Thursday, November 3, 2011

BROCKPORT-OSWEGO MATCH-UP

From the pages of the Palladium-Times...


Looking to rebound from its first loss of the season, the Oswego State men’s hockey team will host a pair of SUNY Athletic Conference games this weekend.

The Lakers (1-0 SUNYAC, 3-1 overall) will face Geneseo on Friday and Brockport on Saturday. Both games start at 7 p.m. at Campus Center Ice Arena.

Oswego State is coming off a 3-2 loss at Utica on Saturday. Coach Ed Gosek said he’s looking for a better effort from his players this weekend.

“We didn’t play very well,” Gosek said of the Utica game. “Utica was willing to do all the little things. We got beat to a lot of loose pucks and lost a lot of one-on-one battles.”

He added that the Lakers made too many unforced turnovers.

“They caused a lot of our mistakes, but probably 70 percent of our mistakes were self-inflicted,” Gosek said.

The coach said the Lakers need to look at it as a learning experience and turn the page. After starting last season with 12 consecutive victories, Oswego State was knocked from the unbeaten ranks much earlier this year.

“Sometimes you have to take a step back to move a couple forward,” Gosek said.

Laker fans are encouraged to step forward and help the United Way on Saturday. It will be United Way Day at the Rink, and fans are asked to bring non-perishable food items to help the United Way stock local food pantries.

Food donations will be accepted at both the Laker women’s hockey game at 3 p.m. against Cortland, and the Laker men’s hockey game at 7 p.m. against Brockport.

Here’s a closer look...


Brockport at Oswego State

Saturday, 7 p.m.

Although the Lakers defeated Brockport twice last season (4-2 at Brockport, 7-1 in Oswego), Gosek says his team can’t look past the Golden Eagles.

“They’re a much-improved team,” he said. “They have solid goaltending. James Cody is one of the most dangerous players in our league. He’s always had good games against us. They’ve got something to prove.”

Cody, a senior, has two goals and three assists to lead Brockport this season.

Senior Ian Finnerty (2-2) is another threat for the Eagles.

The Lakers will count on their defense led by seniors Jared Anderson and Hank Van Boxmeer to keep Brockport in check.

Junior goalie Andrew Hare (3-1, 1.65 GAA, .942 save percentage) has seen the bulk of the action in net thus far for the Lakers.

Brockport (0-1-1 SUNYAC, 0-2-1 overall) is trying to find some consistency. The Eagles tied Fredonia 4-4 and lost to Buffalo State 8-1 in their conference openers.

Oswego State is looking for improved effort and execution over the Utica game.

“We want to make ourselves better every week,” Gosek said. “These will be two great tests for us this weekend.”



Source: http://palltimes.com/articles/2011/11/02/sports/doc4eb1ef7ebba69556831573.txt

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