David Titanic majors in Wellness Management at SUNY-Oswego, but he might want to consider a minor in something like home economics. After all, he’s shown a distinct talent for tailoring.
That was especially true over the weekend, when the junior winger threaded the needle twice in a Lakers win over Brockport (5-1) followed by their rousing 4-3 triumph over a hot Geneseo squad.
Titanic’s tight angle backhander got Oswego rolling against the Golden Eagles. Then, moments after Geneseo’s Corbin Rosmarin had knotted the contest late in the third period with his second goal of the game, Titanic struck iron, and then twine. Unloading from deep in the left circle, Titanic laced his shot with a loud clang off the right post and in behind Ice Knights goalie Adrian Rubeniuk.
“(Teammate) Luke Moodie has been telling me all year just to fire it at the net and good things will happen,” said Titanic, whose great-uncle Morris Titanic had a brief stay in the NHL. “He’s been on me the last couple of weeks. Whenever I pass up an opportunity, he’s been getting on my back, so I’ve been concentrating on shooting the puck. The last few games, good things have happened for me.”
From his severe angle, Titanic couldn’t tell whether or not he had scored what proved to be his sixth goal of the season.
“I didn’t know it was in until everyone started celebrating,” he admitted. “I was kind of shocked. But it felt good.”
The Lakers entered the contest one point behind upstart Geneseo for top spot in the SUNYAC. The Ice Knights were on a distinct roll, having won their last seven conference starts, a string that began after suffering a 10-1 home shellacking by Oswego back on Nov. 3.
Not that they needed to be apprised of that fact.
Still, Gosek was pushing the right buttons when he posted a visual reminder of the situation in the Lakers dressing room.
“We have a (standings) board in our room,” said Titanic, who was named SUNYAC Player of the Week. “Just to see their name ahead of ours was frustrating. So it was a statement game.”
A greater statement of another sort was made by Titanic and the rest of the Lakers; to wit, that hockey is more than what transpires during three periods of action. It’s also about community and connection between those who play the game and those who love it.
That much was played out in heart-tugging fashion as the Lakers honored 11-year-old Superfan Makayla Walker in consort with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Young Makayla, who is battling an aggressive form of stomach cancer, was surprised during the first intermission of the Geneseo tilt by a video-board message from her three favorite Lakers — Titanic, Jon Whitelaw, and Chris Muise — informing her that she and her family will be taking an expenses-paid vacation to the Bahamas.
Titanic said that the moment was a special one for him and the rest of the Lakers.
“Makayla is an amazing girl,” he said. “We’re behind her 100 percent. We’d do anything for her.”
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For Geneseo’s part, the result was less than satisfactory, but the effort was not, in the mind of bench boss Chris Schultz.
In fact, Schultz felt that his club should have come away with a win.
“I thought we were the better team,” he said. “I don’t think we were the more skilled team, but we played well enough to win. Two very bad bounces cost us. The Oswego game at home earlier this year was a turning point for us. We reassessed from the top down and we have been very good since. They attack better than anyone on transition, and we held them to only a few odd-man rushes.”
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The hottest team in the SUNYAC? That would be Morrisville, who after languishing in the league’s basement for most of the season has punched its way into the thick of the playoff hunt with three consecutive conference wins. Impressive victories over Potsdam, Buffalo State, and Fredonia have given the Mustangs’ season a 180-degree spin.
Keeping the roll going will be difficult, however, as the ‘Stangs will have to travel to Oswego on Friday, then Cortland the next night.
Morrisville’s Chris Azzano picked up SUNYAC Goalie of the Week honors while his teammate, Michael Markowitz, was named Rookie of the Week.
