Oswego State Athletics

Oswego, N.Y. - The No. 9 Oswego State men's hockey team got back into the winning column in their home opener on Friday night, defeating the No. 5 Geneseo Knights in an overtime thriller on Friday night. 
 

THE BASICS

Final:

#9 Oswego State: 3 (2-1-0, 0-0 SUNYAC)

#5 Geneseo: 2 (2-1-1, 0-0 UCHC)

Location: Oswego, NY | Deborah F. Stanley Ice Arena

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Knights wasted no time in making their mark, as Kowin Belsterling headed a two-on-two before shoveling a rebound past Gavin McCarthy to give Geneseo a 1-0 lead, just a minute into the contest. The Lakers had plenty of chances during a key man-up advantage afterwards, but opposing goalie Jacob Torgner stood tall in net to save everything that came his way. 

The Lakers eventually broke through, as Colin Vassallo found the puck amidst a chaotic 4-on-1 and slapped a one-timer past Torgner to tie the game up at one goal apiece with 14 minutes remaining in the opening period. The goal was Vassallo's fourth in three games, and the two teams went into the first intermission knotted up. Oswego held the advantage in shots heading into the break, while Torgner totaled nine saves and McCarthy with five. 

The second period was a defensive battle early on, before Vassallo secured his second goal of the game with a slapshot in the corner on a pass from Nick Ahern with four minutes to go. The Lakers continued to find offensive success afterwards, ending the period with 21 shots compared to Geneseo's 11.

The third period proved to be a culmination of the game, as the narrow 1 goal lead kept tensions high throughout. Penalties by both teams allowed for both Geneseo and Oswego to take the forefront on the man advantage, but neither side was able to capitalize. In the dying moments of the game, Geneseo pulled their goalie, and the man advantage proved to be critical, as Filip Wiberg crashed the net before tipping a redirected puck past McCarthy with 14 seconds remaining to tie the game and force overtime.

A packed house at the Deborah F. Stanley Arena was stunned to silence as the Lakers were forced to regoup with 60 minutes being unable to separate the two ranked foes. It didn't take long for the Lakers to do so though, as Austin Borggaard used a nifty move past his defender before converting a cross-body shot past Torgner, granting the Lakers a 3-2 overtime victory. 

WHAT'S NEXT

Oswego will look to build on their momentum in Brockport tomorrow at 7 p.m., before continuing their road trip against two tough conference opponents in Plattsburgh State and Skidmore next weekend. 

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