Jan. 19 marked another chapter in Oswego State men’s hockey head coach Ed Gosek’s storied career at the helm of the Lakers, when he won his 300th career victory in a 5-1 win over the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena.

“[I am] very grateful that I was given an opportunity to do something that I love,” Gosek said.

Gosek started his hockey career at Oswego State as a player and then went on to become an assistant coach in 1990. Thirteen years later, Gosek became the head coach that would lead the Lakers to the 2007 NCAA Div. III Championship.

Gosek is now one of two SUNYAC coaches to reach the 300-win milestone, joining Plattsburgh State head coach Bob Emery.  For Gosek, the road to a 300 -88-26 was filled with good memories and people. It was not just about the wins.

“It’s nice to get the 300, but the reflection of the friendships and the memories over those 300 would be what is important to me,” Gosek said.

Gosek’s wife Mary was also an integral component in him hitting this milestone. Mary had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 and passed away from the disease in June 2017. Ed also noted that Mary was a big supporter of the Lakers on and off the ice.

“The last five years have been hard because my wife, with her diagnosis in 2012, trying to balance time with her and doing the right things at different hospitals and different treatments,” Ed said.

The difficulty between balancing and separating the responsibilities of taking care of his wife and heading the men’s hockey program was a major hurdle for the head coach, but he proved capable of handling the issues at hand.

“You want to work hard and do the right thing, but at the same time your family is important,” Ed said.

Mary’s endless support of Ed’s coaching career allowed him to persevere through the painful times they endured in their personal lives.

“She was a big part of supporting me and sacrificing to allow me to do it back when I was an assistant for 13 years,” Ed said. “I wish obviously she was here to enjoy it with me so it’s bittersweet.”

One aspect of what makes Ed stand out as a head coach in Div. III men’s hockey is the approach he takes in commanding the entire program, whether it be on or off the ice.

“The holistic approach to it, where you care about the performance on the ice, you care about the performance in the classroom, you care about the performance in the community, you care about their performance with their family.” said Oswego State men’s hockey assistant coach Mark Digby.

Ed creates good relationships with his players with this approach, Digby said. The relationship he has with the players contributes to how much effort the players put in on the ice.

“I think he’s just a really good coach and not becoming complacent,” said Mitch Herlihey, captain of the Oswego State Lakers. “There’s always room for improvement.”

This seems to have been working for the Lakers with their 14-3-2 overall record through this point in the season, specifically during the game against SUNY Cortland, when the players were determined to help their coach gain entry into the 300-win club.

“I’m sure he doesn’t wanna hear this, but I’m sure guys were playing for that 300th win,” Herlihey said. “It was a special night and he deserves all the credit.”

Digby, who has been an assistant for the Lakers since 2009, supported Herlihey’s sentiment as he alluded to the idea that Ed’s success in cultivating positive relationships with his players creates an environment of hard work and effort in the locker room and on the ice.

Ed reaching the 300-win achievement is especially impressive to his colleague and friend Digby because of the amount of time it took him to reach the goal. It took Ed 414 games to get to 300 wins, with only 88 losses and 26 ties along the way.

“To get to 20 wins as many times as he has is quite an accomplishment,” Digby said.

To reach 300 wins in Ed’s years here, Digby says it is also his passion that makes the team what it is.

Digby attributed the passion that Ed has toward his team and the program as primary reason he has achieved his success as the leader of Oswego State men’s hockey.

“I think it’s probably just that he’s so passionate with what he does,” Digby said. “Every part of this program and every part of this school is a big part of who he is.”

For Digby, one moment that stuck out most in his professional relationship with Ed came five years ago at the onset of the 2013-14 season.

“We started out the year with a loss to Fredonia here at home,” Digby said.  “Just kind of the way that season went, it wasn’t quite as easy as it was in previous years.”

The Lakers of 2013-14 consisted of only two seniors and were primarily composed of underclassmen. This would typically lead to a down year, but Ed and the coaching staff were able to lead the team to a Frozen Four appearance.

“The way that whole season went, that’s something that’ll stand out to me for a long time,” Digby said.

Through the many hardships of Ed’s career, he was able to persevere and reach a memorable 300 wins. Moving forward, he will continue to focus on leading his players on being successful on and off the ice, improving on his 302-88-27 career record.

Photo Provided by Angelo Lisuzzo