After an 0-2 start to the season, the Oswego State Lakers have gone 15-3-1 to move into the national rankings (No. 11) and contention in the highly competitive SUNYAC. There have been a lot of moving pieces with personnel this season, but Coach Ed Gosek and his staff feel the team is still finding the final pieces to playing their best hockey when it matters most down the stretch.
“Unfortunately, we graduated 15 seniors in 2020,” stated Gosek. That was a big class to replace and those players who are now our sophomore class never saw the ice in a college game. Add in the six new players and essentially, we had a brand new team taking the ice this season. We weren’t sure what we had until we actually started playing and moving players around to find the right combinations. It has been fun putting this puzzle together and credit to the players, they have been very adaptable.”
Not surprisingly, the Lakers have been led this year by senior captain Travis Broughman (10-15-25) who leads the team in points and has scored four game-winning goals this season while being an impressive +10 for the season when he has been on the ice. Coming into the season wasn’t easy for the veterans on the roster either but Broughman has led by example with his play on the ice and voice in the locker room for the Lakers.
“Travis has really raised his game to the highest level in this second half,” stated Gosek. “He has helped elevate other players games like Alex [DiCarlo], Connor [Sleeth] and Tyler [Flack] who are all part of that big sophomore class and finding their game and more and more as we progress through the season. I give Travis and the older guys credit for being flexible as we moved players around to find what worked. They had to re-find the focus and discipline again when we came back as a team and now, I think we have found our groove.”
Gosek and the Lakers have always had a defense first mindset and strong focus on taking care of their end of the ice first and the game flowing from there. Crucial in that mindset is the expected solid play from the man in the crease and Steven Kozikoski has been everything the coaches and his teammates could ask for from a consistency and dependability aspect.
He just gives us a chance to win every night,” noted Gosek. “That is what you need your goaltender to do, and Steven has done that for us this season. He is another great story this year since he came here as a third-string goaltender and just kept working hard every day – perfecting his craft. He got his opportunity and has really blossomed as the starter. I think he is among the top five goalies in the nation statistically (1.95 GAA; .931 SP and 3 shutouts) and that consistency certainly keeps us in every game he has played for us this season.”
The Lakers five losses have all come at the hands of nationally ranked teams in D-III including Hobart, Elmira, Geneseo and Augsburg. The coaching staff has noted that another piece of the puzzle is learning from those teams in what makes them successful and building that capability into their program to raise the level of their game and competitiveness.
“You play them and see what the Hobart’s do, what the Elmira’s and Geneseo’s do, and you want to take the good things and incorporate them into your game where you can,” said Gosek. “Those teams don’t beat themselves and one asset from other teams we have focused on copying this season has been staying out of the penalty box. Staying out of the box just takes away special teams opportunities for our opponent and we like our game playing 5-on-5 or with the man advantage. I really like how we are playing right now and believe our best is still in front of us.”
This past weekend saw the Lakers’ seven-game win streak come to an end. After downing Brockport 7-3 on Friday night where the senior class was celebrated and they clinched a playoff spot, Oswego dropped a 4-2 decision to Geneseo on Saturday leaving the two teams tied in points but with the Knights having a game in hand over the final two weeks of the regular season. The Lakers close out the regular season with games at Morrisville, and Fredonia and Buffalo State at home looking to have their playoff puzzle fully filled in and ready for the challenge of winning the SUNYAC title.
