OSWEGO, N.Y. – Oswego Women's hockey hosted reigning SUNYAC Champions, the No. 8 Cortland Red Dragons this evening in a head-to-head conference matchup. With the Lakers playing to keep their undefeated record alive and to maintain the top spot in the SUNYAC Conference. Two goals, in the first period, by Oswego would give them some breathing room, but an unsatisfied Cortland squad kept the Lakers on their toes in a scoreless second period. A series of back-to-back goals by Oswego in the opening 2 minutes of the third would extend their lead to 4-0, but the Dragons did not give up, stripping Lexi Levy of a shutout on the following play. A final handful of promising scoring chances by Cortland would test Oswego's grit in the remaining minutes of play, but the Lakers managed to pull away from the evening with a 4-1 victory over SUNY Cortland.  

THE BASICS  
 
Final Score:  

Oswego 4 (5-0-1, 3-0-1 SUNYAC) 

Cortland1 (4-2-0, 2-2-0 SUNYAC) 

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

 
HOW IT HAPPENED  

A lackluster start for the Lakers would give Cortland some early offensive momentum and chances on starting goaltender Lexi Levy but luckily neither team could get a handle on the puck. A handful of Oswego's clears would be intercepted in the neutral zone and returned by the Dragons, making it hard for the Lakers to get consistent line changes and rushes. A dump in from Jayden Kelley at the red line would give transfer student Brittany Iverson a wraparound opportunity on Cortland's starting goaltender, Molly Goergen, her drive from behind would unfortunately miss the near post but happened to find the stick of sophomore Helen Vandamme at the top of the circle. A strong low shot from Vandamme would sneak between the blocker and pad of Goergen into the bottom left corner, putting the Lakers on the board first at the 6:28 mark. As the period got underway Oswego began to find some rhythm. A puck battle won by senior Mackenzie Hull on the left sideboards of Cortland's zone would give her a lane into the corner and along the goal line. Forward Erika Parenti would be rewarded for her net drive effort with a feed from Hull on that she would finish, extending Oswego's lead to 2-0 at 8:41. The remaining half of the first period would turn into a back-and-forth battle with both the Lakers and Dragons fighting for possession. 
 
An unsatisfied Cortland squad came out flying in the early minutes of the second period, catching the Laker defensemen on their heels. A compilation of shots from the Dragons would be kept out by Levy and recovered by Oswego on face offs. Sophia Kyrkostas would strip a Cortland defenseman of the puck at the blue line, sending herself on a breakaway. Kyrkostas' nifty move would be stopped by an outstretched right pad of Goergen and picked up by the Dragons returning Mia Hlasnick on an unsuccessful breakaway of her own. An interference penalty Gillian Dinsmore would give Oswego a power play advantage for the final minute of 2nd period play. Despite a handful of chances in front of the net, the score would remain 2-0 heading into the final period. 
 
Using their remaining minute on the power play to their advantage, Mackenzie Hull would notch a third goal for the Lakers 0:52 seconds into the period. A determined line rush by Krykostas and sophomore transfer Jenna Majewski, on the following play, would create a scrum in front of Cortland's net. Tessa Mucha would find the puck and pop it over the left shoulder of Goergen adding 4th tally to the scoreboard a minute later at 2:01. Olivia Lumpsiez would replace Molly Goergen in net for the Red Dragons for the remainder of play. A lull in the Lakers' energy would give Cortland some space and time to set up on offense. A shot from Josselyn Dryson would generate a rebound, netted by Kira Cook at 5:10, improving the scoreline to 4-1. Both teams would take turns on offense in a physical succeeding minutes but neither would breakthrough. A too-many-men penalty taken by Oswego would award the Dragons their second power play of the game at 12:32, but a connected Laker penalty kill unit would fend off the plays attempted by Cortland. A final handful of promising scoring chances by the Dragons would test Oswego's grit in the remaining minutes of play, but the Lakers managed to pull away from the evening with a 4-1 victory over SUNY Cortland. 

WHAT'S NEXT  

The Lady Lakers will enjoy a well-deserved Thanksgiving Break before returning to Deborah F. Stanley Arena on December 6th, to face off against the SUNY Potsdam Bears at 7:00 PM.  

 
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