After a disappointing first weekend of hockey, the Oswego State Lakers were still searching for that first taste of true victory. As you may recall, the Lakers got a spiritual win after defeating Elmira University in the shootout, but the only thing that counts for is a possible tiebreaker come the end of the season. Their record thus far would be 0-1-1. This week it was the no. 2 Adrian Bulldogs who would be paying a visit to the Deborah F. Stanley Arena and they would not make their search any easier.

It was Military Appreciation Night at the Deb and the Lakers hit the ice sporting a cool gray, white, forest green and yellow camouflage outfit. The Bulldogs on the other hand, touted a kit that looked remarkably similar to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The scouting report showed that while the Bulldogs were very sound on offense, they had some holes in the defense that the Lakers could take advantage of. Namely they were often unable to handle odd-man rushes. Not only that but their goaltender Dershahn Stewart had a GAA of just about 3.00 and a save percentage just over .900, so he may have been liable to give up a few goals.

The Lakers began their campaign strongly, as they were able to get many shots on goal early. The shot pattern showed that they were getting deeper into the zone to get shots off, but they just could not break through. With three minutes left in the period, Adrian iced the puck on the net of Gavin McCarthy, but McCarthy must have thought he was playing the “EA Sports NHL series.” He tried to let the puck go to the side of his net, but a crashing Ian Amsbaugh grabbed the puck, wrapped it around the net and gave a centering pass to Ryan Pitoscia who buried it. 11 seconds later, the Bulldogs turned a breakout into an odd-man rush and Alec Lovisek backhanded one past McCarthy. Within half a minute, the Lakers found themselves in a 2-0 hole.

The second period did not do them any more favors. 7 minutes in, the Bulldogs entered the attacking zone and began making chaos below the goal line and around McCarthy’s net. The Lakers defense found themselves watching where it went and as it came back to the slot, their backs were turned and Patrick Saini put the third unanswered goal on the board. After that, McCarthy was pulled and Brandon Milberg was given the goaltending duties for the rest of the game. The goalie change had little effect. With eight minutes left in the second, the Bulldogs would rush in on a 3-on-2 with two trailing Lakers defenders. The first two saves were made by Milberg, but the third uncovered man on the left side put the rebound past him. Four unanswered goals meant that the Lakers had to find something. Thankfully they did. With two minutes left the Lakers found themselves on a 5-on-3 power play, they set it up around Stewart and Travis Baker rifled one past him from the high slot.

Four to one was how the Lakers found themselves entering the third period, but from its start, it looked to be one of the better periods that the Lakers had played in the Deb this regular season. Halfway in, they found their second goal, thanks to the forechecking efforts of Ryan Burke to block a stretch pass coming out of the zone. He grabbed it seemingly out of thin air and buried it up close and personal on Stewart. The Lakers then put on all the offensive juice they could manage, but they could not find any more by game’s end. This was their first loss handed to them at the Deb this season and hopefully it will motivate them to return with a chip on their shoulder. Their next opponent: Plattsburgh State. A rivalry older than the conference in which it resides. Two teams with a history of hatred. The Cardinals may have some broken wings themselves, entering 2-2 through the pre and regular season.

Photo by: Oswego Athletics