Russell JaslowPlattsburgh did it again. For the second year in a row, the Cardinals skated into hostile Romney Fieldhouse and upset the first place Oswego Lakers two games to none in the SUNYAC semifinals. They finished the task with a 5-2 victory that saw the dreaded bagel throwing tradition come back to bite Oswego. Down 3-1 … Read more
“We’ve had a few comebacks like that,” Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said. “Never a comeback like that in the playoffs.” Plattsburgh appeared dead and buried near the end of the second period. Oswego held a 3-0 lead and went on a two-man advantage power play. Then, in a stunning reversal, Plattsburgh killed that power play, … Read more
The Cat Can’t Catch The Bird The Buffalo State Bengals great turnaround season came to an end as they were not able to keep up with the Plattsburgh Cardinals. The first game was as most expected, a tight, hard fought contest with the teams trading goals all the way till the third period. Ben Kemp … Read more
The second game of the SUNYAC Play-In round between Fredonia and Potsdam took on a different pattern, but the end result was the same. Fredonia defeated Potsdam, 5-3, to advance to the semifinal round at Geneseo. The Bears took the initial lead, but a strong second period by Fredonia coupled with a strong power play … Read more
It was deja vu all over again. In a game eerily similar to the one Potsdam and Fredonia played exactly one week ago, the Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead, withstood a Potsdam comeback fueled by the power play, reversed the tide with a string of unanswered goals, and came away with a … Read more
It’s Decided … For Now One of the wildest seasons in SUNYAC history is finally decided, with some positions coming right down to overtime. When all was said and done, the top four were just like last year with Oswego taking the regular season title followed by Geneseo, Fredonia, and Plattsburgh. The Lakers didn’t make … Read more
Buffalo State closed out one of its most successful seasons in school history with a 6-2 home victory over Potsdam. The win enabled Buffalo State to stay in front of Potsdam and finish in fifth place. Potsdam remained in sixth place for the last playoff spot. “Definitely an important thing for us to score some … Read more
The nation’s best power play held a clinic at Brockport as Oswego took the first place title in the SUNYAC with a dominating 8-1 victory in the final day of regular season play. All but two of their goals were scored with the man advantage. Oswego went six for twelve. However, when you look closer … Read more
Fredonia came out red-hot, opening up a 6-0 lead, then withstood a comeback attempt by Potsdam to win a key SUNYAC game, 8-4. The Blue Devils clinched home ice in the first round of the playoffs and maintained pace with Geneseo — which upset Oswego — remaining one point behind second and a bye, with … Read more
A Grand Farewell What better way for Oswego to say goodbye to the Romney Field House than with an emotional roller coaster shootout 7-6 victory over archrival Plattsburgh and then blowing out Potsdam, 9-3, to wrap up the sold out weekend. However, it wasn’t easy. Despite the bravado Oswego coach Ed Gosek put on during … Read more
The Oswego State Lakers provided a grand farewell to the Golden Romney Field House with a 9-3 blowout over Potsdam. Everything seemed to work to perfection for Oswego, which exploded for five goals in the second period, went three for eight on the power play, and scored two shorthanded goals. There were festivities all day … Read more
If Matt Meacham gets involved in a goaltending battle, it’s a safe bet that he is the one to lead his Cortland Red Dragons to victory. That was not the case this time; the goalie few would bet on to beat Meacham in a goaltending battle, Vince Cuccaro, turned away 24 shots to lead the … Read more
Crank Up The Stress “For all the coaches, I’m sure it’s stressful,” Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said. I have always written that I believe the SUNYAC playoff system is the best in all of college hockey because it allows for every team-no matter what position they are in-to fight for a spot in the standings … Read more
They don’t make ’em like Romney Field House any more. As the swan song nears for Oswego hockey’s longtime home, Russell Jaslow tells the classic arena’s story.
Bizarro World Last week I mentioned there was perfect symmetry for the start of the second half of conference play as the travel partners squared off coincidentally giving us the match ups of 1st vs. 8th, 2nd vs. 7th, and so on. With that symmetry, one would have expected some of the outcomes to be … Read more
Strong Performances There were some strong performances by SUNYAC teams in their final week of nonconference play. Topping the list was Oswego’s 4-2 triumph over Division I RIT. Oswego used forechecking, coupled with a strong game in net by Ryan Scott, who made 30 saves to beat their rivals despite being outshot 32-23 in front … Read more
SUNYAC Expansion Plans The SUNYAC hockey league has been set at eight teams since 1993-94 when Buffalo State joined as a provisional member moving up the next year to a full-fledged participant. That number will change in a few years as the SUNYAC as a whole will be welcoming in a new member-Morrisville-who has a … Read more
Midseason Awards Most USCHO writers provide their midseason reports, reviews, and rewards in their last column before the holidays. Me? I’m doing it in my first column back from the holidays. Why? No reason except I sat down in front of the computer realizing I have no idea what I was going to write about. … Read more
Call The Labor Department Someone should file unfair overtime labor practices for the sake of the Potsdam players. The Bears have played five consecutive overtime games, and in their 14 games this year, 50 percent of them have gone to the extra period. Potsdam is 1-2-4 in those seven games. Three of those overtimes came … Read more
It probably was inevitable. This is the third time Geneseo and Potsdam played each other this season, and it is the third time they have gone to overtime. Even when it appeared that Geneseo had the game won after scoring a shorthanded goal with 2:58 left in the third period to take a 5-3 lead, … Read more