The nationally-ranked Oswego State men's ice hockey team (17-3-4, 12-2-2) took a tough 4-2 loss to Potsdam (12-10-3, 8-6-2) in the regular-season finale at the Marano Campus Center Arena on Saturday night. With the defeat, Oswego earns the No. 2 seed in next week's SUNYAC Championship and will host the highest remaining seed after Wednesday's quarterfinals round at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Tickets for the postseason game will be available to season ticket holders and students at 10 a.m. on Monday morning. Season ticket holder can attain tickets by calling 315-312-3073, visiting tickets.oswego.edu or by going directly to the box office. Students will need to visit the box office to receive their tickets with a valid Oswego State ID.
Mike Montagna gave the Lakers their first goal of the game at 4:40 in the first period. Mitchell Herliheypassed the puck to the front of the net where Montagna was there to slap it past the Potsdam goaltender as he absorbed a hit.
Less than 30 seconds later, Montagna added another when he deked the goalie and pushed the puck around the pads and into the net. The goal gave the Lakers a 2-0 lead with 14:54 to play in the period. Shawn Hulshof created the play by stealing a Potsdam possession in the neutral zone and finding Montagna for the score.
Potsdam notched a goal late in the first, narrowing the Laker lead to 2-1 going into the first intermission. The Bears then scored the lone second period goal when Dylan Vander Esch put in his second of the game, evening the score at 2-2.
Despite outshooting the Bears 18-9 in the third period, Oswego could not convert any of its chances. Potsdam scored the eventual game-winning goal at 17:47 in the third to go up 3-2. The Bears then added an empty-netter at 19:20, resulting in the 4-2 final.
Oswego owned most statistical categories, holding a 47-29 advantage on shots and a 30-23 edge on faceoffs.
Matt Zawadzki made 25 saves in net while taking just his second loss of the season.
