Oswego State Lakers kick off the second half of the season with a home-and-home ECAC West weekend series against the Utica College Pioneers. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm in the Marano Campus Center.

Season Summaries 

Oswego State:

The Lakers have been having an extremely successful season, earning them the No. 8 spot in the DIII rankings on d3hockey.com. Coach Dillon added quite a few powerhouse freshman players to the roster this season and it seems to have worked out in her advantage. The Lakers have shown undeniable chemistry between the rookies and the seasoned veterans which contributed to their overall record of 11-2-0. Such chemistry also led to the Lakers defeating the Plattsburgh State Cardinals for the first time in program history. The Lakers are coming off of a 2-3 OT loss against Hamilton College which should motivate them to play hard in tonights match-up.

Utica College:

The Pioneers have a current record of 7-4-1. They kicked off their second half of the season with a win against SUNY Canton this past Tuesday, which added to their three game winning streak. Their recent success can be attributed to three of their upperclassman forwards who have seemed to be playing strong with a combined 32 points so far this season. Although the Pioneers didn’t exactly start off strong with back to back losses against Buffalo State, they seemed to have picked up the pace throughout the season.

Last Match-Up:

The last time the Lakers and the Pioneers met in another weekend series. The Pioneers dominated the first game with an ending score of 4-1. In the second game, the Lakers seemed to bring all they had to the ice which ended up being a 2-2 tie. Both teams have been playing to their highest caliber this season, which will make for an interesting series this weekend.

Players to Watch:

Oswego State- Olivia Ellis

It’s no surprise that Olivia Ellis is going to be in the spotlight for tonights game. Throughout this season she has not only shown a tremendous amount of growth, but a substantial amount of power when she hits the ice. Ellis is currently #1 in point scoring on the ECAC Women’s West rankings. Ellis has 24 points on this season so far. She has also shown to be a team player on and off the ice, attributing most of her success to her teammates.

“I couldn’t do it without my teammates giving me the puck and me having the chance to pass it back to them,” Ellis said.

Utica College- Gabrielle Schnepp

Schnepp has shifted into high gear this season and is only two points away from earning her 100th career point. She has earned eleven points so far this season, nine of them being assists and two as goals. Theres no doubt that she is going to show up strong tonight and make it to the 100 point club in her program.

By The Numbers:

Record-

OSW-11-2-0

UTC-7-4-1

Goals per Game-

OSW-4.0

UTC-3.0

Power Play-

OSW-11/55(.200)

UTC-9/44(.205)

Penalty Kill-

OSW-40/44(.909)

UTC-49/55(.891)

Game Prediction:

Both teams seem to be doing quite well this season. Despite the loss to Hamilton, Oswego State remains to be the team to beat so any team playing against the Lakers is going to bring out everything they have. Being the Laker’s first game back after coming off of a loss, they’re going to kick it into overdrive to get back on track. As for Utica, the Pioneers are going to try to keep a hold of their winning streak. After watching the Oswego Vs. Hamilton game, the Lakers seemed to be more motivated than ever to get back on track with the season and tonight is their first opportunity. Tonight, the Lakers are going to come back strong. They’re playing a tough team but it’s all going to come down to who wants it more and the Lakers seem to be more eager than ever. Final game results 4-2, Lakers.