The Final Title of the Gosek Era – Reflecting on the 2024-25 SUNYAC Championship.
Following the retirement of Lakers head coach Ed Gosek, and reflecting on the accomplishments over his 23 year tenure, perhaps the most meaningful title is the most recent one – winning the 2025 SUNYAC championship – as it ultimately becomes the last title for Gosek at the helm of the Oswego Lakers.
Just two seasons ago, the Oswego Lakers hosted the Plattsburgh Cardinals in the SUNYAC championship game, and took down the birds in a dominant fashion – winning 5-2 and raising the banner for the first time since 2014.
Gosek led the Lakers to 15 SUNYAC championships over his 23 seasons, winning five of them along the way. Now, as he looks back on his final title, the emotions associated with the win are flooding back.
“I was happy for the guys, the school, and the program to be back on top,” said Gosek. “It’s funny how things work, Plattsburgh knocked off Cortland and we were able to host the championship here (in Oswego), which made it even that much more special, especially against our biggest rival in the SUNYAC.”
The Lakers looked to repeat as conference champions this season, but fell short in the title game to the Hobart Statesmen. Now with the leadership shifting, and arguably the conference changing, the main question is whether or not Lakers interim head coach Jon Whitelaw can step into Gosek’s position, and bring the Lakers back to the top.
“I’m very confident,” says outgoing Lakers’ forward Matt McQuade. “Whitelaw was a huge part of everything we’ve done. He was running the practices, cutting video, and even running our power play, which was one of the best in the nation in 2025. He’s absolutely ready to jump in and take that next step.”
This also means the addition of former captain and former graduate assistant coach Daniel Colabufo, who is stepping in as the new full time assistant coach, has big shoes to fill as well. Colabufo, a native of Camillus, and son of legendary West Genesee Wildcats coach Frank Colabufo, is no stranger to being around high-level coaches. Neither however is he a stranger to the players which he now coaches himself.
“Danny is so close to the guys,” McQuade said. “He’s not far out from being removed from this locker room. It gives a different perspective. He knows what each guy needs in the locker room, and he’s learned from coach Gosek for so many years. He will stop at nothing to help the guys succeed.”
McQuade, 24, joined the team in 2022. In his 106 regular season games with the Lakers, McQuade totaled 82 points, with his best season being 2024-25, the year they won the SUNYAC championship, where he tallied 16 goals and 15 assists.
With McQuade now graduating from the program, his status as team captain will be inherited by junior forward Michael Urgo. After wearing the captain patch for two seasons, McQuade has extended his support to his successor.
“For Mikey, it’s his team, his ship now,” McQuade said. “I’m always here to chat with him, always here to help, but at the end of the day it’s his team and he can take it in any direction he wants. He’s as dialed in as anybody. Off the ice, in practice, in games, he works harder than anybody I know.”
Another key departure of the program is goaltender Brandon Milberg, who said that he’ll miss the SUNY Oswego culture the most when he’s gone.
In his freshman year at Sacred Heart University, Milberg played in three games, finishing with an .863 save percentage. He transferred to SUNY Oswego, and immediately stepped into a bigger role, playing 11 games in the 2023-2024 season, and finished with a .915 save percentage.
“After transferring here as a sophomore, it really hit me how special this locker room is,” Milberg said. “I tell the guys here all the time to cherish every moment. It’s such a special place, I love getting to the rink with a smile on my face and being able to enjoy everybody. It goes by in a flash, and the next thing you know you’re graduating.”
As Gosek, McQuade, and Milberg all move on from the program, the Lakers will look to begin a new era of Oswego hockey this fall.