OSWEGO, N.Y. – Oswego Women's Hockey returned to action this afternoon for Senior Day in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. Facing off against the Manhattanville Valiants in the second matchup of this weekend's non-conference series, the Lakers will look to close out this weekend with winning momentum heading into Tuesday's game against #11 Utica University. Another excited start by Oswego would not make it hard for them to get on the board first, ending the first period with a light 3-0 lead. Determined to diminish a second shutout for the Lakers, Manhattanville came out of the gate firing in the 2nd period, but it wouldn't be enough as the Valiants would head into the final frame trailing 4-1. Despite their comfortable 3-goal lead, the Lakers did not let up, pulling away with an 8-3 victory over Manhattanville.  

THE BASICS  
 
Final Score:  

Oswego 8 (13-2-1, 8-1-1 SUNYAC)   

Manhattanville 3 (4-11-2, 2-2-0 UCHC) 

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

 
HOW IT HAPPENED  

Between last night's dominant win and today's festivities, Oswego had jump straight off the opening faceoff. After gaining offensive positioning immediately, it did not take long before senior Rachel Corbett netted the first of game at 4:41. On the following play, Mackenzie Hull would earn a hooking penalty, awarding Manhattanville the first advantage of the game. An unsuccessful powerplay for the Valiants would be turned around by the Lakers, putting them back on defense. A handful missed shots would, once again, be remedied by Rachel Corbett, scoring a second goal at the 8:52 mark. Oswego would earn their first turn on the powerplay, just a few minutes later, but would unfortunately not find any quality chances. As the first period began to expire, the Valiants would struggle to stay out of the box, giving the Lakers multiple more powerplay opportunities, on which graduate student Jayden Kelley would capitalize, extending Oswego's lead to 3-0 with just under 5 minutes to play in the period.  

Determined to diminish a second shutout for the Lakers, Manhattanville came out of the gate firing in the beginning minutes of the 2nd period. Oswego kept the Valiants at bay until Leah Coley lost an edge in the right defensive corner, turning the puck over. Manhattanville would make the most of the downed defenseman, sending the puck to the back door where Katherine Stahl would tap it behind veteran netminder Lexi Levy at 2:04. Undeterred, the Lakers wasted no time regaining offensive momentum. Meagan Smith would put the puck through the legs of a Manhattanville player just above the offensive blueline and take it into the zone. A solid shot from the first year would evade the blocker of opposing goaltender, Elsa Haakonsen, notching the 4th goal of the game at the 3:39 mark. Oswego's growing lead would warrant a goalie change for the Valiants, as Olivia Cimorelli would replace Haakonsen between the pipes. The Lakers kept the pressure on in the latter half of the second period, but were unable to add to the scoreline, heading into the final frame ahead 4-1.  

A roughing penalty called against Valiant Colby Cantor in the final seconds of the second would put the Lakers on the powerplay for the opening minute of the third period. As play returned to even-strength, Oswego would maintain possession, holding Manhattanville on defense. A hefty shot from senior Lizzie Burke at the top of the circles would hit a stick and bounce under the pad of Cimorelli at 2:15, making it 5-1. The Lakers would have a series of chances in the following minutes, but stat night for Corbett, Kelley, and sophomore Jenna Majewski would continue, adding a sixth goal to the tally just 3 minutes later. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called against Oswego would put them on the penalty kill, but Mackenzie Hull would make up for her penalty early in the game with a beautiful short-handed snipe at the 9:21 mark. A painful blocked shot by captain Sophia Kyrkostas, on the proceeding play, would take her out and give the Valiants a lane to net, adding a 2nd point to their goal column. A third goal by Manhattanville would be immediately answered by an 8th goal scored by senior Tessa Mucha. Despite their persistent final efforts, the Manhattanville University Valiants would still fall 8-3 to your Oswego State Lakers. 

WHAT'S NEXT  

Oswego Women's Hockey will have another quick turnaround, traveling to Utica, N.Y. to face off against the #11 Utica University Pioneers this Tuesday, January 28th. Puck drop is set to commence at 7:00 PM in the Utica University Nexus Center. Go Lakers! 

Written by Matilda Pethrick 

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