The Deb has awoken. The sounds of stick and puck fill its halls once more as the Oswego State Lakers, now reigning SUNYAC Champions, have taken to the ice to begin their 2025-26 campaign. The roster that brought success last year has remained for the most part intact.

The only party that has left was goaltender Anthony Zolezzi, who transferred to Beloit College in Wisconsin. As for locally-grown senior Daniel Colabufo, he has returned to the team in an assistant coach position, which he has taken quite seriously so far. Standing next to the main man Ed Gosek in the team picture, his little smile shows that he may be enjoying his newfound position on the back of the bench. Nonetheless, the group that helped stitch a new year into their SUNYAC Championships banner is very much still the same group of Lakers.

The team being largely the same does not mean that new additions were not brought in. Replacing Zolezzi was the job given to Michael Manzi, a 6-foot-1 goaltender from Delaware, who has come down from his prior engagement in Anchorage, Alaska to fill the gap in the goalie roster. Wearing the former number 10 of Colabufo is Tommy Bannister, a senior transfer from Mercyhurst who grew up not far up the road in Clayton. A pair of freshmen defensemen joined in the form of Tipp City, Ohio’s Raymond Perrault, and Brendan Gillmore of the Greater Toronto Area. Rounding out the additions is freshman forward Sean Williams of Winnipeg, who came in and was immediately the third tallest on the team.

The Lakers first assignment of the year was to welcome a new team to NCAA Div. III. St. John Fisher University of the Rochester area had been discussing fielding a Div. III team for a few years now, and they have finally found the capacity to do so. They have put forth both a women’s team and a men’s team that will each be competing in the UCHC along with the likes of Utica, SUNY Brockport, Manhattanville and SUNY Geneseo. But to begin your NCAA career against a conference champion like Oswego is a tall order, and the Lakers soon proved to the young Cardinals why they earned that title.

Within three and a half minutes of puck drop, the Lakers took the lead. A quick zone entry by Colin Vassalo and a feed from Connor Gatto set up Travis Baker to blast one past goaltender Marcus Ouellet. Ten minutes later, it was that same Baker who made another batch for the Oswego crowd. Michael Urgo added one on to the total not two minutes afterwards. Unfazed by the 3-goal lead, Brendan Merriman decided to pot St. John Fisher’s first ever Div. III goal with a cross ice one-timer sent by Gavin Brandon. The Lakers, meanwhile, made sure that it did not go unanswered. Matt McQuade put number four on the board after an impressive give and go with Brett Fudger down low. Clearly not satisfied, McQuade put another on the board through a quick jumping screen from Florida man Gatto. Five goals in one period, echoing the very game that gave them the title.

Less than two minutes into the second, a bad turnover from the Fisher defense resulted in Niklas Miller putting number six in the back of the net. Matt McQuade then pulled a fast one on Fisher, and put one off the back crossbar and out of the goal. Almost nobody in the arena knew that he scored, but one goal sign from the referee told us exactly what had happened. Ten minutes of back and forth play later, and Fisher got themselves a power play. It was CNY hockey veteran Sam Ciappa from B’Ville that potted Fisher’s second goal off a feed from Aidan Stubbings.

The third period had a goal apiece. Burke of Oswego and Kai Tsoar of SJF would be the final goal scorers in a game that ended 8-3 in the Lakers’ favor, a fine way to commence a title-defending campaign. Their next battle, and the end of their preseason double, comes on Saturday versus the Nazareth Golden Flyers.