OSWEGO, N.Y. – The line of seniors Chris Brown, Chris Ayotte, and Chris Muise compiled seven points to help the No. 5/6-ranked Oswego State men’s ice hockey team (13-3-0) defeat Nazareth (5-9-1), 4-1, as Laker head coach Ed Gosek recorded his 200th career win. Brown finished with two goals and an assist, while Muise tallied a goal and an assist and Ayotte contributed a pair of helpers.
Oswego State controlled play for most of the first period, but scoring did not get started for either team until the Lakers were called for goaltender interference. Less than a minute into the power play, Paul Rodrigues deflected a pass along the blue line into the neutral zone. He beat a Golden Flyer to the puck, carried it into the zone, and ripped a shot that beat Nazareth goalie Ed Zdolshek glove side at 10:07 to give Oswego State a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Flyers won the subsequent faceoff and got off a series of shots that were stopped by Laker goalieJustin Gilbert (Fr., Ottawa, Ontario), deflected off skates, and careened off pipes until Tom Seravalli got enough of the puck to lift it under the cross bar right as Oswego State returned to full strength.
With the score tied at one heading into the second program, the “Chris” line took control. Bobby Gertsakis (So., Pickering, Ontario) fed the puck to Chris Brown (Centreville, Ontario), who carried it up the left side before passing to Chris Muise (Sr., Oakville, Ontario) in the slot. Muise was turned away on his initial shot, but the rebound came right back and he made no mistake on the second chance, lifting the puck into the upper left hand corner at 5:21.
Brown notched his fifth and sixth goals at the 10:29 and 17:29 marks. Ayotte and Muise found Brown open for the marker that put Oswego State ahead 3-1. The game’s final goal came following wraparound move by Nick Rivait(So., Kingsville, Ontario). Rivait passed the puck across the slot to Brown, who was open for the tap-in goal. Ayotte also earned an assist on the play.
The third period yielded no goals, as Justin Gilbert earned his first collegiate win after tallying 21 saves. Ed Zdolshek stopped 44 saves for Nazareth in the losing effort.
Gosek reached the 200-win plateau in his 270th game behind the bench as a head coach, as his career mark improved to 200-54-16 (.770) in the midst of ten seasons. The game also marked a homecoming of sorts for Golden Flyer head coach George Roll, who coached Oswego State from 1996-2003.
The Lakers resume SUNYAC play next Friday at Cortland before hosting Hamilton next Saturday in the final non-conference contest of the season.
