BUFFALO, N.Y. – Oswego Women's Hockey returned to the Buffalo State Ice Arena this afternoon to face off against Buffalo State for the second contest of the weekend and for the last competition of their regular season. Looking to build off last night's 2-0 victory and to gain some positive momentum heading into playoffs, the Lakers came out ready to dominate. From the opening faceoff, Oswego controlled the game and found success early in the game. They battled through a slower paced second period and a physical third to secure a 4-1 win over the Bengals and their last weekend sweep of the regular season.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Oswego 4 (14-10-1, 12-5-1 SUNYAC), Buffalo 1 (2-22-1, 0-18-0 SUNYAC) Location: Buffalo State Ice Arena | Buffalo, N.Y.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lakers came out excited and ready to build off last night's performance. From the opening faceoff, Oswego worked as a cohesive unit, breaking it out of their defensive zone seamlessly and connecting on passing plays in the offensive zone. As the period got underway, the Lakers settled in and maintained possession in Buffalo's zone. A backdoor play generated by Rachel Corbett led to a scramble in front of the Bengals' net. Senior Kensie Malone was able to sneak the puck by opposing net minder Jessica Auge at 12:18, improving the score to 1-0 in Oswego's favor. The Lakers would continue to control play at both ends of the ice for the remainder of the first period.
Despite Oswego's jump in the first, the game would turn into a back-and-forth battle in the beginning minutes of the second period. A big hit by Bengals forward Rylee Garrow would award the Lakers their first powerplay of the game at the 7:12 mark. Oswego battered Auge with shot after shot but not one would find the back of the net on the power play. This would not discourage the Lakers, as a disciplined defensive breakout in the following minute would send Junior Mack Hull down the offensive slot on a breakaway, on which she capitalized. Adding another tally to the scoreboard at 10:29 and extending Oswego's lead to 2-0. Hull's goal reignited the fire the Lakers started the game with and motivated them to capitalize on their second power play of the game. Freshman defenseman Leah Coley wasted no time, letting an absolute bomb of a slapshot off from the blueline, securing Oswego's third goal of the afternoon at the 15:54 mark. The Lakers would find themselves on yet another power play at 17:13, on which Sophia Krykostas notched the fourth and final goal of contest for Oswego, closing out the second period with a dominant 4-0 lead over Buffalo State.
Today's third period was a little extra special for the Lakers, as Senior goaltender Rachel "Ray Ray" Brase replaced starter Lexi Levy in net for the Oswego. Every player on the Laker bench fought hard for the entirety of the period to keep the Bengals out of their defensive zone and maintain their lead. The scoreline would remain the same until an unlucky bounce sent Bengal forward Miya Silva on a breakaway, stripping Brase of the shutout win. Both Levy and Brase stood tall in net this weekend collectively blocking 37 shots, contributing heavily to the Lakers' 4-1 win this evening and final weekend sweep of the regular season.
WHAT'S NEXT
The No.3 Lakers will have a week to recover and prepare before they head to Cortland, N.Y. on Saturday, February 24th for the first round of SUNYAC playoffs in which they will face off against the No.2 Cortland Red Dragons at 3:00 PM.
Written By: Matilda Pethrick
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