Lakers Fall 3-2 to Devilettes in Exhibition 

OSWEGO, N.Y. – Oswego Women's hockey capped off their preseason exhibition series with a matchup against the U22 London Devilettes from London, Ontario. A scoreless first period would leave much to be desired, as the physicality of the game escalated. The Lakers would be undeterred by a brief 1-0 lead held by London late in the second period, as they balanced the score on a successful powerplay opportunity. Two quick goals by the Devilettes in the beginning minutes of the 3rd period would force the Lakers to find another gear. Despite a valiant effort by the Lakers in the final moments of the third period, they would fall 3-2 to a physical London Devilette squad, going 1-1-0 in their preseason competition. 

THE BASICS 

Final Score:  

Oswego 2 (0-0-0, 0-0 SUNYAC) 

London Devilettes 3 (6-10-0 OWHL) 

Location: Deborah F. Stanley Arena | Oswego, N.Y.  

 

HOW IT HAPPENED  
 

Despite losing the opening faceoff, the Lakers came out ready to work. The Devilettes gained entry to Oswego's zone early, keeping the puck below the goal line and challenging the Laker defense in the corners. As Oswego settled in, they began to generate good momentum on breakouts, earning their first turn on offense a few minutes into play. A handful of strong shots from both teams would test starting goaltenders Lexi Levy and Ella Gracey, but the scoreboard would remain scoreless heading into the second period.  

The brief intermission gave the Lakers some time to reconvene, coming out much stronger in the early minutes of the 2nd period. As play got underway, Oswego began to push the pace, maintaining offensive possession and shutting London out on defense. A bad bounce for the Laker defense at their offensive blueline, would send the Devilettes down the ice on an odd-man rush. A nifty five hole shot by opposing forward, Julia Mcintosh would give London a 1-0 lead at the 5:21 mark. Undeterred by this goal, Oswego wasted no time regaining possession and they earned a powerplay advantage on the following play. Forward Erika Parenti balanced the score just over a minute later at 6:29, after securing a clutch high right-side snipe, assisted by fellow sophomore Helen Vandamme. The final minutes of the first period would turn into 50/50 battle at both ends of the ice, with both teams fighting to break the 1-1 scoreline. 

A change at the defensive end of the Oswego bench would rattle their defensive consistency in the beginning minutes of the 3rd period, as London managed to regain control of play and keep possession in the Lakers' zone. Devilette Maya Valeri would notch an unassisted second goal for London 6:53 into the third. Oswego responded well but struggled to break the puck out of their zone. A few minutes later, Ella McCallum from London would lose her defender and find the back of the net off a nifty tip at the 12:13 mark. With the Lakers now trailing 3-1 they desperately needed to find another gear, and they did just that, securing solid offensive zone positioning on the following plays. A late surge led by Parenti sparked the Lakers, as first year Meagan Smith netted a rebound generated in front, over the right shoulder of the Deviletts keeper with just 5 minutes remaining in gameplay. Despite a valiant effort by the Lakers in the final moments of the third period, they would fall 3-2 to a physical London Devilette squad, going 1-1-0 in their preseason competition.