After being knocked out of the SUNYAC tournament in the semifinals by their arch rival, the Oswego State Lakers had the chance to get the ultimate revenge in their own barn. By a small miracle, the Plattsburgh State Cardinals had managed to overcome a 3-0 deficit in just the third period of their contest against Cortland, force overtime and win the game in the first minutes of OT, sending them to the SUNYAC championship. The Lakers had a relatively easier time of reaching the finals, exorcising their demons against the Buffalo State Bengals, winning 5-2. With Oswego as the higher seed, the Deborah F. Stanley Arena would play host to the SUNYAC final once more. 

On a day that featured two Oswego vs. Plattsburgh championship games back to back, the first contest went to cardinal country. The Oswego women were shut out by the Cardinals 2-0, putting an end to a record breaking season for that Lakers team. The men’s Lakers needed to bring some sort of victory to the shores of Lake Ontario. Fans from Oswego and Plattsburgh alike were lining up outside the doors to the arena, with students lining all the way down the hall. The anticipation was nearing a fever pitch as puck drop arrived, with the entire arena sold out. 

The Lakers broke out in stunning style, with Ryan Burke tipping in a point shot from Travis Baker a minute and a half into the first period. Forty seconds later, Brandon Cohen slammed home a backdoor rebound to put another one past goalie Jacob Hearne. Just over 2 minutes in, the Lakers already had a two-goal lead. They kept piling on pressure, not relenting for even a second. It was 10 minutes after that goal number three would come, courtesy of a give-and-go play that Drake Semrad capitalized on from Jesse Horacek. Seven seconds later, Colin Vassallo took the puck from the faceoff dot, up the left wing side, and sniped another one past Hearne. It was then that Plattsburgh head coach Steve Moffat decided to pull Hearne and replace him with Slovak sophomore Dominik Bovan. It was only so effective, as with three minutes left in the first, Matt McQuade potted the fifth goal of the period. The Oswego crowd was in pure elation. 

The second period swung back into the favor of the Cardinals, with Jagger Benson putting Plattsburgh on the board halfway through. Bovan was a much more composed goaltender in the latter two periods, coming up with some big saves to keep the current mark on the board. Then with less than a minute to go, Benson launched a shot from the blue line and managed to beat Brandon Milberg, making the game a three goal game coming into the third, eerily similar to their bout with the Red Dragons. As the clock wound through the last 20 minutes of play, the Laker faithful held their breath. Opportunities came from both teams, but both tenders stood tall. The score would remain at 5-2 through the entire period. There was one final faceoff in the Lakers’ end with 8 seconds left. The Lakers won it to the side, the horn sounded and 11 years of waiting came to an end. The Oswego State Lakers, a team that was not even expected to be there, were SUNYAC Champions.

At the award ceremony at center ice, Cohen, the man who suffered a concussion at the hands of Buffalo State just a week before, was named SUNYAC tournament MVP. He joined Rookie of the Year Burke and Defensive Player of the Year Baker as Lakers SUNYAC awards winners for the year. A year that brought 16 freshmen to the fold, ended in ultimate victory for Oswego. It was especially sweet for lone senior Daniel Colabufo, who was able to bring that ever elusive trophy back to his home here in Central New York. The future looks blindingly bright for the Oswego State Lakers, who now are tasked with defending their title. With over a decade of waiting put to rest, the Deborah F. Stanley Arena has gone dormant once more.

Photo by: Oswego Flickr