Oswego is in WNY for a pair of SUNYAC Contests

The top ranked team in all of D-III Men's Ice Hockey makes a return to the ice tonight as the Oswego State Lakers make the trip to snowy Western New York for a showdown with the Buffalo State Bengals at the Buff State Ice Arena on Friday night. On Saturday, Oswego travels to Fredonia to take on the Blue Devils at Steele Hall.



The Oswego State Lakers are coming in as the top team in the land according to the latest USCHO D-III Poll. Oswego (15-2-0, 8-0-0)  is on a three game winning streak, including two shutouts by goalies Andrew Hare and Dan Jones. The Lakers potent offense is led by Junior transfer Ian Boots with 22 points (9 G 13 A), Sophomore Luke Moodie with 19 points (10 G 9 A) and Senior Justin Fox also with 19 points (8 G 11 A).

As already mentioned, the goaltenders for Ed Gosek's squad have been hot lately as they put back to back shutouts between the pipes. Dan Jones (3-1-0) comes into the weekend with a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 1.68 with a save percentage of .944 Andrew Hare picked up his first win as a Laker since transferring in from Niagara University and Hare (1-1-0) has a save percentage of .896 and GAA of 2.76 Starting goaltender Paul Beckwith (11-0-0) may or may not be ready to go this weekend as he is coming back from an injury. Beckwith has a GAA of 1.37 and has a save percentage of .949

The Buffalo State Bengals (8-7-2, 4-2-2) are coming in after a weekend sweep of Johnson and Wales last weekend. The Bengals are led offensively by Senior Nick Petriello with 21 points ( 7 G 14 A), Sophomore Trevor McKinney with 19 points (11 G 8 A) and Sophomore forward Justin Knee with 15 points (7 G 8 A). Between the pipes, Freshman Kevin Carr has had most of the load playing 16 games for the Bengals. Carr has a record of 7-7-2 and has a GAA of 2.66 and has a save percentage of .924

On Saturday, the Lakers will travel to Steele Hall in Fredonia to face off against the Fredonia Blue Devils. Fredonia (8-9-0, 3-5-0) is coming off a sweep of Franklin Pierce last weekend. The Blue Devils are led by Senior forward Jordon Oye with 30 points (13 G 17 A), Junior Brian Ross with 29 points (8 G 21 A) and Senior Alex Horton with 19 points (8 G 11 A). Fredonia's netminders include three Freshmen. One of the Freshmen is Hark Friesen who has played 11 games (5-6-0) in his first season in the Southern Tier. Friesen's GAA is 2.63 and has a save percentage of .917

Oswego's WNYO-FM 88.9 will have the play by play action of both games this weekend.

Notes: top picture left - Buff State Ice Arena, right - Steele Hall Ice Arena at Fredonia

PREVIEW: Bentley Falcons at RIT Tigers

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers will be hosting the Bentley Falcons in a pair of Atlantic Hockey Assoiciation (AHA)  showdowns starting with a 7:00 pm faceoff on Friday night at the Frank Ritter Memorial Arena on the campus of RIT. The two teams will conclude their weekend series with a 7:05 pm face-off on Saturday night.


The Tigers are coming into the weekend's action with a win and a tie over the Army Black Knights at West Point last weekend. RIT has a record of 11-8-3 and a 10-3-2 conference record so far this season. Leading the way offensively for RIT is Senior Forward and team Captain Andrew Favot with 27 points (7 G 20 A). Juinor Tyler Brenner has 24 points (16 G 8 A) and Sophomore Adam Hartley has 17 points (8 G 9 A). Between the pipes for RIT, Sophomore Shane Madolora has a record of 9-0-1 with a goals against average (GAA) of 1.68 and he has a save percentage of .947 The Tigers are coached by Wayne Wilson (12th season)

Bentley (5-10-3, 4-7-2 AHA) comes into the weekend looking to snap seven-game winless streak (0-5-2). Senior Erik Peterson leads the team in scoring with 13 points (6-7-13) in 15 games this season. Brett Gensler is tied for the team lead with six goals, while Dustin Cloutier and Jamie Nudy have seven assists. Senior goaltender Joe Calvi has played the majority of games in net this season, and is 4-6-1 with a 2.62 goals against average, and .921 save percentage. Kyle Rank has a 2.72 goals against average and .927 save percentage in five contests so far this season. The Falcons are coached by 8th year bench boss Ryan Soderquist.

Bentley was the last team conference opponent to defeat the Tigers at Ritter Arena, winning 5-4 on Jan. 30, 2010. RIT leads the all-time series between the two teams, 10-4-1. RIT was 1-1 against Bentley last year, winning 4-1 and losing 5-4. RIT is 8-3-1 against Bentley since the 2006-07 season. RIT is leading the AHA with 22 points, six points ahead of local rival Niagara and Robert Morris. Also on the line this weekend is RIT's eleven game home-unbeaten streak against conference foes. The Tigers are also riding a six game conference unbeaten streak as well.

PREVIEW: Curry Colonels at #2 Oswego State Lakers on Saves For a Cure Night

The Oswego State Lakers will play host to the Curry College Colonels out of the ECAC Northeast Conference in a non-conference contest at 7:00 pm Saturday night at the Campus Center Ice Arena. The Lakers will be sporting a gold jersey that helps supports Saves For A Cure. Saves For a Cure is a non-profit organization founded by former Brockport men's ice hockey goaltender Todd Sheridan aimed to help children with their battle against cancer in the Rochester area.

The Lakers are coming off a 2-0 victory over Skidmore on Tuesday night behind a 25 save shutout for Dan Jones (first of career) and goals from Jon Whitelaw and Dan Bremner to bump their record up to 14-2-0 overall. Oswego is led offensively by Junior Ian Boots with 20 points (8 G 12 A). Senior Justin Fox is one point behind Boots with 19 points (8 G 11 A) and Sophomore Luke Moodie is just one point behind Fox with 18 points (9 G 9 A). Between the pipes, Dan Jones has a record of 3-1-0 with a goals against average (GAA) of 1.68 and a save percentage of .944 Sophomore transfer Andrew Hare has not fared well in net for the green and gold. Hare has a save percentage of .839 and a GAA of 6.15. Overall, Oswego averages 3.88 goals per game (stat is in conference only).

The visiting Curry College Colonels come into the Port City after a game at the historic Utica Memorial Auditorium against the Pioneers on Friday. Curry comes in with an overall record of 5-3-2. The Colonels are led offensively by Juniors Christopher Atkinson with 15 points (5 G 10 A), Payden Benning with 11 points (7 G 4 A) and Steven Mohler with 9 points (3 G 6 A). In net for Curry, Freshman Travis Owens has a record of 4-1-1 with a GAA of 3.04 and a save percentage of .904 Sophomore Robert Dawson has a record of 1-2-1 with a save percentage of .852 and a GAA of 4.29 (stats are before Utica game)


Oswego State's Student run radio station WNYO-FM 88.9 will be carrying the contest live starting with their pregame show "Countdown to Faceoff" at 6:30 pm with the puck drop shortly after 7.The Oswego State Sports Information Department will be doing live stats for that game and the links can be found below.

LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Before the day comes to an end I would like to wish everyone a safe and joyous new year as we kick off 2011 so from my family to yours, Happy NEW YEAR!!!!!