One of the most impressive storylines in all of Oswego State’s winter sports surrounds the women’s ice hockey team.
Last season’s disappointments are now an afterthought considering what the team is accomplishing.
This season is a completely different story from last year’s 12-11-4 overall record. The program has accomplished things they have not done in the 10 previous seasons under head coach Diane Dillon.
First, they took the long bus trip up to Plattsburgh and got the first ever win in program history over the No. 1 Cardinals.
Next, the team was able to rebound and grab their first ever point on the road in a two-game weekend series against Elmira College and the best goalie in the conference, Kelcey Crawford.
This year’s women’s ice hockey team is doing things they have never done before, and that just might mean these Lakers are closer to the top than most thought at the beginning of the season. This may also leave the door open for a team like Oswego State to make a run at the ECAC Women’s West title.
“I think it’s anybody’s game,” Dillon said. “Elmira and Plattsburgh have kind of been the elite of the league for a long time. Obviously they both won national titles, but the rest of the league is catching up. I mean, we knocked off Plattsburgh this year. We’ve played hard against Elmira, and we did that both in their rinks. We beat Plattsburgh in Plattsburgh and played very, very well and took a point from Elmira on their own ice. Not many teams can do that. So for Oswego, it means that we’re that close. We’re one of the top teams. We can fight. Any given day, that W can be ours.”
In both series against Elmira College and SUNY Plattsburgh, Oswego State lost on the first day and earned at least one point the following day. Getting better results on such short rest, especially against two powerhouse teams, is something this group should build on as playoff time nears and is a credit to the coaches’ ability to make minor adjustments, practically on the fly.
If they want to continue to climb the mountain that is the ECAC Women’s West, efficient special teams and the success from the trio of Alexa Aramburu, Oliva Ellis and Jacquelin White need to keep coming.
One of the biggest problems with this team last year was the lack of consistent scoring from anywhere in the lineup. This season, that is all changing. To put it into perspective, there was not a single Oswego State skater inside the top-20 of the ECAC Women’s West in total points last season. But this year, Oswego State has the same number of scorers (three) within the top-10 as SUNY Plattsburgh. Elmira College only has one.
Alli Ullrich is helping quarterback the top power play unit, with two goals and eight assists in 21 games, which is tied with Ellis as the third-highest power play point producer within the conference. Ullrich has also already surpassed her power play point total from last season. The Lakers’ power play is improving, in part, because of this.
The power play has jumped from being 15-92 last year to 20-90 this season. They are just barely drawing more penalties, but they are making teams pay more often, which is one of the most important aspects of winning hockey for teams that struggle to generate goals from other parts of their lineup.
This season has been filled with success stories and new heights, but it is far from over. Every team starts fresh in the playoffs and nothing would be sweeter than seeing this program knock off Elmira College or SUNY Plattsburgh when it counts. They seem to be in the right spot to do just that.
