It was a long trip for the Oswego State women’s hockey team as they traveled to Michigan to take on the eighth-ranked Adrian University Bulldogs in back to back games on Nov. 24 and 25.
The Bulldogs wasted no time in the first game, even though they lost the opening faceoff. Their aggressive offense was something that the Lakers were not prepared for this early, and with under two minutes since the beginning of the first period, the Bulldogs were up 1-0. The Bulldogs did not stop there, as they kept the Lakers in their defensive zone for the following minutes. Five minutes after their first goal, the Bulldogs found themselves up 2-0. The Lakers were able to break out of their defensive zone and post a few shots of their own, but the period ended in a 2-0 Bulldogs lead.
This lead would continue for much of the second period, but after stalling the Bulldogs offense and putting shots up of their own, forward Ashlyn Mcgrath found the net for the Lakers to bring it to 2-1. The Lakers struggled with penalties, as the Bulldogs were on power plays for much of the second half of the period, but the score remained 2-1.
The Bulldogs continued what they did at the start of each period, and put up three shots within the starting minutes of the third. Oswego’s powerplay created numerous scoring chances in the third period but were unable to overcome the Bulldogs, resulting in a 2-1 loss.
In a highly defensive matchup, the second game was also not as favorable to the Lakers, as they fell to the Bulldogs 1-0.
The Lakers were the ones that wasted no time in this game, as they put up three shots in the first two minutes of the period. The Bulldogs responded after this with four shots in the next three minutes of the period. This was the story of the first period, as both teams kept battling and shooting shot after shot. The period ended in a 0-0 score.
The Bulldogs broke out in the second period, putting up three shots until a goal went in around the 90 second mark. The Bulldogs controlled the pace for the first half of this period, until the Lakers finally responded. The Lakers put up five shots in less than a minute, but none of them found the net. After this, the Lakers put up four, but the period ended in a 1-0 Bulldogs lead.
The Lakers once again dominated the puck in the third period, as the Lakers had back-to-back power play opportunities in the opening minutes of the third period, resulting in 13 shots on goal but no goals. Despite receiving two additional power play opportunities, the Lakers were unable to score, and the game ended 1-0.
The Lakers continued their road trip as they went on to face the SUNY Potsdam Bears on Dec.1. The Lakers kicked off the game with three goals in the first period; the Bears never overcame that lead and lost 3-1.
The Lakers and Rachel Corbett put up the first score of the game right at the two minute mark, to bring the score to 1-0. She was assisted by Rheya Zemlak and McGrath. Erika Parenti scored a power-play goal two and a half minutes later, assisted by Corbett and Lauren Schell. Back-and-forth action ensued, until McGrath found the goal with under two minutes left in the first period. Kensie Malone and Simone Bendnarik assisted her. The Lakers ended the period outshooting the Bears 12-6.
The second period saw more dominance from the Lakers, as they outshot the Bears once again 12-9. However, even with the Lakers dominating faceoffs and just the puck in general, the Bears brought the score to 3-1 with under a minute left.
The Bears controlled the third period, off the backs of the Lakers’ penalty mistakes. The Bears put up shots over and over again, but none of them found the net. Goalkeeper Lexi Levy faced ten shots in the third period but did not allow a single goal as the Lakers won 3-1.
This was a massive win for the Lakers, moving them to 3-2-1 in conference and firm control of third place in the SUNYAC.
We will not see the Lakers for a long time, as their next matchup will be against Amherst College on Dec. 31.
Photo via: Oswego Athletics
