Room For Improvement
Both Oswego State and SUNY Plattsburgh have parts to their game that needs improving. Head coach Ed Gosek has stressed the Lakers’ need to play a complete 60 minutes of high-quality hockey constantly this season.
The Cardinals barely escaped the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons(2-4-0, 1-3-0) last night in a 4-3 win on home ice. With the young team that Plattsburgh head coach Bob Emery has this season, there are sure to be bumps in the road. One of thoe bumps was blowing two leads in Friday night’s game and turning the puck over in their own zone at a premium.
Grabbing a Lead
The Lakers have only allowed the first goal in a game once this season, and it was against rival SUNY Genseo, another nationally ranked opponent. Oswego State has the secondary scoring to keep up with most teams, but trying to mount a comeback on the road in a game like this is a completely different story. The first goal tonight could be the difference maker.
Special Teams
With a perfect night on the penalty kill last night against Potsdam, including two 5-on-3 attempts, the Lakers now have a 93.5 percent success rate when killing penalties. That mark is good for the best in the SUNYAC and third best in Div. III among teams with over 15 attempts.
The newly revamped Plattsburgh power play was able to muster up two goals on five tries against Cortland after scoring only three times on 21 prior attempts. If Plattsburgh has its power play clicking for the second night in a row and the Lakers continue taking too many penalties, fans at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena will be in for quite a show.
In the Crease
Despite earning a shutout last night, Matt Zawadzki will backup David Jacobson for Oswego State. Jacobson is undefeated on the year with three wins and a 1.67 GAA, but has faced the likes of Elmira College, SUNY Cortland and the College at Brockport. He has been sheltered up to this point but will be thrown into the fire tonight.
Lineup Card
One surprise in tonight’s lineup is not seeing Joey Davies on the third line after their stellar performance last night. There is no word on if he sustained an injury in Friday’s game. Cameron Berry will center Mitch Emerson and Jody Sullivan in place of Davies. Aaaron Huffnagle will draw back in after missing three games with an lower-body injury.
JJ Hart will play his third game of the season in place of Charlie Pelnik is the only change for the defense.
OSW Lines:
Neil-Botten-Hulshof
Herlihey-Barton-Galati
Emerson-Berry-Sullivan
Huffnagle-Ferreira-Waterstreet
Defense:
Brun-Hart
Raguseo-MacMillan
Johnson-Rutkowski
Goalie:
Jacobson
Players to Watch
Lakers- David Jacobson
The transfer sophomore will get his first real test tonight against No. 8/9 Plattsburgh. He has impressed in all three games and has had to make a number of more difficult saves than Zawadzki. The Laker coaching staff was unsure about what goalie to go with last night after the game, but Gosek and his staff has decided to stick with the rotation that has worked through six games thus far.
Cardinals- Cole Stallard
The sophomore failed to find the back of the net in all three overtime wins against the Lakers last season, but he currently leads the Cardinals with three goals in four games. He will be a staple on this Cardinal team for the next couple years and is already starting emerge as a reliable forward who can put the puck in the net.
By the Numbers
Record
OSW- 6-0-0/4-0-0 (No. 4/5)
PLT- 3-1-0/2-1-0 (No. 8/9)
Goals per Game
OSW- 5.50 [2nd in SUNYAC]
PLT- 3.25 [4th in SUNYAC]
Goals Against per Game
OSW- 1.50 [2nd in SUNYAC]
PLT- 2.75 [3rd in SUNYAC]
Power Play
OSW- 9-31 (29.0%) [3rd in SUNYAC]
PLT- 5-26 (19.2%) [7th in SUNYAC]
Penalty Kill
OSW- 29-31 (93.5%) [1st in SUNYAC]
PLT- 19-23 (82.6%) [3rd in SUNYAC]
Game Prediction
This one will not end in overtime like the last three times these two teams faced. The Lakers haven’t beaten the Cardinals since Dec. 5, 2014, but the Laker power play will take advantage of their chances tonight and steal a win in a hard-fought rivalry game on the road.
Kenny Neil buries a late empty net try to seal the game, finishing the 2-game trip to the North Country with four points.
Lakers win 5-3
