The Oswego State women’s ice hockey team is going to the playoffs! After an electric game against the SUNY Canton Kangaroos, the Lakers secured their spot in the SUNYAC Finals.

The Lakers quickly poked holes in Canton’s offense with sharp maneuvers between lines, which carried on throughout the game.

Despite keeping the Kangaroos on the defensive for the majority of the first period, sloppy shots and quick saves from goalie Alyssa Townsley served as the weak points for the Lakers during the first period. Just as Oswego’s Elizabeth Cooley made a shot off of Townsley’s pads, Canton forward Kylah Small swooped in to collect the rebound and drove the puck into the home zone. A clean pass to teammate Joey Schemenauer, who easily brought the puck around the goal, could have been Small’s assist. However, Laker goalie Lexi Levy dove into the scene with an impressive Fleury-style profly block on the goal’s left side, leaving the right side wide open.

As the crowd shouted at Levy to resume her position and be aware of the lurking Kangaroos behind the net, her team came to her aid, attempting to take the puck out of the home side zone. In a rare moment, the Kangaroos regained the puck and brought Levy out of the goal crease in defense but did not give her the chance to block. Cooley and Lizzie Burke tag-teamed along the boards and gave Simone Bednarik the opportunity to grab the puck and send it back into the opposing zone.

A line change brought Bednarik off the ice, but Sydney Pinti took over Bednarik’s role of putting pressure on the Kangaroos. Pinti made three back-to-back shots, but none were close. As the period ended, Pinti continued to fight for the puck, putting herself a head and shoulders above the rest. She tried to bring the puck back down to Cortland’s zone, but sent the puck flying into the stands.

The Kangaroos tried to make a comeback in the second period, but poor passes gave the Lakers a leg up, the puck going from Lauren Schell, Rachel Corbett to Jenna Majewski, who sailed the puck clean into the net. Determined to make another goal, Majewski and Corbett amped their game up, fighting viciously for a chance with the puck. Although the Lakers mostly succeeded in controlling the puck, the Kangaroos made a break for the neutral zone. The visiting team failed to make a breakthrough the second blue line and found themselves back on defense. Keeping the fire going, Corbett scored as the period neared the end. In the final few minutes, Cortland tried to regain its offense but was kept occupied with Oswego’s strong lead.

The third period was off to a fiery start, the Lakers destined for the win. The ladies kept their eyes on the prize, not letting anything stop them from keeping their lead. Tessa Mucha nearly flew down the ice in swiping the puck from Cortland’s Chamonix Jackson, giving a clean hit to Jackson’s upper body. Mucha shot, but the puck was caught by Townsley.

Majewski returned to the ice out of blood. She made back-to-back shots with the support of Corbett and Schell, determined to get one more. A timeout was called following Majewski tripping over the net and sending it backward. In the time immediately following the timeout, Cortland pulled Townsley, confident in their ability to maintain the offensive despite their struggle to do so earlier.

With just a minute left, the Kangaroos jumped in for a shot, sending the puck right behind the back of Levy’s left skate. As the clock ran out, Erika Parenti, #8, made a shot at the empty net. Parenti misjudged her angle and it hit the right post of the goal.

Although closer than the team wanted, they still won. The Lakers stormed their goal, patting Levy’s helmet and tapping her pads to commend her on a game well played.

Join the women’s hockey team on March 8 in the Deb for their 3 p.m. face-off against Plattsburgh in the SUNYAC finals.

Photo by: Oswego Athletics