OSWEGO, N.Y. – The No. 3/7 Oswego State men’s ice hockey team (18-3-0, 11-1-0 SUNYAC) pulled out a 3-2 win over streaking Morrisville (4-16-2, 4-9-0) Friday at the Campus Center Arena on a night that the Lakers honored their seniors. Captain Jon Whitelaw scored the eventual game-winner to give Oswego State its first win over the Mustangs at home since Feb. 27, 2010 in a SUNYAC semifinal contest.
The Lakers came out swarming in front of the home crowd resulting in David Titanic (Jr., Markham, Ontario) scoring his third goal in as many games 1:46 into the game. He skated up the near boards and ripped a slap shot that narrowly slid through Morrisville goalie Christopher Azzano past the goal line. Morrisville nearly evened the score in the seventh minute when Ryan Marcuz got around a Laker defender, but his shot clanged off the far post to keep Oswego State out in front.
Titanic later drew a hooking penalty at 15:55 when he received a pass behind the Mustang defensemen. The subsequent power play led to Luke Moodie (Sr., Oakville, Ontario) burying a pass that came from behind the goal line off Paul Rodrigues‘ (Sr., Etobicoke, Ontario) stick. Jon Whitelaw (Sr., Huntsville, Ontario) also earned an assist on the goal.
However, Morrisville quieted the crowd at the 18:10 mark when Zach Baker capitalized on a Laker turnover in their defensive zone to make the score 2-1 at intermission, despite owning a 16-6 advantage in shots on goal.
The Mustangs gained a 5-on-3 situation for 33 seconds in the early stages of the second period. Ten seconds after Oswego State returned to full strength, James Jarvis took a shot from the top of the slot that went top shelf over Laker goalie Andrew Hare‘s (Sr., Burlington, Ontario) blocker at the 5:12 mark to knot the game at 1-1. Mike Dolman was credited with an assist on the goal.
Midway through the second period, Whitelaw one-timed a shot in the slot along the ice just inside the left post to put Oswego State back in front at 9:46. Zach Josepher (Sr., Wantagh, N.Y.) started the play from the point, feeding Moodie at the bottom of the right face-off circle.
The Lakers threatened in the third period on a pair of power plays, but came up empty as they tried to extend the lead. However, the Mustangs began to press the issue as the frame wore on with Hare making 15 saves. Morrisville pulled Azzano with 34 seconds left in an effort to send the game into overtime, but came up empty.
Oswego State ended up 1-for-5 on the power play, while Morrisville finished 0-for-5. Hare posted his 14th win of the season after stopping 32 shots. Azzano tallied 33 saves in the losing effort.
After the game, Oswego State honored its 14 seniors on the ice. Members of the senior class include Luke Moodie,Jon Whitelaw, Chris Ayotte, Paul Rodrigues, Zach Josepher, Tim Carr, Tyler Leimbrock, Taylor Farris, Matt Singleton, Chris Muise, Chris Brown, Jesse McConney, Andrew Hare and Daniel Jones.
The Lakers close out the regular season on the road for the final four games starting with games in Buffalo State and Fredonia next weekend.
