Ian Boots, taking advantage of a Plattsburgh turnover, scored the winning goal for Oswego with 1:39 left in the game to defeat their archrival. An empty net goal made the score 5-3 in game where every previous Oswego lead was erased.
“They had a breakdown in their own end,” Boots said. “The puck just spit out of the corner. Their goalie bit on my first fake, and I went around him and chipped it in.”
“Turning the puck over with one minute left in the game is not acceptable,” Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said.
“That’s what makes a rivalry,” Oswego head coach Ed Gosek said. “I told our guys to enjoy it.”.
Oswego jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Luke Moodie continued his roll this weekend, scoring the first at 10:13. It started with a Plattsburgh check at the blueline, but it inadvertently opened up space in their own zone. Moodie skated the puck across and let rip a shot from the top of the left face off circle which beat Josh Leis on the glove side.
Oswego buzzed the Cardinals’ net after the goal, smacking the crossbar during one attempt. This pressure eventually led to Plattsburgh’s first penalty and Oswego’s only power goal to make it 2-0 at 14:03. Stephen Mallaro fired a slap shot from the blueline which went wide but bounced off the boards back in front to the left of Leis. Leis never saw it as Andrew Mather banged it home.
“We didn’t weather the storm,” Emery said. “We got behind early. Every time you play on the road here, you try to weather the storm. I was really concerned.”
However, before Oswego had thoughts of a blowout, one penalty turned the tables. On a delayed call for goaltender interference by Dan Bremner, thanks to a new rule, Plattsburgh scored twice 58 seconds apart to tie the game.
The first was on the delayed portion of the penalty when Nick Jensen redirected a shot in front of Beckwith while the teams were skating four aside. The new rule states the penalty is still served, and on the ensuing power play, a 4-on-3, Kyle Kudroch, from off to the right side, banked one off the far post into the net.
“It’s ironic the new rule,” Gosek said. “We talked about it. They scored the goal on the delayed penalty and then they continued and scored another one. There’s something that really changed it around for them.”
Before the tying goal, Oswego had an opportunity to get the momentum back when Mather stole the puck and skated in alone. He went straight at Leis, trying the glove side, but Leis caught it.
“How many times do you see that come back at you?” Gosek said. “The old cliché is if you go down and have an opportunity like that, and they come right back at you, and the whole momentum of the game changes.”
Although there were some good scoring chances and some quick rushes, the second period played out in a subdued manner as if the players were tuckered out, physically and mentally, from the fast paced first period. The crowd, too, were subdued, too tired to help rally their team.
Oswego’s go-ahead goal originally started out as a quick odd man rush starting from their own zone. However, Oswego’s passing was off, and the momentum into the zone was lost. The remnants of the failed rush had Tyler Leimbrock racing down the right side with nowhere to go. So, he wound and fired a bullet which, despite Leis coming out to cut down the angle, beat the goaltender.
Shortly afterwards, an Oswego penalty allowed Plattsburgh to tie it on their second power play goal of the night. The change of speed from a deflected shot caught Beckwith off guard. He was unable to handle it, and the rebound was jammed in by Dylan Clarke.
Owen Kelly added an empty netter with 1.5 seconds left after Oswego weathered a lot of pressure from Plattsburgh trying to tie the game.
“I thought we played really well the final 50 minutes of the game,” Emery said. “For 59 and a half minutes we kept them to two goals. I’m pretty proud of that. We had some chances to go ahead in the third. I thought we showed good character, but we have to play smarter.”
“I thought it was a well played game for early in the year,” Gosek said. “We got up early and had a lot of energy. There’s no quit in them (Plattsburgh).”
Oswego (6-0 overall, 4-0 in SUNYAC) remains home to face Cortland on Friday and then travels to Utica the next night for a non-conference game.
Plattsburgh (2-2) debuts this season at home, hosting Morrisville Saturday.
