Oswego State Athletics

De Pere, WI  – Collin Vasallo's three-point night allowed the No. 12 Oswego State Lakers to battle past the No. 4 St. Norbert Green Knights 5-4, in the regular season opener.
 
The Basics
#12 Oswego State: 5 (1-0, 0-0 SUNYAC)
#4 St. Norbert: 4 (0-1, 0-0 NCHA)
Donald and Patricia Schneider Family Arena | De Pere, WI
 
How it Happened
Following the pregame celebration of St. Norbert's brand-new arena, the home team came out with the early momentum, scoring the opening goal courtesy of Landon MacDonald just two minutes into the game to give the Green Knights a 1-0 lead.
 
St. Norbert continued to control much of the first half of the opening period, but Oswego battled back in the second half. With seven minutes remaining in the first period, Jesse Horacek caught a pass behind the Green Knights' defense at the offensive blue line for a breakaway. His initial shot was saved before Brandon Cohen knocked home the rebound to tie the game at 1.
 
The Lakers weren't finished. Just 1 minute, 33 seconds after Cohen's goal, Collin Vassallo scored to give Oswego a 2-1 lead. Vassallo picked the puck off the boards, forced the St. Norbert goaltender to lean to the far side and fired a shot across the grain to the short side.
 
St. Norbert responded just a minute into the second period, tying the game before regaining the lead six minutes later on a goal by Calvin Hanson to make it 3-2.
 
In a back-and-forth contest, however, the Lakers refused to back down. Vassallo found the back of the net for the second time to tie the game before freshman Austin Borggard scored his first goal as a Laker, giving Oswego a 4-3 advantage heading into the third period. St. Norbert held the advantage in shots, but Oswego held the lead on the scoreboard.
 
Oswego earned an early power play in the third period but could not capitalize. Instead, Ryan Burke scored his first goal of the season on a shot that trickled out of the blue paint and crossed the goal line, extending the Lakers' lead to 5-3.
 
St. Norbert continued to battle, with Gustav Portillo scoring midway through the final period to cut the deficit to one. However, the Lakers' defensive effort held up over the closing minutes as Oswego secured a 5-4 victory.
 
Despite being outshot 36-24 by the Green Knights, the Lakers came away with the win, upsetting the consensus No. 4 team in the country. Gavin McCarthy came up with 32 saves in net.
 
What's Next
Oswego will look to sweep the two-game set against St. Norbert tomorrow night. Puck drop between the Lakers and Green Knights is slated for 4:00 PM CST.