Collins Scores Twice as Oswego beats Utica in Overtime

Oswego State Sophomore Kelly Collins (left)  notched two goals as the Oswego State Lakers defeated the Utica Pioneers 3-2 in OT at the Campus Center Ice Arena Saturday night. With the win, Oswego moves within one point of the Pioneers for 4th in the ECAC-West standings and puts them into a 3-way tie for second with Neumann and Buffalo State. With the victory, Oswego's record moves to 7-11-1 (5-7-1 in conference) while Utica drops to 9-11-2 and 5-8-2 in conference play.

Oswego got on the board first when Jillian Bergeron notched her 6th of the year with Jenna Kirkwood getting the assist at 12:59 of the first period. Bergeron was right on the door step to put the puck past Pioneer netminder Jill Doherty to give the Lakers the 1-0 lead and that was the score when the two teams went to the locker room after the first period.

Utica tied the game when it took advantage of a Laker tripping penalty midway through the second period when Lynny Gonzales’one-timer got past Oswego State goaltender Emi Williams. MacKenzie Roy got the lone assist on Gonzales' 11th on the year.  However, the tie did not last long as the Lakers’ Kelly Collins  ripped a wrist shot that went top shelf at the 12:50 mark to give Oswego a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.

The third period saw Utica have chance after chance but they were turned away everytime by Oswego State goalie Emi Williams. The Pioneers pulled goalie Jill Doherty for the extra attacker with 1:52 remaining on the clock and the strategy worked as Utica tied the game with 17.3 ticks left on the clock when Williams stopped the original shot from Rebecca Heim but the puck came right onto the stick of Gonzales who would put the puck in the net to force overtime.Jodie Galuzzi and Heim assisted on the tieing goal.

But the Lakers took control of the game in the extra session as they outshot Utica 6-1 in overtime including the game winning goal for Kelly Collins. Team Captain Angie Friesen took the shot from the point while on the powerplay and Collins was right there to bang home the rebound to give the Lakers the win and the important two points.

Emi Williams finished the contest with 26 saves, including 11 in the third period, to improve to 7-8-1.  The Pioneers’ Jill Doherty compiled 27 saves on 30 shots and her record is now 9-9-2. The same two teams will go at it tomorrow afternoon on Super Bowl Sunday at 3:00 pm from the shores of Lake Ontario. The game can be heard on the worldwide web and on the radio courtesy of WNYO-FM 88.9 "The Voice of Oswego".

Box Score
Photos Courtesy of SUNY Oswego Sports Information