The nationally-ranked Oswego State men's ice hockey team scored the game's first five goals en route to a 7-4 victory over host Cortland on Friday in Alumni Arena. With the win, No. 4/4 Oswego improves to 13-2-3 on the year and 8-1-1 in the SUNYAC while the Red Dragons fall to 7-9-3, 3-7-2.
Oswego's seven goals all came from different players, starting with Josh Timpano's first period goal at 7:30 off passes from Chris Waterstreet and Brandon Adams. The Lakers wasted no time extending their lead, as 19 seconds later Krystian Yorke sent a shot to the back of the net from Andrew Barton.
Less than seven minutes later, Yorke and Barton teamed up again, this time distributing the puck to lin-mateJohn Jackson for a goal to push the Oswego lead to 3-0. Oswego was not done, notching one final goal in the first period at 16:51 when Mitchell Herlihey beat the Cortland goaltender. Shawn Hulshof and Nick Rivaitwere credited with assists on the tally.
The scoring calmed for the first half of the next period, before Matt Galati notched the Lakers' fifth-straight goal. Kenny Neil and Alex Botten each recorded assists on the play. After the Red Dragons finally got on the board, Hulshof collected his second point of the night, this time with a goal off a pass from Mike Montagna at 16:57 of the second.
Cortland was able to add another score before the final intermission, sending Oswego to the break with a 6-2 advantage. The Red Dragons made action interesting in the third, scoring twice more to cut the Laker margin to two at 6-4 with over 10 minutes remaining.
At 10:29, Cortland was whistled for goalie interference, a penalty that sent Oswego goalie Matt Zawadzki to the bench and setup the momentum swing the squad needed. Senior captain Bobby Gertsakis put any Cortland thought of a comeback to bed with his power-play goal at 11:32. Herlihey and Yorke earned assists on the play, giving Yorke a team-high three points for the game.
Zawadzki earned the win in just over 50 minutes of action, making 24 saves between the pipes. Justin Gilbert did a solid job in an emergency relief appearance, stopping three shots without allowing a goal over the final 9:31.
Oswego dominated the Red Dragons in the shots column, attempting 22 more shots on the night (53-31). The special teams unit came through once again, scoring once on three opportunities while holding Cortland scoreless on two extra-man chances.
Men's ice hockey will be back on the ice at 7 p.m. on Friday when it hosts Morrisville in the first of a two-game weekend series with the Mustangs.
