Oswego State men’s ice hockey goalie Matt Zawadzki is entering his senior year for the Lakers and looks to finish his career on a strong note. Zawadzki has been Oswego State’s main man in net, posting a career record of 35-14-6.
Zawadzki has been a big part of the Oswego State ice hockey team for the past three seasons, making an impact since his freshman year in 2013-2014. His first start in goal was a 3-2 home win against Buffalo State. The starting job became his after then-starting goalie Justin Gilbert allowed five goals in the first two periods of a 7-4 lost to SUNY Geneseo. Zawadzki came in during the third period only allowing one goal, giving his team a chance.
He would start his career with a 7-0-2 record, winning SUNYAC Goalie of the Week on Dec. 9, 2013 and was named SUNYAC Rookie of the Week for the week of Jan. 6, 2014. He would not lose a start until Jan. 18 against Elmira College, over two months after making his first start in net. The Lakers went on to win the SUNYAC title that year against top-seeded Geneseo and advance all the way to the semifinals of the NCAA Div. III tournament. Zawadzki finished the season with 511 saves and a 15-3-2 record while only allowing 2.16 goals per game and stopping 92 percent of shots.
As a sophomore, Zawadzki would appear in 19 games going 12-4-2. Two of those wins were shutouts against Buffalo State, one during the regular season and the other in the SUNYAC semis. However, the end of that tournament did not go the Lakers’ way, as Oswego State would get edged out by SUNY Plattsburgh 2-1 in the finals of the SUNYAC Championships. They also fell to Adrian College 5-4 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
2014-2015 was a standout season for Zawadzki saving 471 shots with a save percentage of 92 percent and a goals against average of 2.18. Zawadzki was named Second Team All-SUNYAC and he was also named to the All-Tournament Team in both the Pathfinder Bank and Oswego Classic and the SUNYAC Championships in 2015.
The 2015-2016 season would not be as great as the previous two for Oswego State. Zawadzki made 17 starts, going 8-7-2, splitting the starts in goal with Adrian Ignagni for the most part, who went 6-3-0 on the year. The Lakers went on to lose to 4-3 in overtime to top-seeded SUNY Plattsburgh in the semifinals of the SUNYAC Championships. Oswego state also failed to get a berth into the 2015-2016 NCAA Tournament.
Going into this season Zawadzki is the number one goalie for the Lakers and looks to take the improvements he has made over the summer and implement them into his play this year.
“I just worked on being myself back there,” Zawadzki said. “Last year with the adversity we faced I kinda just got away from just playing like myself. Just making sure I do the little things the team needs me to do this season.”
With this being Zawadzki’s final season, he understands what he needs to do in order to make it a successful year.
“I know what I have to do in the net,” Zawadzki said. “I know what the team needs from me, it’s just about bringing them all together and making sure they trust in what I do.”
Two players Zawadzki is going to try and bring together are the new goalie additions to the roster, Arizona State University transfer David Jacobson and incoming freshman Cedric Hansen.
“We’re [Jacobson and Hansen]working well together building that chemistry between us,” Zawadzki said. “I’ve been used to that here. “I’ve had a new goalie every year I’ve been here, developing good friendships with your guys is nothing new.”
Zawadzki will also be developing a relationship with Oswego State’s newest graduate assistant, Jon Whitelaw. Whitelaw is a former Oswego State forward and captain who played from 2009-2013 with four Frozen Four appearances with the Lakers during that time.
“When you think about Oswego hockey, I think he’s one of those guys that stands out to everyone,” said senior forward Kenny Neil. “We’re lucky to have him really because he knows what it takes to get there.”
Whitelaw has been in Zawadzki’s shoes as a senior eyeing a championship and will be a big help to him and the rest of the team throughout the season.
