To finish up the home-and-home weekend against the western New York SUNYAC rivals, the No. 3/3 Oswego State (16-3-1, 9-2-0 SUNYAC) men’s hockey team will host Buffalo State (9-8-2, 6-4-2 SUNYAC) for the Lakers’ annual TEAL game.

More than a Game

Tonight’s matchup between the Lakers and the Bengals is about a little more than the SUNYAC matchup. With the Lakers’ annual TEAL (Tell Every Amazing Lady) game in support of ovarian cancer awareness, Oswego State players will sport solid teal-colored jerseys. The game is also in support of head coach Ed Gosek’s wife, Mary, who passed away from ovarian cancer in 2017 during the summer. This will be the second TEAL game without Mary.

During last season’s TEAL game against Elmira College on Oct. 28, 2017, the Lakers won 4-2. Josh Zizek, then a sophomore with the team, had a hat-trick, including two power-play goals, and also had an assist. Max Novick and Joey Scorpio both had two assists. David Richer made 30 saves during the game, including a 13-save first period.

Last Time Out

Oswego State

On Friday night, the Lakers were able to gain two crucial SUNYAC points over SUNY Fredonia in the 4-1 victory, featuring Max Novick’s three-point night (2g, 1a) and Josh Nenadal’s two-goal performance. Michael Gillespie and Mitch Emerson also contributed two assists. David Richer made 16 saves, only allowing one goal from Ryan Dunn at the beginning of the third period after Dunn snapped a shot from the right circle right over the shoulder of Richer. The Lakers split the season against SUNY Fredonia after falling to them in the fall.

Buffalo State

Buffalo State is also coming off a win after defeating SUNY Cortland 4-2 on Friday. Andrew Hustad had a three-point night (1g, 2a) with Connor Zak not far behind adding a goal and an assist. Reid Bibb and Collin O’Connor were the other two goal-scorers for the Bengals. Connor Minch made 33 saves in net, including 17 during the second period. The Bengals allowed two power-play goals on four penalty kills, but also had one power-play goal themselves on six man-advantages.

Brief History of Lakers and Bengals

This is now the 56th meeting between the Lakers and the Bengals, with the 55th meeting earlier this season resulting in a 4-1 win at the Buffalo State Ice Arena. In that game, all eyes were on Joseph Molinaro who scored a hat-trick, including a power-play goal in the first, another power-play goal in the second, and then an even-strength goal at 18:07 of the third period to seal the deal. Tyler Currie and Anthony Passero (who was returning to his former team for the first time since transferring to Oswego State) both had two assists.

Buffalo State’s lone goal scorer was Colin O’Connor, with Sam Maddox getting the only assist on the goal.

Cedric Hansen made 19 saves for his second win of the season, while goaltender Connor Minch made 21 saves throughout the night.

In terms of special teams, the Lakers went 2-3 on the power-play while the Bengals went 0-4.

The Bengals have not beaten the Lakers since December of 2016 when Buffalo State was victorious 5-1.

By the Numbers

RECORD (conference) [vs. each other]

OSW: 16-3-1 (9-2-0 SUNYAC) [47-3-5]

BUF: 9-8-2 (6-4-2 SUNYAC) [3-47-5]

GOALS (per game) [vs. each other last time]

OSW: 83 (4.2) [4]

BUF: 63 (3.32) [1]

SHOTS (per game) [vs. each other last time]

OSW: 620 (31.0) [25]

BUF: 577 (30.4) [20]

POWER PLAY (percentage)

OSW: 26-98 (26.5%)

BUF: 18-90 (20.0%)

Players to Watch

OSW: Max Novick / Joseph Molinaro

Both players are deserving of the “player to watch” status for the Lakers heading into the game against the Bengals. Joseph Molinaro because of what he accomplished last time during the game against Buffalo State. After scoring the hat-trick at Buffalo State’s Ice Arena, he is now tied for sixth in scoring with 15 points (along with Tyler Currie). Molinaro has a team second-best nine goals and six assists. He had an assist against SUNY Fredonia along with a three-point game against Morrisville State on Jan. 26. He has been a strong player when he gets hot, so expect a big game from him.

Also on the list to watch is Max Novick. It is pretty unusual for a defenseman to have a multi-goal game, let alone a three-point night. He is now tied for fourth on the team in points with 16 (6g, 10a) along with Travis Broughman. Novick’s three-point night against the Blue Devils was the fourth multi-point night of the season for him, and was the second three-point night he has had this season. After tallying his 10th assist on Friday, he has matched his season-high from his freshman year with a couple more weeks left in the season. While he is not expected to put up the high goal numbers game after game, expect him to at least contribute heavily both on even-strength and on the power-play.

BUF: Andrew Husted

On Jan. 28, Andrew Husted was named the SUNYAC Rookie of the Week for men’s hockey. He scored three goals in the weekend against SUNY Fredonia on Jan. 25 and 26. He scored twice in the 4-4 tie against the Blue Devils, including the game-tying goal. He also scored his eighth goal of the season with an empty-net goal for the 3-1 win over SUNY Fredonia the next day. He scored a goal and an assist during the 4-2 win against SUNY Cortland Friday night. He is slowly climbing to the top of the point chart for the Bengals, now tied for second on the team (9g-7a–16p) and leads the team in goals. He is five points behind Mac Wood (8g-13a–21p) and is tied with Zach Remers (5g-11a–16p).

Lines (provided by Oswego State athletics)

Forwards

No. 93 : Josh LeBlanc | No. 13 : Josh Zizek | No. 7 : Tanner Spink

No. 16 : Michael Gillespie | No. 11 : Anthony Passero | No. 28 : Travis Broughman

No. 8 : Derek Brown | No. 9 : Mitch Emerson | No. 19 : Joseph Molinaro

No. 15 : Joey Scorpio | No. 10 : Cameron Berry | No. 27 : Josh Nenadal

Defense

No. 6 : Tyler Currie | No. 2 : Carter Allen

No. 20 : Max Novick | No. 4 : Devin Campbell

No. 21 : Jeff Solow | No. 22 : Chris MacMillan

Goaltenders

No. 31 : David Richer

No. 30 : Cedric Hansen

No. 33 : Steven Kozikoski

Extra Skater

No. 5 : Charlie Pelnik

Scratches: Tyler Antonucci, A.J. D’Orazio, Jody Sullivan, Michael McArthur, Kristoffer Brun, Colton Fletcher, Thomas Horn, Ryan Bunka, Tyson Kirkby

Prediction

The Lakers have won their last five by a combined score of 24-5, including a 7-0 shutout against SUNY Cortland Jan. 18. The last time the Lakers did not come out on top was in the 3-3 tie to Utica College on Jan. 11. The last loss Oswego State had was in overtime on Dec. 29 against Williams College. The Lakers have not seen a loss since the end of December.

Buffalo State on the other hand, who, even in its last five games, is only 2-3-1. Before the upset win against SUNY Fredonia, the last time the Bengals added a number in the win column was on Jan. 5 against Neumann College at the Norwich Tournament.

Oswego State is really firing on all cylinders with the “by committee” scoring that head coach Ed Gosek always hones in on. Not one player has taken the point totals by storm, with the top-three point-getters with 22 (Michael Gillespie), 21 (Josh Zizek) and 20 (Anthony Passero) points each. This is compared to Buffalo State, who has Mac Wood with 21 points, and then it drops off to 16 points. Not to say that the Bengals should be taken lightly, as ever SUNYAC game is important especially down the stretch with two points on the line every time.

Buffalo State, in this game, needs to stay disciplined, with the Lakers’ power play ranked No. 3 in the nation (trailing only SUNY Fredonia and the University of New England). Oswego State is also No. 4 in goals per game and is tied for seventh in goals allowed. The defense will need to be strong, and Connor Minch will need to maintain a strong style of play — especially knowing that Oswego State can score short-handed, at even-strength and on the power play. The Lakers are tied for third in the nation with seven short-handed goals.

Past tonight’s game, the Lakers have four games left in the regular season, all of which are SUNYAC matchups. The Bengals have five games left, three of which are SUNYAC games. Both teams know what is on the line nearing the SUNYAC playoffs in the next couple weeks.

As for a prediction, with the Lakers’ recent scoring habits, No. 3/3 Oswego State will take this one 5-1 and improve to 17-3-1 (10-2-0 SUNYAC) while droping Buffalo State to 9-9-2 (6-5-2 SUNYAC).

Photo by: Kyle Hurley | The Oswegonian