OSWEGO, N.Y. - Oswego Women's Ice Hockey hosted the Nazareth Golden Flyers in their second and final exhibition matchup before regular season competition. With Nazareth coming off an extremely successful season, finishing 2nd in the country, the Lakers had a massive opportunity to make a statement early in the year. A hot start by the Flyers forced Oswego to respond and react promptly, wasting no time matching Nazareth's energy and netting a quick a hard-earned lead throughout the first period. Despite trailing 3-0 entering the 2nd frame, the Golden Flyers would not be defeated lessening their deficit and elevating the physicality, but the Lakers stood tall improving the scoreline to 6-4 ahead of the third. An extremely physical and fast-paced third period generated much excitement, but a series of late penalties allowed Nazareth to equalize the score before the final buzzer, closing out the evening with an impressive 6-6 tally.
THE BASICS
Final Score:
Oswego: 6 (0-0-0, 0-0 SUNYAC)
Nazareth: 6 (0-0-0, 0-0 UCHC)
Location: Deborah F. Stanley Ice Arena| Oswego, N.Y.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Excited to get tonight's matchup underway, the national tournament runners-up, wasted little time putting pressure on the Lakers, but responding promptly, Oswego proved why they belong on the same sheet of ice as Nazareth. A set of back-and-forth beginning minutes gave Oswego some time to settle in and gain offensive momentum, keeping the Golden Flyers on their heels in their defensive zone. Slowly tilting the ice in their favor, the Lakers remained consistent on their forecheck, which would pay off as sophomore Liliana Ficaro would open the floodgates for Oswego with the first tally of the game at the 12:36 mark. Keeping their foot on the gas, the Lakers continued to push offense, adding a second goal to the scoreboard just 4 minutes later at 8:24. The back-and-forth nature of the 1st period would persist into the final minutes, but so would Oswego's intense forecheck, generating a turnover and third goal scored by Fiona Sierens with just under two minutes remaining. Closing out the first with a 3-0 cushion.
Not ready to relinquish, Nazareth came out of the gate flying at the start of the second period. Making quick work on offense, the Flyers lessened their deficit to 3-2 with two back-to-back goals at the 17:26 and 17:09 minute marks. Nazareth's intensity would pay off but would have its consequences, sending Flyer Ella Konrad to the box, awarding the Lakers a crucial powerplay on which Meagan Smith netted a clean one-timer at the 13:53, improving the scoreline to 4-2. As the 2nd period continued to unfold, the physicality and pace of play also continued to increase, making every 50/50 battle a must win. At the 12:40 mark, Nazareth forward Amy Laskowski cut Oswego's lead in half with a third goal for the Flyers. Keeping their foot on the gas, Nikki Sharp followed suit with an equalizer just 2 minutes later with 10:40 to play. With the game tied 4-4, the pressure to find a lead was immense, but the Lakers stepped up to the challenge finding a fifth tally at the 9:27 mark. The final half of the period was an end-to-end showdown, but a late score by Georgia Cunliffe extended Oswego's lead to 6-4 ahead of the third period.
Carrying their forward momentum into the final frame, the Lakers used it to their advantage as the back-and-forth energy of the previous periods persisted. Despite not finding the net, Oswego held possession of the puck and controlled the pace of play, keeping the Golden Flyers on their toes. Hungry for some possession of their own, the Flyers took matters into their own hands, landing multiple penalties early in the 3rd period. Although earning a handful of powerplay opportunities, the Lakers would also unfortunately fall victim to the physicality of the match, having to defend a 5-on-4 and 5-on-3 penalty in the final minutes of play. A major penalty gave Nazareth an advantage, on which they would make good not once but twice, evening the score 6-6 before the final buzzer.
WHAT'S NEXT
Oswego Women's Hockey will hit the road this upcoming weekend, traveling to Colmar, Pennsylvania to face off against the Arcadia University Knights in their first regular season competition. The first of the two-game series will kick off at 6:00PM on Friday, October 30th at the Hatfield Ice Arena. Go Lakers!
Written by Matilda Pethrick
@OswegoAthletics | FB: OswegoAthleticsOfficial | IG: oswegoathletics
