The Lakers are just one win away from going back-to-back as SUNYAC Champions for the first time since 2014, and the third time ever. But the mountain they have to climb may as well be a sheer cliff. 

Oswego’s win over Skidmore College was not as much of a foregone conclusion as some may think given the 6-3 final score. Skidmore came into the Deborah F. Stanley Arena on an eight-game win streak, stretching back to when they lost 1-0 versus the Hobart College Statesmen. Oswego came in with their own measly 4-game win streak, after going on a 4-game losing streak before their 9-0 whallopping of the SUNY Morrisville Mustangs. While they were still No. 14 in the nation, nothing was a given after Skidmore dispatched Oswego’s eternal rival SUNY Plattsburgh by a score of 4-3. Skidmore certainly had the ability; they had received the No. 3 seed in the SUNYAC for a reason. 

However, three goals scored in just over three minutes by the Lakers took much of the stride out of the stallions of Skidmore. 

Jonathan Balah put the Lakers’ shooting arms to work with just his second goal of the year halfway through the first period. Then the small but mighty enforcer Michael Urgo got his chance in the sun not two minutes later. Colin Vassallo turned a failed split-the-D rush into a tic-tac-toe play around the net of Skidmore goalie Tommy Aitken that ended with Adam Grenier putting one behind him. Suddenly it was a three goal game, and Skidmore was only able to answer with one goal in the final minute of period one. 

What was most surprising about this game was how unlike the previous game it was in terms of penalties. The referees seemingly recognized it as a playoff game and treated it as such in terms of their lax-ness. Only three penalties were called all night, one of which came after an exchanging of hands and headlocks just two minutes into the game. It was not much cleaner than their bouts with Buffalo State, but the referees let a playoff game be a playoff game. 

After a Justin Ryan goal three minutes into period two, this game had a bit of a scoring drought. By the end of the second, Michael Manzi had stopped 16 of 17 shots. This was in large part thanks to the shot-blocking prowess of the Lakers. At the end of the night, a total of 14 shots were blocked by Lakers defensemen. Connor Gatto led the laying down of the body, blocking three shots on the night, while nine other Lakers recorded at least one shot blocked. A true team effort. 

The scoring resumed about halfway through period three, with a barrage on both sides of the ice. Oscar Worob brought Skidmore within two by tucking one in on Manzi’s stick side post, an issue that Manzi has had previously this season. Brandon Cohen re-widened that gap soon after with a rifle from the right faceoff circle. Skidmore’s last ditch effort would come after Mitchell Floccare brought the lead back down to two, and Aitken was called to the bench from his crease. But the first star of the night, Ryan, sent one down the length and iced the game for Oswego. 

Now, during all of this, many fans had their eyes on the other side of the bracket, as a similar public versus private matchup was going on. SUNY Cortland was fighting valiantly against the Statesmen, but four goals were up on the Dragons, eliminating them from the tournament. Damon Beaver got his sixth shutout of the year, sending the Statesmen to their first SUNYAC championship game. The first year of private contenders was also the first time a private university has made it to the title bout of the SUNY system. With the integrity of their kingdom on the line, the SUNY Oswego Lakers will travel down to Geneva, New York, to try and protect that SUNY trophy they hold so dear.