Men's Hockey Looks to Regain Pathfinder Title

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A little more than a year ago, the Oswego State men's hockey program was struggling through an inconsistent start to the season following their 2007 National Championship. Senior goalie Ryan Scott had lost his starting spot to junior Chris Hyk as the Lakers won just 7 of their first 12 contests. They returned from winter recess weeks before any of their classmates to host the second annual Pathfinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic, a four-team gathering that the Lakers were widely predicted to win.

IGNITING A SPARK

Instead, Oswego State lost to Amherst in the first round and suffered the indignity of playing in the consolation game of their own tournament. But Scott managed to re-establish himself as the team's top backstop in the span of 120 minutes. His efforts the rest of the way would inspire the team to win 11 of their last 13, including an unbeaten mark against schools not located in Plattsburgh, NY.

DEJA VU

Fast forward to the Pathfinder's third go-round and Hyk's game is a hot topic once again. The #11 Lakers have dropped four of their last six and Hyk has been the team's lone healthy goalie during that span. That will not be the case tomorrow night as two more netminders have transferred into the school on the shores of Lake Ontario. The presence of former Clarkson goalie Tim Potter and former Buffalo State Bengal Kyle Gunn-Taylor may lead to Hyk having never seen the ice in the Pathfinder for his career.

THE NEW GUYS

Potter played division one hockey for the past two seasons under former Oswego State bench boss George Roll. He had a solid freshman season as David Leggio's backup, logging 169 minutes while stopping 91% of the shots he faced for a GAA of 3.19. He earned just one decision, a loss at Lake Superior in which he allowed 5 five goals on 36 shots.

This season has been a bumpy one for the California native. Potter was beat out for the starting spot by freshman Paul Karpowich. Still, he was tabbed to start on two different occasions, but never made it past the second period. His fall 2008 GAA surely surpassed his GPA as it totaled out to a 5.94. Potter may show some rust between the pipes as he has not seen live game action since Nov. 15. His uniform number may reflect his spot on the depth chart, as he will sport #1.

Gunn-Taylor faced Oswego State as backstop for the Buffalo State Bengals on one occasion, a 5-2 loss at the Campus Center on Feb. 8, 2008. Gunn-Taylor had won the starting spot midway through that season and led the Bengals to the SUNYAC playoffs as the club lost just 3 of their last 13 regular season games. He did not appear on the team's roster this fall, but now appears on Oswego State's wearing #33, the same number worn by the two-time All-American Scott.

Ryan Maloney

Pathfinder at a Glance

#11 Oswego State Lakers (8-5-1)
Distance Traveled: Host
Conference: SUNYAC (3rd)
Streak: L 1
Last 5: 2-3-0



Skidmore Thoroughbreds (4-2-0)
Distance Traveled: 176 mi. (Saratoga Springs, NY)
Conference: ECAC East (7th)
Streak: Won 4
Last 5: 4-1-0



Babson Beavers (3-3-1)
Distance Traveled: 327 mi. (Wellesley, MA)
Conference: ECAC East (5th)
Streak: L 1
Last 5: 3-1-1




Augsburg Auggies (2-7-0)
Distance Traveled: 1,083 mi. (Minneapolis, MN)
Conference: MIAC (5th)
Streak: L 4
Last 5: 1-4-0

SCHEDULE

Fri, Jan. 2:
4:00 Babson v. Augsburg
7:00 Oswego v. Skidmore

Sat, Jan 3:
4:00 Consolation Game
7:00 Championship Game