play ended with a conversion rate of 19.5% and their penalty kill with an 82.1% success rate. Bull led the team in goals (22) and points (42). Flack led in assists with 23 and Schell finished his second season with a 2.53 GAA and a .904 save percentage. Bull, Flack and Warmuth earned first-team All-Conference and Schell earned third-team All-Conference.

Photo by: Vanessa Choquette