The No. 6 Lakers’ fiery streak in January and early February came crashing down as they have now lost three games straight against SUNY Canton, Hobart and SUNY Geneseo.

Two of those teams were previously nullified by the Lakers on the road earlier this season. Canton was shut out by Oswego 3-0, so was Geneseo 1-0 in a heroic game featuring Gavin McCarthy. But now, following two 4-1 whalloppings by Canton and Geneseo, and an embarrassing 6-1 loss against Hobart in Geneva, they find themselves in a hole that only winning can dig them out of.

After the high height of their 9-3 home victory over the SUNY Potsdam Bears, all the Lakers had to do was use that momentum, roll over the down-the-order Canton Kangaroos and come into Hobart with fires beneath them. The Kangaroos however had other opinions about how their game would go. They had done their homework on Oswego, as they were able to shut them down at every single turn.

The first period was a stalemate between the two, when many expected Oswego to take control early like they had in the Potsdam game. It was not until five minutes into the second period that first blood was drawn… by Canton. Niko Schoner rushed up the far boards and, with his feet in the crease, put one behind McCarthy. It took over half the period for Oswego to respond, when Drake Semrad got a beautiful backdoor pass and put it in the empty netting.

The Oswego faithful thought it would be a turnaround for the Lakers, but with 12 minutes left in regulation, Colton Alexander gave the Roos a lead they would not relinquish. A further two empty netters gave Canton their first ever win against the Lakers since they started playing each other in 1967.

Any momentum that Oswego could have gained was freight trained by this loss, so they had to come into the Hobart game a week later angry. “The Cooler,” a very apt name for a formerly outdoor arena that was since enclosed to host the Statesmen, was the site for this potential grudge match.

From the jump, that is what it appeared the game would be. After one period, the Lakers were down a very manageable 2-0. But that is where their hopes were dashed. Easton Ryan put goal number three on the board less than a minute into second period and it went downhill from there. Their only solace in the 6-1 loss was a goal from Josh Simpson not long after the aforementioned goal. Another three unanswered were put on the board and one goaltender change later, the Lakers were headed home dumbstruck and empty handed. The Statesmen continued to be undefeated and still No. 1 in the nation.

No matter, the Lakers were not supposed to win that game, they were never the favorites. They just had to take the Hobart game as expected and get another win against the Ice Knights like they had earlier in the season. This was not the case this week though.

The Lakers never had the lead, nor did they ever tie their silver and blue opponents. It was Geneseo all the way from start to finish. A game that was run very tightly by the referees was in the Knights’ hands from minute 13 to minute 60. That is not to take anything away from goaltender Jacob Torgner who made fantastic saves on the way to a 28/29 save night. All but Matt McQuade on a penalty kill were able to solve him.

McQuade struck in the third period, prophesizing an Oswego comeback, but it was not to be. Geneseo put goal number three on the board at even strength, and an empty netter put the game away, 4-1.

The Lakers’ opportunity to right the ship comes on Feb. 13, as they travel down to the “Crown City” of Cortland to take on the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons.