The Oswego State men’s ice hockey team shut out the Fredonia Blue Devils, 5-0, on the road on Saturday night. With the victory, the Lakers improve to 16-3-2 on the season and 11-0-1 in SUNYAC play, while the Blue Devils fall to 9-9-3 overall and 5-7-0 in conference action.
Power-plays were the name of the game for the Lakers. After Cameron Berry put the first goal on the board late in the first period, Oswego’s next three goals all came on power-plays. It is the third time this season that the Lakers have scored three power-play goals in a game (first against Elmira on Oct. 28 and then against Potsdam on Dec. 8).
Just under 14 minutes into the second period, Josh Zizek scored his team-leading sixth power-play goal of the season to put the Lakers up 2-0. With that sixth goal, Zizek now ranks 11th in the country in power-play goals. Tyler Currie and Mitch Herlihey each collected assists on the play.
Currie and Herlihey teamed up again less than three minutes later, notching their second assists of the night. This time, Joseph Molinaro scored the Laker power-play goal.
In the third period, Molinaro added Oswego’s final power-play goal of the night, giving the team a 4-0 lead. Herlihey recorded his third assist of the evening, while Michael Gillepsie picked up an assist as well.
With less than a minute to go in the game, Josh Zizek nailed an empty netter to bring the game’s final score to 5-0. The duo of Herlihey and Gillepsie again earned assists on the goal. Herlihey’s four assists in a game are a career-high for the senior.
The Lakers fired on all cylinders, as David Richer was spectacular in the net. Richer played all 60 minutes for Oswego, recording a career-high 36 saves and earning his second shutout of the season. With the shutout, the sophomore’s goals against average drops to 1.49, earning him the top spot in the nation. Richer is also fourth in the country with a save percentage of 0.938.
Oswego looks to continue its four-game winning streak as it hosts Geneseo at 7 p.m. on Friday for Residence Life Night.
