Oswego Advances to SUNYAC Semifinal After Dominant Win Over Buffalo State
By: Cameron Shutts & Eric Palmeri
OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Oswego State Lakers are heading back to the SUNYAC semifinals, and they made sure there was no doubt about it.
After a commanding 6-1 win over the Buffalo State Bengals on Feb. 21, Oswego followed it up with a 5-1 victory in Wednesday’s SUNYAC quarterfinal matchup.
The Lakers got a one-goal advantage early. At 3:25 of the first period, Cam Symons found the back of the net, igniting the large crowd inside the Deborah F. Stanley Ice Arena, and giving Buffalo State an early reminder of what unfolded just a few nights ago.
Unlike Saturday, the Bengals would show some fight.
Aaron Andrade, second on the team in points, tucked his shoulder and guarded the puck from an Oswego defender before slipping a nifty backhander past Lakers netminder Michael Manzi to knot the game back up at 1. Andrade’s momentum carried him into Manzi after the goal, sending the Oswego goalie to the ice and briefly bringing the medical trainer out for a checkup.
Manzi, however, would stay in the game, and from that point till the end of the game, the freshman from Smyrna, Delaware, was lights out, saving the next 18 shots he saw.
Oswego head coach Ed Gosek praised Manzi’s resilience after the game.
“You get mowed over again tonight. And you know, you land awkwardly — but you find a way, you battle through it,” Gosek said. “With goaltending, the mental toughness is just as important as the physical toughness. And he’s shown that.”
The Bengals embraced the rising tension heading into the first intermission, energized by the equalizer and eager to seize the moment.
“We don’t have a single guy in our room who cares about what happened Saturday night. This is a new game and a new day,” Andrade told Michael Neckers of WTOP-10 during the break. “We’re going to try to pull off an upset here and shock the country.”
The message was clear, but unfortunately for the Bengals, everything would fall to pieces in the following two periods.
Oswego dominated the offensive side of the game, controlling time of possession, peppering the net with shots, and scoring four unanswered goals. Five different Lakers found the back of the net, including Collin Vassallo, the team’s leading point-getter.
The Lakers’ goals were a work of art. Crisp passing, seamless puck movement, and well-executed plays highlighted their skill advantage. On both ends of the ice, Oswego looked like the better team.
Frustration finally boiled over for the Bengals at 14:22 of the third period. What started as a routine physical play in the corner of the Bengals’ zone quickly escalated into a full line brawl, with players wrestling along the boards as the Oswego student section got up and got loud.
When order was eventually restored, Buffalo State was assessed two penalties while Oswego took one, giving the Lakers the power-play. Oswego was unable to convert on the power play, finishing 3-for-6 on the night, while Buffalo State went 0-for-3 in their opportunities.
After the game, Andrade didn’t shy away from acknowledging the “rivalry.”
“These teams don’t like each other,” he said. “It’s very apparent that we hate each other, and it will be like this for the rest of time. Oswego and Buff State will never like each other.”
The Lakers will now host Skidmore Saturday night in the semifinals, a team they’ve already beaten twice this season, outscoring them 8–2 across those two meetings.
Oswego head coach Ed Gosek said he plans to lean heavily on his veteran leadership as the postseason intensifies.
“The senior maturity is coming through at the right time,” Gosek said. “The leadership, the way in which guys are playing, the unselfishness — it’s all a positive this time of year.”
With Oswego advancing to play Skidmore, it leaves Hobart and Cortland on the other side of the bracket. With all looking for a ticket to the SUNYAC final.