Chris Hill: Derrell Levy is a Warrior

It seems unless you put up the big numbers in sports your accomplishments go unnoticed. Players like Jeff Beukeboom, Matt Barnaby and yes, even Sean Avery become cult heros but after the skates are hung up are quickly forgotten about. SUNY Oswego has been fortunate to watch their version of a cult hero.

I've covered Laker hockey for four years and I haven't been so intrigued by a player like Derrell in that time. Immediately after he started playing for the Lakers, you could tell he had a run through a wall kind of mentality. I can say after watching him for three years that he is indeed that kind of player. I have touted him and Matt Whitehead to be the best penalty-killing duo on this team and, in my opinion, one of the top tandems in the SUNYAC because of the kind of work Derrell does. The moment his skates touch the ice he's off to the races, ready to hit anything that moves.

Certainly he is showed that kind of heart this weekend in Plattsburgh. On the penalty kill, where Levy makes his money, he took a puck to the leg while blocking a shot. Unfortunately, the Lakers were unable to keep the Plattsburgh power play from scoring, but Levy was under much duress. It took him several moments to get to the bench. From the amount of pressure he was putting on the leg, it was assumed by myself and Ryan Maloney that he may not be able to return to the game. But sure enough, within a couple of shifts Derrell was back out on to the ice giving it everything he had.

The thought hadn't occurred to me until tonight of what it really took for Derrell to shrug off the pain and play. However, what else can you expect from Levy? Certainly he is one of the less heralded players on the team, but certainly much beloved. And in this broadcaster's point of view one of the most important to Oswego's success. In interviews, Tony Dinunzio praised Derrell for his work after being put on a line together with fellow forward Matt Whitehead.

"He opens things up for us" said Dinunzio. Derrell Levy by no means contians the kind of scoring touch of a Ryan Ellis or a Brendan McLaughlin, however his heart and determination make him a formidable foe.

Just ask the rest of the SUNYAC.

Go LAKERS

Chris Hill

Lakers Move Up a Spot; Scott & Whitehead Earn Honors

The Oswego State men's ice hockey team won a pair of road games over the weekend, and clinched second place in the SUNY Athletic Conference, earning a home ice semifinal playoff game on Feb. 23. Those victories were also recognized by the national pollsters and the conference office, as the Lakers moved up to 12th in the latest USCHO.com Division III Men's Poll, while Matt Whitehead (pictured right) was named SUNYAC Ice Hockey Player of the Week and Ryan Scott (pictured left) earned Goaltender of the Week recognition.

Whitehead scored two goals and added an assist in Friday night's 5-2 win over Buffalo State. His first came on the power play in the second period and proved to be the game-winner. On Saturday, Whitehead finished off a rush with a goal against Fredonia to give the Lakers a 2-1 lead. That also held up as the game-winner. For the season, Whitehead has 10 goals and 10 assists and ranks fourth on the team in scoring with 20 points. Those are career highs in each category, for the junior from Newmarket, Ontario.

Laker goalie Ryan Scott, a native of Western New York (Williamsville), was very solid on the weekend and stopped 54 of the 57 shots he faced, for a save percentage of .947 and goals-against average of 1.50 for the week.

Oswego State is now 16-5-2 on the season and moved up one spot to 12th in the national rankings. Four Oswego State opponents are also ranked as Plattsburgh, Elmira, Hobart, and New England College are among the top 15 teams as voted on by coaches and media members.

The Lakers close their regular season on Saturday at Cortland at 7 p.m.

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.

Men's Hockey Wins 8th of 9

The Oswego State men's ice hockey team won 5-2 at Buffalo State on Friday night.

The Lakers scored three goals in the middle period, as Tony DiNunzio, Matt Whitehead (pictured), and Ryan Ellis scored to give Oswego State a 4-1 lead. Buffalo State pulled to within two with a goal early in the third period, but Whitehead's second of the night sealed the victory with 4:07 left to play.

Rich Zalewski scored in the first period for the Lakers, but Nick Petriello answered for the Bengals in the final minute of the period to tie the score.

Laker goalie Ryan Scott made 23 saves in the game and Kyle Gunn-Taylor stopped 28 shots for Buffalo State

Oswego State is now 15-5-2 overall and 11-2-1 in the SUNYAC. Buffalo State fell to 10-10-3 overall and 5-6-3 in the conference. The Lakers play at Fredonia on Saturday at 7 p.m.

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.

Scott Blanks Bears

The Oswego State men's ice hockey team defeated Potsdam 6-0 on Saturday night in a regionally-televised game at Maxcy Hall Ice Arena in Potsdam. Five different players scored goals and 12 recorded at least one point for the Lakers, and Ryan Scott made 15 saves to earn his second shutout of the season and eighth of his career.

Oswego State took a 1-0 lead late in the first period on a goal by C.J Thompson, assisted by Chris Laganiere. Two more goals early in the second stretched the advantage to three. Brad Dormiedy and Thompson tallied in a span of 83 seconds for the Lakers.

Third-period goals by Peter Magagna, Matt Whitehead, and Ryan Ellis accounted for the final score.

The Lakers outshot Potsdam in the game 38-15. Oswego State has now beaten Potsdam 10 straight times, outscoring the Bears 69-20 during the winning streak.

Oswego State will return home for its final two regular-season home games next weekend hosting Geneseo on Friday and Brockport on Saturday at the Campus Center Ice Arena. Both games begin at 7 p.m.

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.

Men's Hockey Survives Morrisville

The Oswego State men's ice hockey team rallied from an early deficit and defeated Morrisville 6-5 on Saturday night at the IcePlex in Morrisville. The Lakers scored three power-play goals and six different players scored in the victory.

Oswego State fell behind 1-0 but tied the game on a power-play goal from C.J. Thompson, assisted by Tyler Lyon and Matt Whitehead. Morrisville answered that goal with a tally from Derek Matheson just 12 seconds after the Lakers tied the score, and the Mustangs carried a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

It didn't take long for the Lakers to tie the score, as Oswego State capitalized on another power-play chance with Joe Hall deflecting a point shot by Francois Gagnon past Morrisville goalie Brett Freese to knot the score at 2-2.

After a Morrisville player was issued a major penalty for elbowing, the Lakers recorded their third power-play goal of the game as Garren Reisweber deposited a loose puck at the edge of the crease. The Mustangs responded again as Keith Williams finished off a 2-on-0 rush to tie the game 3-3.

Oswego State's Chris Laganiere scored his first collegiate goal from a sharp angle late in the second period to give the Lakers a 4-3 lead and Oswego State never trailed again.

Early in the third, Josh Chamberlain scored to make it 5-3. After Morrisville scored again, to reduce the lead to one goal, Derrell Levy (pictured) scored his second of the season on an assist by Hall to make it 6-4. It proved to be the game-winning goal.

Morrisville scored a power-play goal with 1:38 left in the third period and the Mustangs were on the power play for the last 1:26 of the game, but Oswego State held on for the win.

The Lakers are now 7-3-2 on the year and 7-1-1 in the SUNY Athletic Conference. Morrisville fell to 4-12-0 and 0-9-0 in the SUNYAC.

Oswego State returns to action on Dec. 29 at the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic, when the Lakers host Amherst. The first semifinal on Dec. 29 pits St. Norbert against Curry.

Oswego State Sports Information

NOTES:

-The Lakers won for the first time after giving up the game's first goal. Oswego State is now 1-3-2 when allowing their opponent on the scoreboard first. They are 6-0-0 when they record the opening marker.

-Mutsang netminder Brent Freese was playing in his last collegiate game. The senior graduates this month.

-This was the second, but not the last meeting this season between the Mustangs and Lakers. The clubs will meet Jan. 22 at the Campus Center for a non-conference match-up.

OTHER SUNYAC SCORES & STANDINGS:

Lebanon Valley     2 at Buffalo State      3 NC       
Castleton          1 at Geneseo            2 NC      
Fredonia           2 at Neumann            7 NC     
Potsdam            2 at Hobart             5 NC      
Elmira             4 at Brockport          4 NC  OT  
Oswego             6 at Morrisville        5 SU       
Plattsburgh        8 at Williams           1 NC

		GP	W-L-T	Pts.
1	Plattsburgh	9	9-0-0	18
2	Oswego	9	7-1-1	15
3	Potsdam	9	4-3-2	10
4	Geneseo	9	4-5-0	8
	Fredonia	7	3-2-2	8
6	Cortland	8	3-5-0	6
7	Brockport	7	2-4-1	5
8	Buffalo State	7	1-4-2	4
9	Morrisville	9	0-9-0	0

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