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Lakers Will Face Norwich in National Semifinals
The Oswego State men's ice hockey team will face Norwich University in a NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Championship semifinal on Friday, March 15 at 4 p.m. at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y. Oswego State advanced to this year's semifinal with a 3-2 overtime win over Adrian on the road Saturday night, while Norwich advanced by defeating Babson, 4-0, in Northfield, Vt. The No. 3/5 Lakers enter the weekend with an overall record of 24-4-0 compared to a record of 24-3-1 for the Cadets. The winner of the Oswego State/Norwich semifinal will play the winner of the Utica/UW-Eau Claire semifinal on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the title game.

Scouting the Cadets    
Norwich, the second-ranked team in Division III by USCHO.com and D3hockey.com, received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament after falling to Babson, 2-1, in the ECAC East Championship. The Cadets landed six players on the ECAC Men's East all-conference teams with Player of the Year Colin Mulvey leading the way. The senior was third in the ECAC Men's East in points (26) and led the league in goals (16). He was tied for second in short-handed goals and paced the league with eight game-winning goals. Forwards Travis Janke and Pier-Olivier Cotnoir joined Mulvey on the First Team, as Janke leads Norwich in assists (23) and Cotnoir is fifth on the team in points (24). Forwards Tory Allan and Kyle Thomas were named to the Second Team, while goalie Chris Czarnota was named to the Third Team. Czarnota boasts the best goals against average in the nation at 1.64. This is the 14th NCAA Tournament appearance for Norwich, which has a record of 22-11-2 in the tournament, and is looking for the program's fourth championship. The Cadets won NCAA titles in 2000, 2003 and 2010.   

The Series
Oswego State and Norwich have met five times with the two most recent matchups taking place during the NCAA Tournament. The Lakers came out on top, 3-0, in a 2007 NCAA Quarterfinal round en route to the national championship. Norwich defeated Oswego State, 2-1, in the 2003 NCAA Championship game. The Cadets won 6-5 in overtime on Jan. 6, 1996 and defeated the Lakers, 5-3, on March 4, 1978. Oswego State defeated Norwich on March 4, 1981 in a 12-5 decision.

Head Coach Ed Gosek:
Oswego State head coach Ed Gosek is the second-winningest coach in program history with a record of 211-55-16 in his 10th season at the Lakers' helm. This season, he guided Oswego State to a No. 1 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament for the fourth straight season after turning in a league record of 14-2-0, and led the Lakers to their ninth SUNYAC Championship by defeating Plattsburgh, 4-0. Gosek posted his 200th career win on Jan. 12 when the Lakers defeated Nazareth at home, 4-1. Nazareth is coached by former Oswego State head coach George Roll. 

Oswego State in the NCAA Tournament:
This is the Lakers' 12th NCAA appearance in the Division III Men's Hockey Championship since 1984.  Oswego State holds an all-time record of 13-15 in NCAA competition earning the national title in 2007 and finishing second in 1987, 2003, and 2012.

Game-by-Game Results:
1984- First Round – RIT 13, Oswego State 2; RIT 10, Oswego State 1
1987- First Round – Oswego State 3, Babson 2; Babson 2, Oswego State 1; Oswego State 1, Babson 0,
Semifinal – Oswego State 5, St. Cloud State 2; Final – Plattsburgh 8, Oswego State 3
1988- First Round – Elmira 6, Oswego State 3; Elmira 10, Oswego State 2
1989- First Round – Oswego State 7, RIT 2; RIT 5, Oswego State 2; RIT 4, Oswego State 1
1991- First Round – Babson 4, Oswego State 1; Babson 10, Oswego State 4
1998- First Round – Middlebury 5, Oswego State 1; Middlebury 6, Oswego State 3
2003- Quarterfinal – Oswego State 4, Wentworth 3; Semifinal – Oswego State 6, Middlebury, 0; Final – Norwich 2, Oswego State 1
2007- Quarterfinal – Oswego State 3, Norwich 0; Semifinal – Oswego State 4, St. Norbert 3 (OT);
Final – Oswego State 4, Middlebury 3 (OT)
2010- Quarterfinal – Oswego State 9, Bowdoin 2; Semifinal - St. Norbert 4, Oswego State 3
2011- Quarterfinal – Oswego State 7, Bowdoin 5; Semifinal - Adrian 5, Oswego State 3
2012- Quarterfinal – Oswego State 5, Elmira 0; Semifinal - Oswego State 2, Amherst 1 (OT); Final - St. Norbert 4, Oswego State 1
2013- Quarterfinal – Oswego State 3, Adrian 2 (OT)

The Second Semifinal Game:
Friday's other semifinal pits UW-Eau Claire against Utica in a pairing of newcomers to the Frozen Four. UW-Eau Claire avenged its NCHA Championship loss to St. Norbert by defeating the two-time defending NCAA Champions, 3-1, in the quarterfinal after knocking off Saint John's (MN), 4-2, in the first round. This marks the second NCAA appearance for the Blugolds, and the first since 1989. Utica has made the most of its first NCAA Tournament appearance so far, erasing an early two-goal deficit to defeat Bowdoin, 4-2, in the quarterfinals. No. 4/4 UW-Eau Claire comes to Lake Placid with an overall record of 22-5-2, while No. 7/3 Utica enters at 21-5-1.

Oswego State has never faced UW-Eau Claire, while the Lakers are 10-5-0 all-time against the Pioneers. Utica defeated Oswego State by the scores of 3-2 and 6-0 earlier this season.

Team Notes:
- Oswego State is the only Frozen Four team to have won its conference championship and earn an automatic berth.
- Oswego State has the longest winning streak of the quartet entering the Frozen Four at three games.
- Oswego State has a veteran-laden squad with 14 seniors, who are making their fourth NCAA Frozen Four appearance and third trip to Lake Placid.
- The Laker seniors have posted a career record of 97-16-2, which is the best four-year stretch in program history, and are the only players to have reached four Frozen Fours.
- Head coach Ed Gosek's squad is ranked second in Division III in scoring offense at 4.86 goals per game. Defensively, the Lakers rank third allowing 1.75 goals per game.
- The Lakers rank fifth in Division III in power-play efficiency with a 27.2 percent conversion rate (41/151), which tops the four remaining teams, and are 17th on the penalty kill with an 85.5 percent rate (100/117), which ranks second among the four remaining teams.
- Since 2009, Norwich and Oswego State are the only two teams to reach the last four NCAA semifinal rounds. The Lakers are the only team who has not won a national title, as Norwich won the national championship in 2010. Friday is the first time the programs have met during this four-year stretch.
- The Lakers are 19-1-0 when scoring the first goal and 5-3-0 when their opponents get on the scoreboard first.
- Oswego State gathered several All-SUNYAC accolades this season. Leading the way was SUNYAC Player of the Year Paul Rodrigues, who was joined on the first team by linemate Luke Moodie and defenseman Zach Josepher. Assistant captain Chris Brown was named to the Second Team, while goaltender Andrew Hare and defenseman Jesse McConney landed on the Third Team. All six players are seniors.
- The line of seniors Jon Whitelaw, Paul Rodrigues and Luke Moodie has proven to be one of the best lines to ever play at Oswego State. The trio has played together their entire careers, compiling 402 points on 165 goals and 237 assists. This season the line
accounts for 31.6 percent of the team's scoring (47-71-118). The 118 points recorded by this line also equals the number of points recorded by Laker opponents this season (49-69-118).
- Oswego State is far from one-dimensional, though, as eight players have recorded at least 20 points this season. Thirteen different skaters have also turned in game-winning goals.
- Seventeen of the 23 Laker wins have been by three goals or more, while 13 of Norwich's 24 wins have also been by three goals or more.
- The Lakers are 7-3-0 in games decided by two goals or less, while the Cadets are 11-2-0.
- Oswego State likes to get out to a fast start, as it has outscored its opponents 56-22 in the first period. Norwich finishes games strong, as it has outscored its opponents 54-14 in the third period.
- The Lakers started the season ranked No. 2 by USCHO.com with two first-place votes.

Individual Notes:
- Senior forwards Chris Muise (Oakville, Ontario) and Matt Singleton (Whitby, Ontario) were named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team after finishing the tournament with three points each, while sophomore defenseman Bobby Gertsakis (Pickering, Ontario) was also named to the all-tournament squad.

- Senior goaltender Andrew Hare (Burlington, Ontario) ranks fourth in Division III with a .936 save percentage and fifth with a 1.73 goals against average. He has registered six shutouts this season en route to a new school-record 11 career shutouts. Hare was named SUNYAC Tournament MVP after posting a .969 save percentage and a 1.00 goals against average in two games.

- Senior forward Paul Rodrigues (Etobicoke, Ontario) has become known as “Mr. Overtime” at Oswego State, as he has scored four game-winning overtime goals during his career. His most recent came in the NCAA quarterfinal against Adrian. Prior to that, Rodrigues scored the game-winner versus Amherst in last year's NCAA semifinal. Rodrigues ranks second in Division III at 1.61 points per game and is tied for the lead in assists at 30. He became the ninth Laker in program history to earn SUNYAC Player of the Year honors.

- Senior forward Luke Moodie (Oakville, Ontario) also ranks in the top 10 among all Division III players in points per game at 1.54, which is sixth. He is tied for second in the country with 22 goals, and is tied for the Division III power-play goal lead with nine. Moodie is also tied for fourth with five game-winning markers.

- Junior defenseman Jesse McConney (Barrie, Ontario) is fourth among the nation's defensemen with 26 points on four goals and 22 assists. Two other Division III defensemen recorded 22 assists this season.

- Not only has senior forward Jon Whitelaw (Huntsville, Ontario), a 2012 Second Team All-American, gotten the job done on the ice. He has also gotten the job done in the classroom and in the community. Whitelaw has received numerous academic/community service awards including Oswego State Academic Male Student-Athlete of the Year, the SUNYAC Dr. Sam Molnar Award, CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District, the SUNY Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete Award in men's ice hockey, and the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence. The SUNYAC Dr. Sam Molnar Award is presented annually to a junior or senior student-athlete with the best combination of academic and athletic ability among SUNYAC-member institutions. The SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence is the highest student recognition through the State University of New York system, and honors senior students who have best demonstrated, and been recognized for, the integration of academic excellence with other aspects of their lives.

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Post-Standard feature on Paul Rodrigues