The Oswego State women’s hockey team is heading to the Northeast Women’s Hockey League playoffs on Feb. 24 to take on well-known rival Buffalo State for the semifinal round.
In similar fashion to the ECAC West, the conference the team was in since their revitalization in 2006 when six of 11 teams were featured in the playoffs, the NEWHL allows four of the five teams in the league. SUNY Cortland was the only school left out.
Oswego State claimed the No. 3 seed after a late season push going 3-1 in the last four games of the season and avoided No. 1 Plattsburgh State for the first round of the playoffs. However, Oswego State women’s hockey head coach Diane Dillon would have liked the challenge of the Cardinals in the opening round after the 2-2 tie on Feb. 3 at the Marano Campus Center.
“I think it’s more of an emotional or mental thing more than anything. You want to be as high as you can, obviously,” Dillon said. “Part of me wanted to go against Plattsburgh because we really seemed to rise to the occasion against them.”
To end the regular season, the Lakers were able to come away with a 4-2 victory over SUNY Potsdam. This was the first time Oswego State won on senior day since the 2014-2015 season, when this year’s senior class were freshmen.
“It gives our team a lot of confidence going in on a strong note,” senior goaltender Mariah Madrigal said.
A year later, Oswego State drew Buffalo State in the opening round of the ECAC West championships. After a lackluster season against the Bengals, losing both games in the regular season at Buffalo, the Lakers won in a 5-0 rout. Dillon hopes to draw some inspiration from that season heading into the playoffs.
“The team knows we can do it,” Dillon said. “They have the experience. It’s another hockey game, but at the same time, we’ve won on their ice. We don’t feel intimidated by their rink. We usually have more fans than they do in their rink.”
The Lakers have gone 1-3 against the Bengals this season. They won the first game 3-0 on Nov. 11, but lost the second game at Oswego State and lost both at Buffalo State. Compared to the ECAC West, where conference opponents would face each other a maximum of three times a season, the NEWHL has opponents play against each other four times in the regular season, with a possible fifth time in the playoffs.
“We’re going to play our game,” Dillon said. “We think that we match up very well with Buffalo. We let things slip away from us. We’re not too worried about past experiences with Buffalo. I think in our new league it’s really difficult for anybody when you play a team four times. Anything can happen.”
Other than the game, it will also be a homecoming for a couple of players and Dillon. Leah Czerwinski and Mikaela Ditonto are both Buffalo-area natives. Buffalo State also has some Laker heritage, with Rachel Lenard, a senior who played her freshman and half of her sophomore season for Dillon before transferring, and assistant coach Sarah Hamar, who graduated in 2011 and played for the Lakers, as well.
This year’s playoffs will be special for the Lakers, as they will be one of teams to hit the record books as members of the first NEWHL playoffs.
“I think that it’s nice that for the inaugural playoffs for this new league that we’re a part of it,” Dillon said.
For players like Madrigal, these playoffs mean a lot to the seven seniors, as they try to extend their Laker careers as much as possible before hanging up the skates, potentially this weekend.
“It’s emotional, but it’s exciting,” Madrigal said. “I think all of our team wants to do well for the seniors.”
Other than the Oswego State game, SUNY Potsdam and Plattsburgh State will be going head to head on Feb. 24, with the winner advancing to the championship game. However, Dillon is only focused on Buffalo State for this week.
“We have our own playoff game to focus on,” Dillon said. “We’ll worry on Potsdam or Plattsburgh when we get through this Saturday.”
Photo: Taylor Woods | The Oswegonian
