The Oswego State men’s hockey team is heading back to the SUNYAC Championship game once again after a win over SUNY Cortland Wednesday night on home ice. 

The 4-0 win sends Oswego State back to the championship game of the conference playoffs for their third straight time. SUNY Cortland could not get on the scoreboard the evening of March 3 in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. Oswego State netminder Steven Kozikoski posted his first shutout in the postseason for the Lakers and made a total of 29 saves while manning the pipes. After struggling last weekend against SUNY Fredonia, Kozikoski was able to bounce back and find his All-SUNYAC Second team form.

Oswego State scored early in the first period with a bury from Alex DiCarlo after a turnover in the low slot. The momentum went right into Oswego State’s favor from there on out as Shane Bull netted his third goal of the season on the rush later in the stanza.

“The first line creates the turnover early and create offense off of the chance,” Gosek said. “I think it is us gaining confidence when we play with a lead. That was nice to see getting up early then grabbing the second one. When the three of them are moving their feet, they are tough to play against.”

The second line of Shane Bull, Tommy Cahill and Tyler Flack were red hot during the contest scoring a total of three goals over the course of the playoff game. Flack got the empty netter in the third period while the other two goals were scored at even strength. Cahill has scored seven times in the last eight games and continues his hot streak in the postseason. Bull touched on the newly formed line.

“Credit to Tommy and Tyler,” Bull said. “They have been buzzing the past few games since we have become a line. Shoutout to them and we just must keep rolling here to finish off playoffs. It all starts with the linemates working as a unit.”

Defenseman Ryan Dickinson tallied two assists during the contest and led the defensive core throughout the game from the first defensive pair alongside freshman Ben Addison. In the defensive zone, the Lakers had a total of 12 blocks in front of Kozikoski.

“They were great in the zone tonight,” Kozikoski said. “The communication has improved throughout the year. It all starts with them blocking shots and something we were working on this week. It’s not one guy, it’s the whole team.”

The penalty kills for both teams were perfect in the contest as Oswego State went three for three when shorthanded. The issue, Oswego State could not net a goal on the man advantage against the Red Dragons. The last time the Lakers scored on the power play was back against SUNY Fredonia when Oswego State went 2 for 9.

SUNY Geneseo will host Oswego State for the third straight time in the final game of the conference season. The Ice Knights are coming off a 4-1 win over the SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles this past Wednesday in Geneseo. One of those goals being an empty netter to put the game away on home ice.

The Lakers lost the past two Championships at the Ira S. Wilson Arena on SUNY Geneseo’s campus. Back in the 2019-20 season, Oswego State fell 4-1 in the contest and the Geneseo squad got their seventh conference championship. 

“We are going to head in there and play our best,” Broughman said. “We have to start with a good twenty minutes and not get down on ourselves. If we do that, we have a good shot at playing a full sixty minutes with that squad.”

“We do not want to beat ourselves,” Gosek said. “They are going to create their own chances, so we have to have good puck management. I thought we played a good second and third period last time in that barn. They are number one for a reason and have everything in their favor. We are going there to play aggressive and have no regrets.”

Oswego State has not beaten the Geneseo Ice Knights yet this season and in fact, the current senior class of Oswego State has never won against Geneseo while in the green and gold uniforms. The last game between these two top programs was back in Geneseo where the Ice Knights defeated the Lakers by a score of 4-2. 

“We are going to treat it as any other game,” Bull said. “Yes, it is an away game, but we will mute the crowd and not worry about anything but ourselves out there. We are going to go to Geneseo and give them what we got.”

Oswego State has lost the last six matchups against SUNY Geneseo. The Lakers have not beaten this Ice Knights squad since the 2017-18 season when Oswego State won on Feb. 9, 2018. But the Lakers do have the complete matchup history in their favor with 61 wins against the Ice Knights.

The arena will be packed tomorrow evening as both groups of fans will look to see what team will lift the conference trophy to wrap up the players. Oswego State will need to win their first conference tournament since the 2013-14 season to get a bid to the NCAA Division III men’s hockey tournament. On the other side of the ice, SUNY Geneseo can afford to drop the contest because the team will most likely secure an at-large bid due to their position in the Pairwise Rankings. 

Photo by William Rogers | The Oswegonian