Borggaard plays hero again, wins Lakers second consecutive overtime contest
Austin Borrgaard was once again the man of the hour Saturday night, netting his second consecutive overtime game winner to lift Oswego State past SUNY Brockport on Saturday, Nov. 7.
Borrgaard, a consistent piece for the Lakers through four games this season, sniped through his second overtime-winner in just as many games, during an odd-man rush with teammate Nico Paone in the overtime frames.
The Lakers now sit at 3-1-1 on the season and No. 9 in the latest U.S. Collegiate Men’s Hockey poll, preparing to likely shoot up in the rankings after defeating No. 5 Geneseo on Friday, Nov. 6.
The Lakers started the night off sluggishly as the Golden Eagles came to play despite their 1-2 record. Kyle Kussman blasted one home from the blue line into heavy traffic, causing Michael Manzi to lose track of the puck and let it squeak into the net.
That goal seemed to shoot Oswego with a shot of adrenaline, as just 12 seconds later, Cam Symons split two defenders and was able to get one past David Feelak on a nifty breakaway goal to tie the game at one apiece.
Both sides traded power-play opportunities in the first, but it would be Brockport to break the tie later at even strength. Joshua Przystal was able to make moves around a pair of Oswego defenders before playing a game of back-and-forth with Michael Kull, whacking a deflected pass out of the air to make the score 2-1 with 6:29 remaining in the first.
Despite a pair of Colin Vassallo shots off the crossbar, the Lakers weren’t able to tie up the game until there were 12 minutes left in the second period.
Travis Baker entered the third period with emphasis, going coast to coast and forcing his way into the Golden Eagles’ zone before attempting a mishandled Michigan to tie it. The deflection flew off to the right and onto the stick of Rich Rucireto, who fired it toward the net. Despite an initial save, Jake Gutwirth was able to chip in the rebound to tie the game at two goals apiece with 12:03 remaining in the second.
Despite a 4-on-4 opportunity, neither team was able to capitalize and the game went into the final 20 minutes knotted up at 2-2.
The third period remained pretty quiet, with Oswego dominating possession but unable to find a quality look on net, courtesy of the Golden Eagles’ defense. Tempers finally erupted with 2:46 remaining in the third as Cam Symons and Aidan Taylor exchanged blows, making it 4-on-4. Oswego controlled possession and played it conservatively.
When asked about the conservative play, Lakers’ head coach John Whitelaw stated, “We’ve gotten a lot of opportunities to play 4-on-4 and 3-on-3, which is lucky. Not a lot of teams can say that. We’ve played well in those situations by controlling possession and limiting our opponents’ shots, so there’s no need to force something that isn’t there and give them a chance at scoring.”
The Lakers demonstrated their ability to control the puck for the first two minutes of overtime, getting quality looks in the offensive zone. The Golden Eagles got a chance at a counterattack, going 3-on-1 against Baker on the breakaway. A sliding block was the play of the game, as Baker was able to disrupt the breakaway.
The Lakers were finally able to break the tie with just 21.1 seconds remaining in overtime as Nico Paone and Austin Borggard found themselves on an odd-man rush. After a game of back-and-forth, Borggard was able to snipe his second overtime winner in two games, bringing the Lakers to 3-1 on the season.
Oswego is set to open SUNYAC play next week, with a pair of defining matchups on the docket. The Lakers hit the road to Plattsburgh on Nov. 13 for a 7 p.m. matchup, before heading to Skidmore the following day for a same-time puck drop.