Oswego, NY - The Thoroughbreds of Skidmore galloped into the Deb on Saturday to face off against the Lakers in the SUNYAC semi-final. After an exhilarating final period, the Lakers held on to advance to the SUNYAC Championship. 
 
BASICS 
Oswego: 6 (18-6-2, 14-4-0 SUNYAC)
Skidmore: 3 (15-9-2, 11-6-1 SUNYAC)
Deborah F. Stanley Ice Arena | Oswego, NY 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
In a big game for the Lakers, they started it out in a big way. Skidmore had an early power play after Brandon Cohen got caught with a holding penalty. The Lakers killed it off which spoke to their defensive approach on the Thoroughbreds. Oswego then started ripping shots left and right. They had good looks, but Skidmore's Tommy Aitken continued to play well in the net. The Lakers on a breakaway would shoot and the rebound found the stick of Jonathon Balah and he shot from distance. The puck slipped by the outstretched arm of Aitken and the Lakers opened the scoring.
 
Just a couple minutes later, the Lakers would increase their lead. Tommy Banister would shoot from the blue line, and it would find the tip of Michael Urgo's stick. The redirect by Urgo was perfect and the Lakers were up two. Up two but searching for more were the Lakers. With four minutes left in the first, Colin Vassallo would work around the back of the net and dish it to Adam Grenier. He was 1-on-1 with Aitken and Grenier won the battle. Oswego was up big at this point after Grenier's goal and Skidmore was urgent to get back in this one. Brandon Spaulding for Skidmore got a nice centering pass from Oscar Worob and the Thoroughbreds cut the lead to just two. The buzzer sounded to cap off an exciting first twenty. 
 
Oswego just simply wouldn't let off the gas pedal. Just 3 minutes into the second period, Justin Ryan scored and gave the Lakers another cushion goal. The Lakers led 4-1 and even though their offense was doing all the right things, their defense was also being executed well. The Lakers were limiting breakaways and space for Skidmore to operate. Nothing seemed to open for the Thoroughbreds. Oswego blocked many shots from Skidmore as well as Michael Manzi continuing his playoff dominance not letting anything by him. The Lakers also were able to fend off another Skidmore power play. No more scoring happened in this period, but Oswego's defense was something to write home about. 
 
The final period started off slow as neither team could generate a goal. The Lakers didn't play like they had the lead they did. They were still all offense as they had thirteen shots in the first ten minutes. The Thoroughbreds, in the eleventh minute, finally found their second goal of the game. It was Oscar Worob for Skidmore and life was shown in the Deb. Right after the goal, Skidmore made a costly mistake. Shane Baker for the Thoroughbreds, got a tripping penalty and Oswego was now on the power play. The Lakers, like they've done well this season, capitalized on this chance. It was all Brandon Cohen for his 9th goal of the season. Just two short minutes later, Skidmore responded with a goal of their own. Mitchell Floccare got one past Manzi and we sat 5-3 in favor of the Lakers still. In the final minute, the Lakers tallied on one last goal. It was an open net goal for Justin Ryan to put the cherry on the cake. After a back-and-forth third period, the Lakers were able to keep the lead and beat the Skidmore Thoroughbreds. 
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Lakers will travel to Geneva, NY to face off against the SUNYAC best in the Hobart Statesmen. Oswego lost both games to Hobart in the regular season. Can the defending champs fend off the unbeaten SUNYAC newcomers? Find out March 7th. 
 
Written by: Luke Belanger