Bob Sheppard's Voice to Introduce Jeter

New York Yankee public address announcer Bob Sheppard will miss today's season opener as he recovers from health complications. However, the 97-year-old "Voice of Yankee Stadium" will still introduce captain Derek Jeter to the Bronx faithful. Jeter has a recording of Sheppard announcing his name and will have it played for his at bats. The Yankees are playing their final home opener at Yankee Stadium as they will move to a new stadium across the street in 2009. Their game with the Blue Jays was scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m., but rain has delayed the first pitch.

Top-Seed Wolverines End Clarkson's Season

The Michigan Wolverines shut Clarkson out 2-0 Saturday night in the East Regional final in Albany. Michigan will now travel to Denver to play in their first Frozen Four since 2003. The Wolverines will face the winner of Notre Dame and defending national champion Michigan State on Apr. 10. Meanwhile, former Oswego State coach George Roll and the Golden Knights will return to Potsdam. The Knights have not made the national semifinals since 1991.

Men's Lax Loses Double OT Thriller

The Oswego State men's lacrosse team lost 8-7 to Utica in double overtime at Laker Field in Oswego on Saturday. Pioneer attacker Dave Misiaszek netted the game-winner off an assist from Corey Boulio just over a minute into the second overtime period.

Momentum swung in Utica's favor first as the Pioneers opened up a 4-1 lead early in the second quarter. The Lakers responded with goals from John Schumacher, Mike Strohm, and Mike Brewster before halftime to cut the deficit to 5-4.

Oswego State and Utica traded goals early in the third before Pioneer midfielder Ryan Schmidt found the back of the net with just 13 seconds remaining in the third. The Laker defense answered by holding Utica scoreless for the next 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the Lakers offense evened the score with goals from Dan Scarazzo and Mike Recor in the fourth.

Utica held a 41-30 advantage on ground balls for the afternoon. Oswego State goalie Judd Robinson stopped 14 shots, as did Pioneer netminder Travis Wright. Eight different players scored for Utica, while the Lakers were led by the two-goal efforts of Mike Brewster and Mike Strohm.

Oswego State's record fell to 1-5 on the season while Utica improved to 3-6. The Lakers return to action Wednesday at Union College. They will return home Apr. 5 for their conference opener against Brockport. Face-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Laker Field.

Crunch Win Again

The Syracuse Crunch beat the Albany River Rats 3-2 in overtime Friday for their seventh consecutive win. Crunch goalie Karl Goehring stopped 35 shots to earn the victory. The game ended on Brett Motherwell's one-timer from center point off a pass from Derick Brassard. Captain Zenon Konopka provided a screen on the edge of the crease to shield All-Star netminder Michael Leighton.

The victory moves the Crunch within 6 points of second-place Manitoba in the North division standings. Syracuse will likely play the Moose in the opening round of the 2008 Calder Cup playoffs. They have eight games remaining to try and pass Manitoba to earn home-ice advantage in the series.

2008 National League Preview

In 2007, the National League had many fascinating stories towards the end of the season. The foremost being the historic collapse of the New York Mets and their failure to make the playoffs. Paired with that, you have the unexpected success of the Colorado Rockies. Will 2008 bring another surprise ending? Again, we look into the crystal ball too see what’s in store.

Looking to put the dismal failings of last season behind them, the 2008 version of the New York Mets made a bunch of off-season moves in attempt to improve and prevent another disaster. Departing from Flushing was troubled outfielder Lastings Millegde and veteran catcher Paul LoDuca. The two were sent to the Washington Nationals in exchange for outfielder Ryan Church and defensive catcher Brian Schneider. The other of their major moves would be the acquisition of pitching ace Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins. Commonly referred as the current best pitcher in all of baseball, The Mets are hoping that Santana’s talent can provide a boost to an aging pitching rotation. Pedro is nearing 40 years of age and no one really knows how old “El Duqué” Orlando Hernandez is. One would expect that both Carlos’ (Beltran and Delgado) would make at least one trip to the DL. The key to the Mets success would lie in the squad maintaining their health throughout the season.

The Philadelphia Phillies made some off season moves to help their case to repeat as National League East Champions. They traded for closer Brad Lidge and signed So Taguchi. Both of these acquisitions should give MVP short stop Jimmy Rollins something new to run his mouth about. Providing even more competition to the east will be perennial powerhouse Atlanta Braves. Tom Glavine returns to the place where he made a name for himself. Although Andruw Jones has hopped town for Los Angeles, you would think slugger Mark Teixeira can fill the offensive void left by Jones. Expect the NL East race to be a dogfight going deep into the end of September.

Moving to the central, the Chicago Cubs can only improve upon their first round playoff departure during the 2007 season. With solid hitting and Carlos Zambrano no longer pitching for a contract, the Cubs look to be the team to beat in the Central Division. In that same breath, do not by any means count out Prince Fielder and the Milwaukee Brewers. If Ben Sheets can avoid time on the DL, the Brewers can be one of the best teams in the NL.

Lastly out west, a regime change has taken place in Los Angeles. Former Yankee manager Joe Torre has taken over the helm for the boys in blue. Add to the mix a new face in the above mentioned Andruw Jones and some big moves took place this off season. However, it won’t prove to be enough with the rest of their aging team. Former stars like Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent won’t produce enough for new team members to make a difference. Coming off their miracle run to the World Series, the Colorado Rockies aim to make another post season appearance in 2008. The Rockies are defensively one of the best teams in the majors.

Ken Griffey Junior starts the season seven homeruns short of the 600 club. Many are left to just imagining where his numbers could have been if he stayed healthy for his entire career. Former ace Randy Johnson is 16 wins away from reaching 500 lifetime wins. His chances of hitting this number rest in the condition of his troublesome back.

The season begins Sunday in Washington DC as the Nationals unveil their new ballpark against division rivals the Atlanta Braves. Let the games begin. See you in October!

-Matt Armstrong

Clarkson Advances to Regional Final

The Clarkson Golden Knights defeated St. Cloud State 2-1 Friday in the NCAA East Regional Semifinal in Albany. The win marked Clarkson's first NCAA tournament victory in 11 years. Coach George Roll and the Knights will face top-seed Michigan tonight at 7 p.m. The Wolverines advanced to the regional final with a 5-1 thrashing of Niagara. Hobey Baker favorite Kevin Porter tallied a carer-high four goals in the victory.

Laker Baseball Postponed Today; Lax to Play On

Today's scheduled baseball doubleheader between Oswego State and Fredonia has been postponed due to weather. It is now scheduled to be played Monday at noon. The men's lacrosse team will play today's scheduled home opener against Utica. The Lakers will be looking to snap a three-game skid. The Pioneers are in search of their third victory in four games after starting the season 0-5. Face-off is set for 1 p.m.

2008 American League Preview

The 2008 major league season is rapidly approaching its stateside debut next week and many are wondering what lies in store for the 162 game marathon. Using my fantastic crystal ball, I have been fortunate enough to look into the future and see what’s down the road. Curious? Let’s see what we got.

If one were to look at the teams on paper, The Boston Red Sox would have to be the odds on favorite to repeat as World Series champions. With a high percentage of their championship squad remaining intact, the boys from bean town look as good as ever. Keep in mind, both Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were injured and under produced for a majority of last season. Having them healthy will only make their lineup stronger. However, their rotation is questionable. Schilling will miss a good part of the first half due to shoulder injury. Oh yea, Josh Beckett has got back spasms and will certainly have some blister on his finger. Granted they did add Bartolo Colon. But old Barty can’t compensate for both Curt and Josh Beckett being down at the same time. All of this aside, however, you have to respect the holders of the cup and for right now, pick the Sox to repeat as champions.

Putting up an interesting fight will be their sworn enemies, The New York Yankees. You can expect A-Rod to put up another year of out of this world numbers. Placing that on its own shelf,you have to look at everything else as well…there are essentially three designated hitters on that team in Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon. The latter two named, can no longer efficiently play in the outfield. Second year phenom Joba Chamberlain will be setting up legendary Yankee closer Mariano River. If you want a chance to win against the Bronx bombers, you need to do so before either of them enters the game. While Rivera has lost a little of his touch, he is still one of the best if not the best in the business. Expect the Yankees to give the Red Sox a run for their money. This divisional race will go down to the wire.

Other American League notes… The Indians should have the AL Central in hand. They would do best not to rest on their laurels however. Right behind them are the re-booted Detroit Tigers. The addition of Miguel Cabrera to the lineup will provide more power to the home run happy crew. You add Dontrelle Willis as a solid three man behind starters Jeremy Bonderman and Justin Verlander and you have solid one, two and three in your pitching rotation. One will win the division, while the other gets the wild card. Thus leaving the west to the Los-Angeles-
Angels-of-Anaheim-brought-to-you-by-Disney.

Lastly, milestones will be achieved this year in the American League. Boston slugger Manny Ramirez will enter the season on the cusp of membership into the 500 homerun club. He begins the season with 490 lifetime round trips around the diamond. All-star catcher Ivan Rodriguez only needs five more base hits to collect 2,500 in his career.

That’s a look into the future for the American League…a glimpse of the National League will soon follow.

-Matt Armstrong

John Mayer's Audition Tape For WNYO Baseball Play-By-Play

Sean Avery Just About Died Last Night

The New York Rangers beat New Jersey 3-2 last night at The Garden. The Rangers are now tied with the Devils for fifth in the East with 91 points, but New Jersey has two more wins and therefore holds the tiebreaker.

Laker Baseball To Rely On Young Arms In '08

Coach Frank Paino's Lakers are 1-1 this season after falling 4-2 at Juniata College in Pennsylvania Monday. Eagles hurler Jay Enoch struck out 14 batters and improved to 3-0 on the year. Junior Chris Schiro took the loss for Oswego after allowing two unearned runs in the eighth. Schiro threw five innings in relief of Rob Johnson, allowing no earned runs. However, he struggled with his control as he walked five batters and hit another.

Oswego State kicked off the 2008 campaign with an 8-7 win at Voorhees College of the NAIA in South Carolina Friday. No box score has been published. Today's scheduled game at Pitt-Bradford has been cancelled. The Lakers open up SUNYAC play in their home opener with Fredonia Saturday. The doubleheader is set to start at noon. The weather forecast predicts a high temperature of 32 degrees Saturday with a 20 percent chance of snow. Plenty of good seats still available.

2008 Record: 1-1 (0-0 in SUNYAC)
2007 Record: 15-14 (7-7 in SUNYAC)

KEY LOSSES
Nick Perioli OF: Led team in batting (.404), hits (36), slugging (.461), and stolen bases (6)
Nick Marzullo DH: Led team in runs (19) & RBI (19), hit .302 with 38 total bases
Tom Farrell 1B: Led team in doubles (10) & total bases (43), .988 fielding percentage
Nate DeSantis SP: Led starters in ERA (1.97), shutouts (2), opp. batting avg (.235), wins (4)
Justin Horbal SP: Led team in complete games (3), 2-3 record with 4.08 ERA in 6 starts
Adam Herendza RP: Led team in appearances (13) & strikeouts (50), 3-2 record, 3.40 ERA
Justin White SP: 4-3 record with 4.27 ERA in 7 starts

KEY RETURNERS
Mike Levy SS: Led team in walks (17) and errors (10), .292 batting average with 11 RBI
Brett Shaffer 2B: 2007 Regional Gold Glove (.986 fielding percentage), hit .287 with 14 RBI

NEW FACES
Mark VanDreasen IF (Utica-Proctor), Matt Miller C (Sodus), P.J. Cowie P (Spencerport), Mike Redmond IF (Lansing), Pat O'Keefe IF (Lehman), Marc Peterson P (Geneseo), Brandon Wroblewski P/OF (Greece Athena), Dustin Lefave P (Moravia), Jim Rinella P (C-NS), Andy Salvatore P (Arlington), Tom Benedetto OF (Wantagh), Evan Shaffer OF/P (Caledonia-Mumford), Alex Jarvela P (Batavia)

Most Recent SUNYAC Title: 1996
Most Recent NCAA Tournament: 1996
Coach: Frank Paino (22nd season 405-294-1)

Ryan Maloney

Good Riddance

The shmozzle that was the 2007-08 Syracuse University men's basketball season has come to a conclusion. The 'Cuse lost to UMass on their home court for the second time this season. The Minutemen advanced to the NIT semifinals with an 81-77 victory despite trailing by 22 AFTER the first television timeout of the SECOND half. Orange coach Jim Boeheim opted for a conservative, clock-eating offense in the home stretch; not unlike the one employed against Pittsburgh earlier this year. The end result was not unlike that of the Pittsburgh game earlier this year. Highlights to come...

UPDATE: About those highlights - they ain't comin'. I accidentally erased the game from my DVR before I could transfer it to my laptop. Here is what you would have seen: Syracuse nearly makes it to the game's first TV timeout without scoring a point. Syracuse opens the game up with a good inside-outside game and leads by 19 at the half. Syracuse continues strong play into the second and leads by 22 five minutes in. Syracuse forgets how to guard the perimeter and UMass starts to hit the outside shot. Syracus forgets how to make layups. Syracuse forgets how to break the press. Perhaps Daryl Gross forgets how to renew Jim Boeheim's contract and we see how these kids play for Mike Hopkins. We have it on good authority that Hopkins is displeased with some of the things the players get away with and plans an attitude overhaul when he takes over. We also have it on good authority that Donte Green forgets how to return rental cars, but we're not one for whistle-blowing.

Ryan Maloney

Clarkson Gets At-Large Bid

Former Oswego State head coach George Roll and his Clarkson Golden Knights have received an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament.  The Knights are the third seed in the East region and will open against St. Cloud State Friday.  Michigan is the number one seed in the East.  New Hamshire, North Dakota, and Miami (OH) are the other top seeds in the field of 16.

The bracket was unveiled Sunday morning and contained a surprising entrant.  The Wisconsin Badgers received a bid despite finishing below .500 (11-12-5), winning one out of their last five games, placing sixth in their conferencing, and getting swept in the WCHA quarterfinals.  News of Wisconsin's selection even made the front page of ESPN.com (for about ten minutes).

Minnesota State, Mankato was not invited to the dance despite forcing three overtimes against tourney-bound Minnesota in the WCHA playoffs (winning one).  The Mavericks also went 2-1-1 in four regular-season meetings with Wisconsin.

Jones Shuts Out Plattsburgh

St. Norbert beat Plattsburgh 2-0 in today's NCAA title game in Lake Placid. Senior goaltender Kyle Jones became the first player to earn two shutouts in a single Frozen Four. The win gives St. Norbert their first NCAA ice hockey championship. Green Knight coach Tim Coghlin is the first person to win a D-III championship as a player and a coach. He captained Wisconsin-Stevens Point to the 1989 title and was an assistant under Joe Baldarotta for their 1993 championship. Baldarotta is now the head coach at SUNY Cortland.

ESPN.com Report

Plattsburgh & St. Norbert Scoreless After One

The Plattsburgh Cardinals and St. Norbert Green Knights are scoreless after 20 minutes of play in Lake Placid. Brian Hince has stopped 14 shots for the Cards while Kyle Jones has 10 saves for the Knights. The game is being broadcast on CSTV and webcast on CSTV.com.

Plattsburgh Advances To Easter Showdown With St. Norbert

Plattsburgh beat Elmira 6-3 tonight in Lake Placid to earn a spot in tomorrow's championship game against St. Norbert.

Ellis Named to All-America Team

Oswego State forward Ryan Ellis was named to the RBK All-America second team yesterday by the American Hockey Coaches Association. Ellis was the only player selected from the SUNYAC. He is the 18th player in Oswego State history to earn All-American honors. Ellis was the SUNYAC Player of the Year for 2007-08. He is a three-time All-SUNYAC selection and a former SUNYAC Rookie of the Year.

2008 RBK HOCKEY ALL-AMERICAN TEAM

Johnny Flynn to Donte Greene

This may be a bit late, but well worth posting.  I attended the Syracuse-Martland NIT game Thursday night and witnessed the following in person:

Dylan Clarke Gives Plattsburgh 3-2 Lead

Plattsburgh's Dylan Clarke just put home a rebound for his 10th power play goal of the season to put the Cards up 3-2 over Elmira in the second. Elmira had jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, but the Cards evened it at 2-2 after a Bob Emery timeout.

Bye Bye, Paulus

The West Virginia Mountaineers beat Duke 73-67 today in the second round of the NCAA tournament.  Blue Devil point guard Greg Paulus is the most overrated player in division I was held to just two assists. Duke had just six helpers as a team against 13 turnovers. They shot 5-22 from long-range and were upset in regional play for the fourth straight season.

St. Norbert Wins Lake Placid Opener

Senior goaltender Kyle Jones recorded his 24th career shutout and ninth of the season as St. Norbert beat Norwich 3-0 in the NCAA semifinals in Lake Placid, N.Y.  The Green Knights advance to tomorrow's final where they await the winner of Elmira and Plattsburgh.  The Soaring Eagles and Cardinals square off at 6 p.m.

60

Washington Capital forward Alexander Ovechkin recorded his 60th goal of the 2007-08 season last night. More importantly, the Caps beat Atlanta 5-3 and are now a point behind eighth-place Boston in the East, although the Bruins have a pair of games in hand.  

Ovechkin now has more goals than any of the New York Rangers do points, save for Scott Gomez (67) and Jaromir Jagr (62).  Ovechkin is the first player to reach the 60-goal plateau since Mario Lemiux and Jaromir Jagr did it as teammates in 1996.  The NHL put together a video tribute to Ovechkin's feat; it can be seen below.

Client #9 Supports Your Lakers

Former Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer left his New York City residence this morning for a vacation with his family. He is rocking an Oswego State Lakers hoodie. It still looks brand new, as if this is his first time wearing it. If that is indeed the case, the timing could not be better.

Isles' Goalie DiPietro Done For Season

New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro will have hip surgery today and miss the rest of the regular season. Viewers tuned into the NHL skills competition in January saw the initial injury. DiPietro was wearing a microphone as he squared off against Minnesota's Marian Gaborik during the Breakaway Challenge. After making a stop, DiPietro dropped an f-bomb while referencing his hip. After making another stop, DiPietro left the ice and had Tim Thomas replace him in net as he dropped another f-bomb on live television. His bid for the live television f-bomb hat trick was foiled by sound engineers who cut his mic.

DiPietro would actually start the All-Star game the next day and has been in net for the Isles for the second half of the season until now. The Islanders are currently nine points out of the eighth spot in the East and fading fast.

Oswego Lax Off To Slow Start

The Oswego State men's lacrosse team is off to a 1-3 start following back-to-back losses to RIT and St. John Fisher last week. The Lakers scored a combined 11 goals in the two defeats. They'll pay a visit to St. Lawrence on Mar. 26 before making their home debut on Mar. 29 against Utica.

The women's team lost 17-15 in their opener at Hartwick on Mar. 8. They'll travel to the left coast for three games from Mar. 25 through Mar. 28. The Lakers opponents on the road trip will be Puget Sound, Linfield and Pacific.

Natural Grass in 17 Days

Alliance Bank stadium has switched to natural grass. The Syracuse Chiefs will take to the new playing surface pn April 3 against Louisville.

Clarkson Ousted in OT

The Clarkson Golden Knights were eliminated in the ECAC quarterfinals Sunday by the Colgate Red Raiders. The Knights were the top-seed and defending tournament champions. They will now have to rely on an at-large bid to get into the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, eighth-seeded Colgate advances to face #2 Princeton in Albany on Friday.

On the D-III front, the Frozen Four is set. Plattsburgh and Elmira are both making the trip to Lake Placid to face each other in the semifinals. The other semifinal pits St. Norbert against Norwich. Those games take place Saturday with the winners playing Sunday.

Cuse Draws a #1 Seed

Because This Is My Blog And I Can Do What I Please...

The Lakers Are Done, But Clarkson Rolls On

Oswego State may have played their final hockey game this season, but a former Laker head coach still has his club in the thick of the division I playoff race. Clarkson's George Roll has led the Golden Knights to a 20-10-4 record in his fifth season at the helm. This year, the Knights won the Cleary Cup, awarded to the regular season champion of the ECAC, for the first time since 2001 with a 15-4-3 conference mark. Roll also earned his 200th career victory on Nov. 10 when the Knights beat Princeton 6-2. Clarkson was an impressive 14-1-1 on their home ice at the Cheel Arena this season (WNYO Sports was there for the lone loss).

WATCH/LISTEN TO THE KNIGHTS

The Golden Knights earned a bye into the ECAC quarterfinals as the top seed. They will host eighth-seeded Colgate, who eliminated Clarkson arch-rival St. Lawrence in the opening round. The best-of-three series begins Friday night at 7 p.m. You can hear Cool 95.3 FM's Bob Ahlfeld call the game on the web by clicking here. The student broadcast from WTSC 91.1 FM The Source can be heard here. You can even pony up eight American dollars and watch WCKN-TV's video feed combined with Ahlfeld's play-by-play over at B2Networks. Live stats will also be available here.

SERIES INFO

Clarkson and Colgate went toe-to-toe for 130 minutes this season. They combined for two goals as they skated to two ties. Inside College Hockey illustrates Clarkson's offensive struggles against Colgate in their latest power rankings, "The Golden Knights would like to watch tape of the goals they've scored against Colgate goalie Mark Dekanich in the last four years. The problem is, that tape would only last about 55 seconds."

Senior forward Steve Zalewski was the only Knight to score on Dekanich this season. He is the younger brother of Oswego State defenseman Rich Zalewski. Overall, Clarkson is 4-2-5 vs. Colgate under George Roll, including an ECAC semifinal victory in 2004. Colgate is just two seasons removed from their own ECAC regular season crown.

GEORGE ROLL

Clarkson coach George Roll took his first head coaching job with the Oswego State Lakers in 1997. He inherited a club that had finished a game over .500 the year before. In his first season, the Lakers achieved their best record in nearly a decade, finishing 17-13-2. Roll was named SUYAC Coach of the Year by his peers. Five years later, the Lakers won their first SUNYAC title in 12 years and earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Roll was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year again, becoming the first Laker coach to earn the honor twice.

Oswego State would advance to the 2003 National Championship to play Norwich after beating Wentworth and Middlebury. The Lakers led 1-0 in the third period on the Cadets' ice, but Norwich netted two goals before the final buzzer to take home the title. Oswego's impressive run earned Roll the head spot at Clarkson, where he had previously served as an assistant. Roll's success has continued there, leading the Golden Knights to the 2007 ECAC Tournament Championship and the 2008 ECAC Cleary Cup. This season, the Knights are in good position to earn consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nine years.

Ryan Maloney

We Do Have Some Good News to Report...

Oswego State men's lacrosse earned their first victory Sunday. The Lakers beat Farmingdale 9-8 to even up their record at 1-1. They had lost to SUNY Maritime 11-10 in double overtime Friday. Junior Mike Recor tallied three goals for Oswego.

Snubbed?

Oswego State was not selected as a Pool C entrant into the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The selection committee opted for a 7-3 East-West split and awarded Wisconsin-Stout (18-8-3) an at-large bid. Also omitted from the field of ten are Adrian (26-3-0) and Middlebury (18-7-2). This year's NCAA tournament will be the first since 1994 not to feature the Middlebury Panthers.

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE BRACKET

Stay Tuned...

The Lake Show Selection Show Special live from Greene's Ale House will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Six-Seed Trinity Wins NESCAC Title

Trinity just defeated the Middlebury Panthers 3-2 in double overtime for their first-ever NESCAC title. First-year coach David Cataruzolo will now lead his 15-10-2 Bantams into the NCAA tournament with a pool A bid. Meanwhile, Norwich leads Salem State 5-1 in the second period.

Watch The NESCAC Final, Listen to the ECAC East Final

D3Cast is airing the NESCAC Championship here. Oswego State's chances of earning a pool C bid into the NCAA tournament will be aided by a Middlebury victory over Trinity. Also, listen to the ECAC East Championship here. Laker fans want a Norwich victory over Salem State in that one. Remember, WNYO will have a live Selection Sunday special tonight beginning at 7 p.m.

Chris Lerch's Bracketology

USCHO's Chris Lerch has just posted another blog regarding the NCAA DIII men's hockey tourney. Click here to read it.

Derek Dunning's Bracketology

Laker Fans,

Break out your pom-poms this weekend as after last Saturday’s 4-3 SUNYAC Final loss to Plattsburgh, Oswego State is now going to need a lot of help from other teams in order to get an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Pool C, at-large bid was the same rout that the Lakers needed last year to make the tournament and then go on their magical run to win the National Championship.

However, there is a distinct difference between this year’s tournament resume and last year’s. Last season, Oswego was 20-3-2 and had important victories over Elmira (3), Geneseo (2), Fredonia (2), New England College, and Hobart. This season, Oswego is 18-6-2 and their only real significant wins are against Fredonia (2) and New England College. Important losses to this year have come to Amherst and possibly the most damaging, Hobart.

Before I get into the scenarios of what has to happen for Oswego to secure a Pool C bid, lets first take a look at how the NCAA tournament is set-up and how teams get into it. Ten teams make the Division III NCAA tournament with the Frozen Four set to be held in Lake Placid, N.Y. at the Herb Brooks Memorial Arena on March 22 and 23. There are six conferences that have automatic bids awarded to their conference tournament champion. The ECAC East, ECAC Northeast, NESCAC, MIAC, NCHA, and of course the SUNYAC.

There are two other conferences in NCAA D-III hockey that do not have the required seven teams in order to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They are the ECAC West and MCHA. Instead, the teams in those conferences compete in what is know as Pool B. Pool B is exactly like the at-large process used for determining Pool C, only just for teams in the ECAC West and MCHA. To determine the Pool B and Pool C bids, an NCAA committee of coaches and athletic directors from around Division III use a set list of criteria to determine the one Pool B winner, and the three Pool C bids. These are the criteria used:

Winning Percentage
Opponents' Winning Percentage
Opponent's Opponents (Winning) Percentage
Head to Head Results
Record vs. Common Opponents
Record vs. NCAA Ranked Teams

The last criteria, Record vs. NCAA Ranked Teams refers to the weekly rankings that the NCAA committee puts out. The latest rankings came out on Tuesday, March 4. Currently, Oswego State is ranked seventh behind Elmira, Plattsburgh, Norwich, Manhattanville, Middlebury, and Hobart. So lets take a look at how the NCAA tournament field is shaping up right now. Plattsburgh is the only team definitely in the tournament right now as they won the SUNYAC tournament.

Let’s assume that all the favorites win their conference tournaments for arguments sake:

ECAC East- Norwich
ECAC Northeast- UMass-Dartmouth
NESCAC- Colby
SUNYAC- Plattsburgh
MIAC- St. Thomas
NCHA- St. Norbert

Pool B- Elmira

Now the three Pool C bids.

Manhattanville is a lock for one of the bids regardless of whether they win or lose to Elmira this weekend in the ECAC West Championship. Middlebury is next in line for a bid but they are competing in the NESCAC Tournament still so they still could improve or hurt their resume. Hobart would edge out Oswego and take the third and final Pool C bid if this is how everything played out. Hobart’s 5-2 win earlier this season against Oswego and their 6-7-2 record against NCAA ranked teams trumps Oswego’s 1-6-1 record would give them the edge.

However, the good news for Laker fans is that there is still plenty of hockey left to be played and this scenario can change completely. Oswego’s best chance to make the NCAA tournament would need the following things to happen:

Middlebury wins the NESCAC Tournament
St. Norbert wins the NCHA Tournament
Norwich wins the ECAC East Tournament
And to a lesser extent, St. Thomas wins the MIAC Tournament.

If those four things happen, Oswego State would more than likely get the third and final Pool C bid and make the NCAA Tournament. The good news is that those four teams are the favorites to win all of those tournaments. However, being Laker fans we all know too well that upsets can happen and that any one of those four teams could lose and basically destroy any chance of Oswego making the tournament.

Derek Dunning, USCHO.com Columnist

Laker Hoops on WNYO Tonight

Oswego State basketball returns to WNYO tonight. The women's hoops team will host St. John Fisher at 6 p.m. The men will host Cazenovia at 8 p.m. Both are first round ECAC tournament games.

Women's Hoops Get One More Home Game

The Oswego State women's basketball team has been selected to participate in the ECAC Upstate tournament. The Lakers will host St. John Fisher Wednesday, the time of the game has not yet been set. The Wednesday night winner will advance to play at Cortland Saturday in the semifinals.

Men's & Women's Hoops Await ECAC Bracket Pairings

Neither the Oswego State men's nor women's basketball team made the NCAA tournament, but the season may not be over. The ECAC tournament is division III's equivalent to the NIT of division I. The pairings for that tournament are to be announced throughout the day. Click here to watch the updates.

Men's Hoops Denied Dance Invite

The Oswego State men's basketball team was not selected to participate in the NCAA Division III tournament. Plattsburgh is the only SUNYAC representative going to the dance, they have a bye into the round of 32 and will host their second-round game. The Cardinals defeated the Lakers Saturday in the SUNYAC championship game to earn an automatic bid into the tournament.

Watch Men's Hoops Bracket Selection

The DIII men's basketball NCAA tournament selection will be webcast here at 12:30 p.m. Find out if the Oswego State Lakers are invited to the field of 59. The women's bracket was announced this morning. Brockport was the only SUNYAC member chosen to participate.

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

Plattsburgh Sweeps Championship Saturday

The Plattsburgh Cardinals are the SUNYAC Champions in men's basketball and ice hockey.

Hockey story from the Pall-Times.

Hoops story from Oswego State.

Pall-Times writer Josh Hines's Laker hockey blog.

Oswego vs. Plattsburgh Tonight on WNYO