Oswego hockey’s own delivering in broadcast booth
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s ice hockey team capped off their regular season in victorious fashion over the weekend — and in the Steve Levy ’87 Press Box were two faces that had checked into their own game just hours before.
WTOP-10TV hosted its third annual All-Women’s broadcast on Saturday, which featured a doubleheader at the Deborah. F Stanley Ice Arena. This marked a feat that many other — if any — schools in the state of New York would not be able to boast about.
The Lakers’ men’s side defeated Buffalo State in the second leg of the doubleheader, 6-1, and on commentary were Tilly Pethrick and Fiona Sierens, both of whom played in their own game not long before.
Pethrick is a junior defender, while Sierens is in her first year as a forward with the team. The turnaround after their game was quick, but Pethrick deflected the potential stress — especially with it being the last week of the regular season.
“Trying to not get ahead of myself and stay present really helped me to stay prepared and focus,” Pethrick said, as she took on the role of play-by-play commentator.
This is the second consecutive year that the Connecticut native has been on-air for the All-Women’s broadcast, having assumed the role of color commentator, alongside Chloe Siena, for last year’s broadcast.
“I got a lot of good feedback from people and was able to push myself in a different role,” Pethrick added. “I really enjoyed it and especially doing it with Fiona made it really easy.”
For Fiona, Saturday night marked her on-air debut for live sports productions.
Sierens has worked crew positions for several original productions and was a sports reporter for WTOP-10’s nightly news last semester but did not make her live sports debut until last weekend.
“I had a lot of fun… I was really nervous at first, but by the end I reached a flow state,” Sierens said.
She is currently on the tail-end of her first season in the yellow and green, and logged a shot on net in her early slate game against the Herons.
Although a bit rushed, she says that it all worked out due to the preparation they put in beforehand, making for a seamless experience in the broadcast booth.
She also credits her partner as a contributing factor to the fluidity throughout the broadcast.
“It was really refreshing to be with a teammate who knew the game… we both knew what we were talking about,” Sierens added. “It was just really fun spending two hours with her and talking about hockey.”
Sierens has played in 18 games and accounted for two points during her freshman year, while Pethrick has currently accumulated a team-high 27 blocks along with two goals and assists each in her third year with the team.
The Lakers stay home for the first round of the playoffs, set to welcome in the winner of Potsdam vs. Cortland in the semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m.