THE LAKE SHOW ON-AIR TODAY

Today marks the return of "The Lake Show with Ryan Maloney" at 4 p.m. Brendan McLaughlin and Kyle McCutcheon are the in-studio guests. They'll be discussing the 2007-08 Laker hockey season, previewing next year's team, and ewill be asked to explain why there are a number of photographs of them posing in a high school-prom stance online.

Our webcast and phone lines are still down, so the only way to listen is on the radio at 88.9 FM in Oswego. The only way to be heard is to send the guys an instant message. The screen name is WNYOsports using AOL Instant Messenger.

2-0 Lakers After 2

Peter Magagna and Brendan McLaughlin scored late in the first period to give Oswego State the 2-0 edge over Fredonia. Each player extended their career-high scoring streaks. Magagna has a point in each of his last 14 games, McLaughlin in each of the last 15.

The Lake Show With Ryan Maloney Live @ 5!

WNYO will be on the air live from Greene's Ale House with The Lake Show at 5 PM. It is a one-hour sports talk show completely devoted to Oswego State Laker Athletics (mostly hockey ). Unfortunately, we'll be broadcasting on a 30-second delay so we can't really take calls from listeners (b/c the calls still go to the studio and won't be delayed).

BUT..you can go to WNYOsports.com during the show and send us an instant message using the AIM widget (right side of the page) with any questions/topics you would like to hear addressed on the program.

Today's Guests:
Oswego SID Joe Gladziszewski
WTOP Hockey Announcers Chris Hill & Andy Rohlin
AND hopefully a certain vertically-challenged member of the men's hockey team

Tune in!

Men's Hockey Clinches SUNYAC Bye, Home Ice in Semis

The Oswego State men's ice hockey team scored two goals in a span of 24 seconds in the middle period to break a tie and went on to a 4-1 win at Fredonia on Saturday. With the victory, Oswego State clinched second place in the SUNY Athletic Conference and a first-round bye in the conference playoffs in two weeks.

The game was tied 1-1 in the first period as James Muscatello scored for Fredonia and Oswego State answered with a power-play goal by Peter Magagna.

In the second period, Matt Whitehead converted a pass from Garren Reisweber just after the Lakers killed a two-man short-handed situation. Brad Dormiedy fired in his third of the season just 24 seconds later to give Oswego State a 3-1 lead.

Brendan McLaughlin added a goal in the third period for the Lakers. Ryan Scott made 31 saves for Oswego State.

Oswego State is now 16-5-2 overall and Fredonia fell to 13-8-3.

Seniors Say Goodbye (For Now) With Blowout Win

The Oswego State men's ice hockey team scored five goals in the third period en route to a 9-2 win over Brockport at the Campus Center Ice Arena on Saturday night.

Ryan Ellis had a hat trick for the Lakers and also added a pair of assists, factoring on five of the nine Laker goals. Linemates Brendan McLaughlin (four assists) and Peter Magagna (two goals and an assist) were also part of the big night for the Lakers. Oswego State improved to 14-5-2 overall and 10-2-1 in the SUNYAC, while Brockport is now 6-13-3 and 3-8-2 in the conference.

The Lakers actually trailed the game 2-1 late in the first period as Lucas Schott and Steve Seedhouse scored goals for the Golden Eagles to answer an opening tally by Ellis on the power play. Two Laker goals in the last five minutes of the first, scored by Matt Whitehead and Tony DiNunzio, gave the Lakers a 3-2 lead at the first intermission and they never looked back.

The lead was extended to 4-2 with 4:25 left in the second period on a stellar individual effort by Peter Magagna who broke through two Brockport defenders and deked goalie Todd Sheridan.Oswego State scored five times in the third. Magagna added his second of the game, Ryan Ellis scored twice, and Tyler Lyon scored an extra-attacker tally. C.J. Thompson capped the scoring with 8:31 left in the third.

Laker starting goalie Ryan Scott made 17 saves, and fellow senior Matt Wolf played the final 5:08 and didn't face a shot. It was the final Laker home contest for seniors Tony DiNunzio, C.J. Thompson, Ryan Scott and Matt Wolf.

Zalewski Tallies Four Points as Lakers Survive Knights

As smooth as the sailing was for the Oswego State men's ice hockey team through the first 40 minutes of play Friday night, it was an equally rough final 20. The Lakers nearly blew a 4-0 lead as they narrowly avoided an upset with a 5-4 win over Geneseo at the Campus Center Ice Arena.

The Lakers earned their 4-0 lead off of goals by Matt Whitehead and Brendan McLaughlin, sandwiched between a pair of markers from junior defenseman Rich Zalewski (pictured). The goal by McLaughlin was the 50th of his collegiate career. Senior goalie Ryan Scott shut the Knights out through the first two periods to bring his scoreless streak to 100 consecutive minutes. It was a familiar scene for the Knights who were blanked 5-0 by the Lakers at the Wilson Ice Arena nearly three months prior.

But Geneseo looked like an entirely different team coming out of the second intermission. Dave Schroeder scored his first goal of the season just over two minutes into the period. Geneseo then capitalized on an interference penalty to Whitehead and netted a power-play goal from Brendon French to cut the lead to 4-2. Midway through the period, Daniel Sullivan chased a puck down in the right wing corner and banked a shot in off of Scott to make it 4-3.

Oswego State was able to come up with a back-breaking answer with 6:17 to play as Tyler Lyon hustled to the edge of the Geneseo crease on a 2-on-2 and finished a feed from Ryan Ellis. The goal brought the Campus Center crowd to their feet and looked to be a demoralizing blow to Geneseo's comeback effort. But the Knights refused to roll over.

Trent Cassan lit the lamp on a Geneseo power play to cut the lead back down to one with 3:02 left to play. Ryan Scott had allowed the Knights to stay within reach despite his team's better than two-to-one advantage in shots on goal. Moments later, Geneseo's leading goal scorer Mathieu Cyr got a chance to tie the game on a partial breakaway. Scott made the save this time to preserve the 5-4 lead. He'd continue to deny the Knights as they brought on an extra attacker in the final seconds and the Lakers held on for two points in the SUNYAC standings.

The loss dropped Geneseo from the sixth and final playoff spot. Cortland moved ahead of the Knights and into a three-way tuie for fourth place with 11 points. Those two clubs square off Saturday night in Cortland. Meanwhile, the Lakers will try to defeat Brockport for the 10th straight time. Face-off is set for 7 p.m. with pre-game starting at 6 on 88.9 FM WNYO.

Ryan Maloney

Ice Knights Come In Clinging To Last SUNYAC Playoff Spot

The Geneseo Ice Knights (6-13-0, 5-6-0) come to the Campus Centre Ice Arena trying to avoid a regular season sweep at the hands of Oswego State. Geneseo currently holds the sixth and final playoff spot in the SUNYAC. That's a far cry from where second-year coach Chrus Schultz had his club just a season ago. The Knights finished second in the conference standings in 2006-2007 with a 10-4-0 SUNYAC record.

Prior to that, Geneseo won the SUNYAC post-season tournament in 2005 and 2006. High-scoring forwards Mitch Stephens and Mike MacDonald were big contributors to those teams, but were lost to graduation after last season. The team has yet to fill their void as only one player, senior Matthew Cyr, is averaging a point per game this season.

Meanwhile, #14 Oswego State (12-5-2, 8-2-1) remains one of the premiere programs in the SUNYAC. They earned some breathing room in second place after their shutout win Saturday in Potsdam. The Lakers bolstered their point total to 17 in the conference standings while third-place Fredonia was unable to keep pace, losing 4-3 to Geneseo to remain at 14 points.

The Lakers can clinch a spot in the SUNYAC tournament with a win tonight and a Cortland loss in Brockport. Also, two Lakers can reach another milestone as junior line-mates Ryan Ellis and Brendan McLaughlin need one goal each to reach 50 for their careers. Face-off is set for 7 p.m. on 88.9 FM WNYO.

Ryan Maloney

Sweep! Cards Go 2-For-2 Against Lakers

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- For 64 minutes, it looked as though the SUNYAC regular season-title race would be a dogfight until the end. Then, with a simple left-wing wrister from sophomore Ward Smith (pictured), the Plattsburgh Cardinals took a commanding five-point lead in the conference standings.

Plattsburgh (17-2-0, 10-0-0) earned a 3-2 overtime victory over Oswego State in a match-up of SUNYAC powerhouses. They also completed a regular season sweep over the Lakers for the first time since the 2003-2004 season.

Senior goaltender Ryan Scott stopped a season-high 37 shots. His effort kept the Lakers in the game despite the fact they were out-shot 20-4 over the game's final 24:07. Overall, Plattsburgh put 40 shots on Scott. The last coming off the stick of Smith, whose marker sent the hometown crowd into a frenzy and his teammates pouring onto the ice.

That same crowd had been on pins and needles at the start of the third period as they found their team in an unfamiliar spot...trailing. The Cardinal faithful had only seen their club trail after two periods one other time this season. Meanwhile, the Lakers had won 12 straight when leading after 40 minutes.

Laker assistant captain Kyle McCutcheon single-handedly gave Oswego State (11-5-2, 7-2-1) the lead midway through the second. The senior defenseman bumped an attacker off the puck in the defensive zone, carried the puck coast-to-coast, and wristed a shot past freshman standout Brian Hince for a 2-1 lead.

McCutcheon's goal was a quick answer to Plattsburgh's game-tying power play marker just minutes earlier. Freshman Dan Sliasis had scored on a feed from Dylan Clarke at the 7:12 mark to bring a small flurry of tennis balls onto the ice and even the game at 1-1. Five of Sliasis' six goals this season have come on home ice. No delay-of-game penalties were called for the tennis ball-toss.

The Lakers lit the lamp first in the game's 11th minute on a two-on-one rush as Brendan McLaughlin put home a rebound off a shot by line-mate Peter Magagna. The goal was McLaughlin's eighth on the year and extended his points streak to nine straight games. It also gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead; Oswego State had won 12 straight when scoring first coming into the match-up.

The Lakers maintain a one-point advantage over Fredonia for second-place in the SUNYAC. Oswego State will try to earn two points Saturday at 7 p.m. at Potsdam. The game will be featured on FSN television (Time Warner Cable channel 54 in CNY). The Cards look to pad their comfortable conference lead against Cortland Saturday at 7 p.m. The Red Dragons led Plattsburgh 1-0 after two periods in their first meeting this season.

Ryan Maloney

Spread Scoring Attack Stifles 'Stangs

The Oswego State men's ice hockey team had nine different players score as they beat Morrisville 9-1 in non-conference action Tuesday night at the Campus Center Ice Arena in Oswego.

The Lakers wide-spread scoring attack was led by three-point efforts from Matt Whitehead and Joe Hall. Hall scored the game-winner, his fifth goal of the year at the 13:14 mark of the first period to put the Lakers up 2-0.

Ryan Ellis scored his team-leading 12th goal of the season just 16 seconds later to push the lead to 3-0. The goal extended Ellis' point streak to seven consecutive games. Linemate Brendan McLaughlin equaled that streak with a goal in the second period. Ellis assisted on the marker.

Oswego State's senior co-captains continued their respective streaks as well. Tony DiNunzio scored a goal for the third straight game at the 1:01 mark of the third period. He has four goals during a three-game goal streak. C.J. Thompson played in his 100th career game for the Lakers. He has dressed in every game of his Oswego State career, and scored his seventh goal of the season in the third period.

Oswego State starting goalie Ryan Scott made 14 saves and earned the victory. Matt Wolf (pictured) replaced Scott for the final 4:02 and made four saves, including three during a Morrisville 5-on-3 power play late in the game.

Morrisville's only goal was a third-period power-play goal by Matt Domskov, assisted by Evan Kernohan and Joseph Herman. Mustangs goalie Brett Freese made 41 saves in the loss.

The Lakers, currently ranked 15th in the latest national poll, are now 11-4-2 on the season. Morrisville ended its season at 5-20-0.

Oswego State returns to SUNYAC action Friday night when they visit conference-leading and No. 3 nationally-ranked Plattsburgh. The Lakers will finish the road trip Saturday night in Potsdam before returning home Feb. 1 to host Geneseo.

WNYO Broadcaster Brendan McLaughlin Named SUNYAC POTW

Oswego State's Brendan McLaughlin (pictured) has been named Player of the Week by the SUNYAC. McLaughlin had the game-winning goal and an assist in Saturday night's 4-3 win over #13 New England. He also had two goals and an assist in the Dec. 30 4-1 win over Curry.

McLaughlin joins line-mate Peter Maganga as the only Laker POTW recipients thus far in the 2007-08 season. Maganga earned the honor Nov. 19 after earning four points in a win over Cortland and a goal in a loss to Hobart.

This marks the second consecutive week that the SUNYAC has honored a Laker. Joe Hall earned conference Rookie of the Week on Dec. 10 after earning four points in a home and home series with Morrisville.

Ryan Maloney

To answer your questions...

Some loyal listeners were nice enough to send along some questions and comments via AIM during Sunday night's Laker game. Now I'll take this opportunity try to respond:

aimguest2711779 (8:32:38 PM): I have only caught two games in person this season...one being last night (Saturday v. Amherst) and the first being the home game vs. Elmira ..... Their seems to be a huge difference in style of play between now and then in terms of checking and emotion . What are your feelings about this?

Ryan Maloney: I thought the Lakers were really out-muscled in that season-opener with Elmira. They were stood up at the blue line all night long and didn't get many scoring chances. As for Saturday night, I noticed the Derrell Levy line bringing a sense of urgency to the ice. Levy is fun to watch on the forecheck, he's extremely fast and physical.

Ryan Ellis was on that checking line with Levy against Elmira, which felt odd since Ellis has always been a huge scoring threat. Saturday night, Ellis was out of the lineup altogether with an illness. I think his presence was greatly missed.

That scoring line of Ellis, Brendan McLaughlin and Peter Magagna has been together for three years now and is very productive (four goals last night v. Curry). They haven't played together this season as much as in year's past due to injury (McLaughlin, Magagna) and illness (Ellis). Now they're back as a dangerous unit and hopefully can stay that way all the way to Lake Placid. As for you, listener, the Lakers are now 0-2 when you attend the games. Stay home and listen to WNYO.

aimguest53892777 (8:50:45 PM): what effect does this game have for oswego?

RM: I'm not sure what you mean. Effect in terms of what? Playoff chances? Physical well-being? Mental well-being? The win doesn't mean anything as far as SUNYAC standings. But it is a win, and those are always nice. The game also saw the return of the aforementioned Ellis-McLaughlin-Magagna line. That line was stellar in the first and third periods.

aimguest51110312 (8:59:36 PM): great job with the classic games guys sorry I and Andy (whiteboard) could not be there today, we left due to heavy snow coming in for our town, glad you guys did the game though

RM: You and Andy did not miss Sunday night's game due to poor weather. You and Andy missed Sunday's games because you are a couple of huge...well, I can't say here...but it starts with "p" and ends with "ussies."

aimguest52784374 (9:10:46 PM): what was the score

RM: Thanks for listening to the broadcast.

Thank you to those of you who listened and sent us messages. Remember you can always message us via the AIM widget on the right panel of the site. Also, we're trying to come up with a nickname for the Ellis-McLaughlin-Maganga line. Any ideas? E-mail us.

Lakers Beat Curry

The Oswego State men's ice hockey team defeated Curry 4-1 on Sunday evening in the third-place game of the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic at the Campus Center Ice Arena in Oswego.

The Lakers got off to a quick start with unassisted goals by Peter Magagna and Brendan McLaughlin (pictured). Magagna scored off a turnover just 35 seconds into the period and McLaughlin's goal was a power-play goal at 2:17 of the opening period. The fast start was a good sign for Oswego State, as the Lakers improved their record to a perfect 7-0-0 on the season when they score the first goal.

Those two goals held up through the rest of the first period and the entire second period. McLaughlin scored again early in the third period to extend Oswego State's lead to 3-0 on assists from Magagna and Ryan Ellis.

The shutout bid by Laker goalie Ryan Scott was foiled in the last minute of the game when William Hoffman scored on a deflection for the Colonels with 57 seconds left in the game. The goal was assisted by Jeff Hazelwood and Ross Enmark.

Ellis added a late goal for Oswego State on an assist by McLaughlin. The lilne of Magagna, Ellis, and McLaughlin accounted for all four Laker goals and combined for seven points in the game. With a goal in each game of the Classic, Magagna was named to the all-tournament team.

Scott made 25 saves for the Lakers and Curry goaltender Zachary Cardella made 29 saves.

Oswego State is now 8-4-2 on the year and Curry is 7-5-1.

Next year's Pathfinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic will be held Jan. 2-3, 2009 and invited teams Babson and Skidmore from the ECAC East and Augsburg from the MIAC will join the host Lakers for the third annual event.

Oswego State Sports Information

Full Strength At Last

Ryan Ellis makes his return to the Oswego State Lakers lineup tonight. Ellis missed last night's 3-1 loss to Amherst with an illness. He is the team leader in goals, assists and points (7-8-15). Prior to Ellis's illness, the Lakers were without second-leading scorer Peter Magagna Dec. 8 against Morrisville. Magagna returned from a knee injury last night.

Last year's leading scorer, Brendan McLaughlin, had also missed a pair of games this season due to injury. Tonight he joins Ellis and Magnaga on the first line. This is the first time the M.E.M. line has played together since a 4-2 win over Buffalo State on Nov. 30.

Here is the full line chart:
F: Ryan Ellis - Brendan McLaughlin - Peter Maganga
F: Garren Reisweber - Matt Whitehead - Tony Dinunzio
F: Neil Musselwhite - C.J. Thompson - Chris Laganiere
F: Brad Dormiedy - Derrell Levy - Joe Hall

D: Tyler Lyon - Kyle McCutcheon
D: Francois Gagnon - Mike Novak
D: Rich Zalewski - Mark Lozzi

G: Ryan Scott (4-4-1, 2.40 GAA, .900 Sv %)
G: Chris Hyk
G: Matt Wolf

Men's Hockey Mauls Morrisville

The Oswego State men's ice hockey team scored six straight goals over the last 37 minutes and defeated Morrisville 7-1 at the Campus Center Ice Arena in Oswego on Friday night.

Junior forward Brendan McLaughlin had three assists for Oswego State, giving him 100 points for his career. McLaughlin, from Brampton, Ontario, has 44 goals and 56 assists in 65 games and is the 47th player in Oswego State men's ice hockey history to reach the 100-point milestone.

Garren Reisweber opened the scoring for the Lakers in the first period, taking a pass from Tony DiNunzio and sliding the puck past Morrisville goalie Caylin Relkoff for the only goal of the opening period.

Morrisville got on the board and tied the game early in the second period as Dave Schultz finished off a goalmouth scramble with assists going to Andrew Alarie and Chris Wallin. Reisweber added his second goal of the night just 1:06 after Morrisville tied it and the Lakers never looked back.

Ryan Ellis scored a power-play goal and Peter Magagna added another in the second period to give the Lakers a 4-1 lead.

Tyler Lyon, Joe Hall, and C.J. Thompson scored third-period goals for Oswego State. Chris Laganiere had two assists in the game. Laker goalie Chris Hyk made 26 saves in the game. The win improves the Lakers' record to 6-3-2 on the season and 6-1-1 in the SUNYAC.

Morrisville's Relkoff finished the game with 36 saves, and the Mustangs are now 4-11-0 overall and 0-8-0 in the SUNYAC.

The same teams will meet again on Saturday at Morrisville's IcePlex, with face off set for 7 p.m.

Oswego State Sports Information

Scott Pulled Early; Lakers-Devils Skate to 3-3 Tie

OSWEGO, N.Y. -- The Oswego State men's ice hockey team skated to a 3-3 tie Saturday night with Fredonia. The Blue Devils lit the lamp twice early in the first period. That prompted Laker coach Ed Gosek to hand the netminding duties of senior All-American Ryan Scott to junior Chris Hyk.

Hyk kept Fredonia off the board for the remainider of the first, allowing the Lakers to even the score. Co-captain C.J. Thompson found the twine to start the Lakers' scoring in the 10th minute.

Minutes later, the Blue Devils were called for a delay of game resulting in a penalty shot for Oswego State. Gosek tabbed Ryan Ellis to take the shot. He backhanded the puck past sophomore backstop Kevin Amborski to tie the game at 2-2. The goal was Ellis' 100th point as a Laker, he's the 46th player to achieve that milestone at Oswego State.

The second period saw no scoring, but Junior All-American Brendan McLaughlin was hit with a 10-minute misconduct penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalty was a result of a post-whistle altercation with Devil blue-liner Andrew Babiarz in the period's fourth minute.

Fredonia took the lead again with 8:34 left to play in the third period. Junior pivot Richard Boyce came barreling into the net for a rebound shot, putting the puck across the goal line just ahead of him.

The Devils remained in the lead until Francois Gagnon found the net for the second time in as many nights. The French-Canadian defenseman had made a key glove stop to keep the puck in the attack just seconds before putting it between the pipes. Gagnon had also tied up the previous meeting between the two teams late in their SUNYAC tournament game last season.

The overtime saw only two shots on net, both from the Lakers as each side came away with a point in the conference standings. Conference leader Plattsburgh distanced their lead over the Lakers with a 5-4 come-from-behind overtime victory over Geneseo.

Peter Magagna did not dress for the Lakers tonight. Listen to the post-game audio with Coach Gosek in the video box to find out why.

Ryan Maloney

Tonight's Storylines

• Brendan McLaughlin needs three points to become the 46th member of the Laker 100-point club
• Ryan Ellis needs six points to join that same 100-point club
• Ryan Scott has the night off after recording career shutout #7 last night
• Chris Hyk is seeing his first action in net since Dec. 9, 2006, a 15-0 win over Johnson & Wales
• Lakers have won 14 of the last 15 vs. Brockport, including 8 straight
  

Late goal gives Oswego State tie at Elmira

Laker junior forward Matt Whitehead scored with 1:22 remaining in the third period to tie the game and the Oswego State men's ice hockey team tied Elmira 4-4 on Saturday night at the Murray Athletic Center in Elmira. Elmira scored the first goal of the game 4:35 into the first period, but the Lakers scored the next three goals to build a two-goal lead.

Brendan McLaughlin scored his first of the season on the power play, assisted by Ryan Ellis to tie the score. Laker sophomore Neil Musselwhite scored with one second remaining in the first period to give Oswego State a 2-1 lead after one period.

Francois Gagnon scored an unassisted goal for the Lakers seven minutes into the second period to give Oswego State a 3-1 lead, but the Soaring Eagles rallied. A power-play goal by Elmira's Rusty Masters reduced the lead to one goal and then Andrew Bedford scored the game-tying goal with 7:21 left in the second period.

Oswego State senior Joel Kitchen was whistled for a checking-from-behind major late in the second and the five-minute Elmira power play carried over into the third period. The Soaring Eagles capitalized 2:29 into the third period as Ryan Arnone scored.

Whitehead's late goal earned Oswego State the tie.

Laker goalie Ryan Scott made 22 saves and Elmira's Casey Tuttle had 17 saves.

The Lakers are now 0-1-1 on the season and Elmira is 1-0-1. Oswego State hosts arch-rival Plattsburgh on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Campus Center Ice Arena.

Oswego State Sports Information

Laker Hockey Interviews

You can hear interviews from Laker media day and Kent State post-game with several players in the media player at the top of the page. Brendan McLaughin, Ryan Scott, C.J. Thompson, Garren Reisweber, Coach Gosek and Tony DiNunzio all spoke with us.

Former captain Ryan Woodward also took a moment to talk before accepting his championship ring.

Hear McLaughlin's thoughts on last year's loss to Plattsburgh, Thompson on what it means to be the new co-captain, and Gosek's concerns headed into the new season.

Coming Soon to WNYOsports.com

The much-delayed behind-the-scenes look at the American Idol auditions in Philadelphia (20,000 in attendance)

State of the Orange: Why things could be worse for Syracuse football (Yes, I know this is an Oswego State-affiliated site, but we don't have a football team and are therefore forced to follow Syracuse)

Athlete of the Week: WNYOsports.com will name their own Oswego State AOTW (Brendan McLaughlin is the early frontrunner)

Increased Web Traffic (hopefully): WNYO.org will be linking to WNYOsports.com (we might not be in the Alexa top 500,000, but at least we didn't lose to Appalachian State)