MASSENA, N.Y. – The second-ranked Oswego State men’s ice hockey team (21-3-0, 14-1-0 SUNYAC) was firing on all cylinders as it scored seven first-period goals, and never looked back in a 10-0 rout over Potsdam (8-15-1, 5-10) Friday night. With the win, the Lakers clinched their fourth straight regular-season conference title and the #1-seed for the State University of New York Athletic Conference playoffs.
Zach Josepher (Sr., Wantagh, N.Y.) and Luke Moodie (Sr., Oakville, Ontario) tallied two goals each, while Jon Whitelaw(Sr., Huntsville, Ontario) registered a goal and three assists and David Titanic (Jr., Markham, Ontario) and Bobby Gertsakis (So., Pickering, Ontario) posted a goal and two assists each.
Potsdam nearly scored 25 seconds into the game, but the net came loose prompting a whistle. It did not take long for the Lakers to get on track, though, starting with a power play in the first minute. Gertsakis scored a goal in his third straight game as his shot from the left point got through traffic past Bear goalie Shane Talarico at the 2:19 mark. Less than two minutes later, Whitelaw made it 2-0 as both teams were skating 4-on-4. Josepher then followed up with a goal from the blue line after Tyler Leimbrock (Sr., Bolton, Ontario) won a faceoff in the Oswego State offensive zone.
The goal prompted a Potsdam timeout, while Austin Keiser came in to replace Talarico. However, the move did not slow down the Lakers as Chris Ayotte (Sr., Cornwall, Ontario) and Chris Muise (Sr., Oakville, Ontario) fed Chris Brown (Sr., Centreville, Ontario) for his seventh goal of the year at 9:54 in the first. Oswego State saw its lead swell to 7-0 at the end of the frame after David Titanic (Jr., Markham, Ontario), Moodie, and Leimbrock added goals, as the Lakers out-shot the Bears, 23-6.
Both teams made goalie changes at the start of the second with Daniel Jones (Sr., Richmond Hill, Ontario) between the pipes for the Lakers and Talarico coming back in for Potsdam. Matt Singleton (Sr., Whitby, Ontario) notched his third goal of the season at 2:52 followed by a Moodie power-play goal that went five-hole just over a minute later.
Josepher tacked on the final goal of the game when he buried a rebound after a Gertsakis shot, while Oswego State was on the power play and Jones came off the ice on a delayed penalty with 35 seconds remaining in the second.
The Lakers finished the game 3-for-5 on the power play compared to Potsdam, which went 0-for-2.
Hare stopped six shots in the first period to pick up the win, while Jones ended up with 13 saves in the final two stanzas. Talarico and Keiser combined to make 44 saves.
Oswego State closes out the regular season Saturday night against Plattsburgh at 7 p.m.
