Whitelaw, Lakers to head to Wisconsin for season-opener against top-5 opponent
After conquering both St. John Fisher University and Nazareth University in exhibitions, the Oswego State men’s ice hockey team will take on No. 4 St. Norbert to kick off the 2026-27 regular season.
The Lakers are set to face off against the out-of-state opponent on Oct. 30 and 31 in De Pere, Wis. The Green Knights take the ice after a 22-win showing in 2025-26, emerging victorious in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs and making it as far as the NCAA Division III quarterfinals.
The two squads match up similarly, as both notched four goals per game while allowing less than three last season; the main difference is who’s behind the bench. The Green Knights are led by Tim Coghlin, who is going into his 33rd season at the helm of St. Norbert, while Jon Whitelaw, who recognizes the all-around prowess of the opponent, enters as the Lakers’ interim head coach.
“They’re one of the best-coached teams in the country – there’s a reason they’re a top-five team every single year,” Whitelaw said.
Coghlin has compiled an overall record of 706-193-63 since being named head coach in 1993, capturing five D-III national championships in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2018. This year’s team returns its top four offensive producers from last season, namely Ethan Byrne and Logan Dombrowsky, alongside the aforementioned Beahm and Hanson. In his first year as bench boss of the Lakers, Whitelaw has emphasized the team’s defensive identity.
“As a coaching staff, we’re very strict and firm about what we expect defensively,” Whitelaw said. “Once we work our way up the ice into the offensive zone, that’s when we want our guys to showcase the abilities, creativity and skill set we recruited them for.”
That defensive tenacity was on display for the first two exhibitions in Oswego, where the Lakers first dominated St. John Fisher in a shutout win before edging Nazareth, 5-3. Whitelaw hopes to carry that momentum into the Green Knights’ brand-new arena, the Donald and Patricia Schneider Family Arena in De Pere.
“The first game against St. John Fisher was very positive and a great confidence-builder for us… We made mistakes but didn’t necessarily have to pay for them,” Whitelaw said. “Ultimately, we want to put ourselves in a good place and feel good about going to St. Norbert, knowing we’re structurally sound and playing intelligent hockey.”
Leading the group to play that type of hockey is Mike Urgo, who has been named captain for his junior season in the green and gold. The forward, who leads a group of eight newcomers, mentions a variety of areas significant to the team’s game plan next Friday and Saturday.
“We’re learning some new things, whether it’s defensive-zone play, checking, or the penalty kill,” Urgo said. “That’s what we’re working on in practice and that’s what those exhibition games were for: cleaning up those little details.”
The forward helped to boost an efficient special teams showing from the Lakers last season, one that converted on 29% of power plays and coupled with allowing just nine goals on the penalty kill all season. That mark gives Whitelaw confidence that his group of players can be versatile on both sides.
“I think the way our team is built this year gives us guys who can be highly successful in both areas,” Whitelaw said. “In the past, we had guys playing on both sides of special teams. This year, you might see more specialized roles with certain guys focused on the power play and others on the penalty kill, although some will still do both.”
As for St. Norbert, they converted on 22% of power-play-opportunities while holding opponents to just 16% last season. Hanson found six of his 17 total goals on the power play, while Beahm accounted for five during the man-up advantage. The two returners, with Hanson now a senior and Beahm coming into his second year, will play a centralized role in the offense over the two games against Oswego.
The Green Knights have already hit the ice for competition once this season, emerging victorious over Lawrence University, 2-1, on Oct. 24. Coach Coghlin, leading a group of 21 returning players, recognizes how important those friendly contests are in getting experience under players’ belts before the more meaningful competition begins.
“We rely heavily on our returning players every year,” Coghlin said. “The growth of our group is important, but it’s more important in our room to have the returning players see the biggest growth.”
As a group, the Green Knights are experience-heavy with 15 upperclassmen on this year’s roster. Senior goalie Hunter Garvey, who allowed the second-least amount of goals throughout all of the NCHA last season (2.00), returns for his final efforts between the pipes. Moreover, the aforementioned Dombrowsky, a 2024-25 Conference Player of the Year who doubles as an All-American while also having led the nation in scoring just a couple of years ago, comes back for what will also be his final season in the white and green.
Alternatively, the Lakers showcase a blend of veteran experience and youth. Whitelaw welcomes eight new faces in his first year as bench boss – including two players with previous experience at the Division I level – while bringing back veteran leadership such as Travis Baker, Ryan Burke, Colin Vassallo and others.
With an efficient mix throughout the roster, Whitelaw is excited about what this year’s group can bring to the SUNYAC.
“Every guy we brought in was targeted for those qualities – we needed guys who could skate, get up and down the ice and play fast,” Whitelaw said. “The second thing was competitiveness—the willingness to compete, battle and fight your way through things. The last thing we’re excited about is their creativity and skill.”
That group will get to test their ability in a back-to-back this weekend, before returning to Oswego for their home opener against No. 11 SUNY Geneseo on Nov. 6. With a matchup against two highly competitive, nationally-ranked opponents on deck, Whitelaw has described the contests as “playoff-type games”.
