OSWEGO -- The top-ranked Oswego State men’s hockey kicked off White-Out Weekend with a 5-1 win over Potsdam on Friday night at the Campus Center Arena to extend its winning streak to 18 games. Andrew Mather (So., Ottawa, Ont.) notched two goals for the Lakers, while Jon Whitelaw (Fr., Huntsville, Ont.) added a goal and an assist. Oswego State moved to 19-1-0 overall and remained undefeated in conference play at 11-0-0. The Bears fell to 7-10-2 on the season and 3-7-1 in the SUNYAC.
The Lakers had several scoring chances in the first period, but were unable to get on the scoreboard. The best opportunity came in the final two minutes of the frame when Neil Musselwhite (Sr., Burlington, Ont.) got past a Potsdam defender. He skated in uncontested on Bear goalie Andy Groulx (Fr., Rockland, Ont.), but Groulx made a huge pad save as Musselwhite skated across the crease to keep the game scoreless heading into the first intermission.
That tie did not last long as Jon Whitelaw broke between two defenders, and slid the puck between Groulx’s five-hole to give Oswego State a 1-0 lead at 1:52 in the second stanza. Assists were awarded to Paul Rodrigues (Fr., Etobicoke, Ont.) and Tyler Lyon (Sr., Foxboro, Ont.). Musselwhite got his revenge minutes after Whitelaw’s goal when he and linemate Brad Dormiedy (Sr., Ajax, Ont.) had a 2-on-1 breakout. Dormiedy hung onto the puck long enough to draw the defender and goalie before sending it from right to left to Musselwhite for the open net goal.
Potsdam cut the deficit in half early in the third period four seconds into a Laker slashing penalty when a shot by Connor Treacy (Sr., Markham, Ont.) got past Oswego State netminder Paul Beckwith (So., Cleveland, Ohio). Brett Waters (Fr., Uxbridge, Ont.) and Kevin MacLellan (Jr., Kensington, PEI) received assists on the goal. Minutes later, the Bears found themselves with a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:32. The only real scoring chance when Treacy’s blast from the center of the blueline careened off the right pipe.
Luke Moodie (Fr., Burlington, Ont.) regained the two-goal advantage for the Lakers when he received a pass from Whitelaw and Rodrigues that snuck between two defenders at the 8:43 mark. Eric Selleck (So., Spencerville, Ont.) played the puck from behind the net to Andrew Mather, who was sitting in front of the crease for the one-timer, to put Oswego State ahead 4-1 near the midway point in the third period. Chris Laganiere (Jr., Owego, N.Y.) also earned an assist. The Lakers took a 5-1 lead when Mather tacked on his second goal of the game after Selleck won a draw at the left face-off circle, sending the puck Mather’s way.
Paul Beckwith improved to 7-1-0, as he stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced. Andy Groulx finished the night with 21 saves.
Oswego State faces perennial conference nemesis Plattsburgh on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the second game of White-Out Weekend. Tickets are sold out for the game, but fans can catch the action at www.oswego.edu/athletics/live.
Courtesy: SUNY Oswego Athletics
