Oswego Women's Hockey Dominates With A Pair Of Shutout Wins

The Oswego State Women's Hockey team has really seemed to hit their groove. They came off a big weekend in Neumann and followed that up with another huge weekend this past weekend. Oswego started off a three game road trip with a weekend series in Pittsburgh against the Chatham Cougars. Oswego's offense was in a groove, while the defense and goaltending was perfect all weekend, allowing Oswego to skate away with a pair of shutouts in the weekend sweep.

First up was a Saturday night game against Chatham, which saw Oswego walk away with a 4-0 victory. The only goal scored in the 1st period came at 4:22 when Kendall Appelbaum scored her 2nd of the year. Oswego stretched the lead to 2-0 in the 2nd period, when at 12:28 of the middle frame Melissa Seamont scored her 3rd of the year, a shorthanded goal. Finally Oswego tallied the final two goals in the 3rd period., both on the powerplay. First at 3:36 Olivia Boersen scored her 3rd of the year, and 2nd with the man advantage, then at 9:25 Megan Hagg scored her 3rd of the year, and 2nd on the man advantage, thus sealing the 4-0 win for Oswego.

Tara Treloar took the loss for Chatham, dropping her record to 2-1-2 this season, stopping 24 of 28 Oswego shots. Catherine Cote took the win for Oswego, improving her record to 4-1-0 this season, stopping all 8 shots she faced. Of Cote's 4 wins, three of them have been shutouts. In fact she has gotten shutouts in the last two games for Oswego.  In fact, the last person to beat Cote with a shot, was Lauren Cusack, who scored at 10:51 of the 1st period of the 1st game against Neumann last weekend. Cote hasn't allowed a goal since.

Now after Oswego has won two in a row via shutout, and outscored the opponents 7-0, they set out to face Chatham again in a Sunday afternoon game. The result was much the same as the night before, with Oswego coming away with a 3-0 victory. No goals were scored in the 1st period. Oswego scored twice in the 2nd, both goals coming on the powerplay. First, at 12:45, Leslie Jarvis scored her 2nd of the season, both goals coming on the powerplay, to give Oswego the 1-0 lead. Oswego would stretch the lead to 2-0 at 18:25 when Emma Smetaniuk scored her 2nd of the year, 1st on the powerplay. Oswego put the nail in the coffin at 7:12 of the 3rd period when Alexa Aramburu scored her 2nd of the year to seal the 3-0 win.

Megan Buchanan took the loss for Chatham, dropping her record to 0-3-0 on the season, stopping 36 of 39 Oswego Shots. Tori Trovato picked up the win for Oswego, in her first start of the season, improving her record to 1-0-0. Trovato stopped all 9 shots she faced on the day.

Oswego has now recorded three straight shutouts, for the first time in program history, and has four total shutouts on the season. The team defense has been very very good, having killed 17 straight penalties, and has saved 91 of their last 93 shots faced for a save percentage of 98% (WNYO Sports). They have lowered the team goals against average to 0.85 on the year, and Bridget Smith is the only goalie on the team with an GAA above 1, she has a 1.45 GAA. Now THAT'S impressive.

Oswego has one more game to play before the thanksgiving break, that being at Hamilton College Tuesday night November 26th!

(Photo Provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Oswego Men's Hockey Splits Weekend Road Trip

The Oswego State Men's Hockey team took their show on the road for the first full weekend road trip of the season, this to Geneseo and Brockport. Oswego walked away from the weekend with a split, stumbling badly in the first game but finishing up strong in the 2nd game.

First up was a stop in Geneseo, to take on the Ice Knights in a place that hasn't been too friendly to the Lakers over the last few seasons. Geneseo had one great period, and Oswego was never able to recover, falling to the Ice Knights 7-4. Oswego got the only goal of the 1st period, when at 10:23, Chris Waterstreet scored his 1st career goal. That lone tally held up, and Oswego carried the lead into the break. Once the 2nd period started, the wheels fell off for Oswego. Geneseo tied the game at the 1:44 mark of the period when Connor Anthoine scored his 1st of the year. The Ice Knights took the lead at the 2:08 mark when Matt Solomon scored his 2nd of the season. Oswego was able to pull even at 2 at the 2:55 mark when Brandon Adams scored his 4th of the year. Then Geneseo started to pull away with three unanswered goals. First at 3:24, Jonathan Sucese scored his 2nd of the season. Then AJ Sgaraglio scored his 1st of the year at 16:20, and finally Justin Scharfe scored his 2nd of the year at 19:17.

So Oswego headed into the break down 5-2. Once the 3rd got going, Oswego appeared to be getting back into it. At the 3:57 mark Andrew Barton scored his 1st career goal, a powerplay goal, to get Oswego within two. But Justin Scharfe scored his 2nd of the nighit, and 3rd of the year, a powerplay goal, at 5:46 to reestablish a 3 goal advantage. Oswego cut the lead again to two, when at 9:54 Mike Montagna scored his 2nd of the year. Geneseo iced the game at 18:23 when Zachary Vit scored his 3rd of the year into an empty net. Geneseo, who was the 15th ranked team in the country heading into the weekend, held on for the 7-4 win.

Justin Gilbert got the start for Oswgo but wasn't able to finish. Gilbert tooko the loss, dropping to 2-2-0 on the season, and was pulled in the 2nd period giving up five goals and making 20 saves. Matt Zawadzki finished the game for Oswego, stopping 2 of the 4 shots he faced. Bryan Haude picked up the win for Geneseo, improving his record to 4-1-0 on the season, making 27 saves in the win. Each team scored once on the powerplay.

After taking a stinging loss like they did in Geneseo, Oswego had to turn right around the next night and take on the Golden Eagles of Brockport in Brockport. The Lakers responded quite nicely coming away with a 4-0 win and a split of the weekend games. Oswego was able to connect twice in the first period, first at 9:43 when Dylan Smith scored his 2nd of the year, then again at the 19:15 mark when Matt Galati scored his 5th of the season. To the 2nd period we go, and the only goal of the frame came at 14:45 when Chris Raguseo connected for his 1st career goal. The scoring was capped off for the evening at 13:36 of the 3rd when Mac Scott scored his 2nd of the year to seal the 4-0 victory.

Jared Lockhurst took the loss for Brockport, dropping his record to 0-4-1 on the season, stopping 22 of 26 Oswego shots. Matt Zawadzki got the win for Oswego, improving his record to 2-0-0, stopping all 26 Brockport shots. For Zawadzki, it was his 1st career shutout and 2nd career win.

Oswego now has two weeks off till their next games, and boy is it a big one. The next time Oswego hits the ice is the opening weekend in December and its to host Potsdam and Plattsburgh in Whiteout Weekend!

(Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Alex Rodriguez Case Gets More Interesting By The Minute

We all read the sports pages and listen to sports talk radio. We all know what's been going on with Alex Rodriguez and the steroids case. The new twist yesterday just turned the heat up on the case and made things more interesting. Rodriguez is appealing his 211 game suspension for steroids. The case took an interesting turn during the hearing yesterday when Rodriguez walked out of the hearing. Why did he leave? Because baseball commissioner Bud Selig didn't show up at the hearing. Selig was asked to show up to testify on the case, but wasn't forced to show up thus not giving the time to the case. This angered Rodriguez, with good reason.

This, and subsequently what Rodriguez told local radio station WFAN afterwards, made me rethink this whole case. First things first. Bud Selig no showing at the hearing tells me something. I know he is a busy man, with running Major League Baseball and all, but still this case is a big deal and he needs to make time for this case. It's his prized story and he wasn't there for it. That tells me one of two things. Either he doesn't have time at all, or he just stopped giving a damn about this case. This is making a statement that Selig and baseball aren't trying to push this hard for this incident anymore. It's telling me that Baseball is sort of turning their back on this incident.

Which leads me to my next point with Rodriguez. He went straight from the hearing to WFAN in New York and went on the radio to give his side of it. When asked if he had done any steroids, any interfering with witnesses, or anything he has been accused of, Rodriguez answered no to all of it. Rodriguez maintained his innocence. Today Rodriguez attorney's said that they will not show anything else to baseball until baseball steps forward and the commissioner agrees to testify. It may not be the smartest of moves but I like that idea. The reason is because it's fully calling the bluff of Major League Baseball. Its saying to me that Rodriguez's people are done busting their humps to get this resolved since baseball doesn't seem interested in getting more involved.

Based on what has happened in the last two days, i'm starting to see that Rodriguez may be in the right here and the suspension should be reduced. Did he do steroids? I have no idea. Lets say that he did, based on everything that has gone down the last two days, Rodriguez should still be suspended but it should be cut in half.  Why? Because baseball doesn't seem to have as much conviction anymore. With Selig not showing up it shows that baseball just wants this out of the way already and its not going to happen. Baseball is shooting themselves in the foot on the whole issue.

Here's what I would do. I would say get Rodriguez and his people in a room with Commissioner Bud Selig and his people. Lock them in a room and nobody leaves until we get all the facts straight and a final decision is reached. Do I think A-Rod is guilty? Yes but now it doesn't appear to be as bad as baseball made it sound.

I know this is getting confusing, trust me its confusing for me too. But we will keep an eye and ear on this story as more information becomes available.

Rangers, Tigers Pull Off Blockbuster Trade

The first trade of the Major League Baseball offseason has been made and it is a HUGE one. Straight up, player for player, the Texas Rangers send 2nd baseman Ian Kinsler to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for 1st baseman Prince Fielder. But wait there's more. As reported by ESPN, besides trading the two players, as part of the deal, the Tigers are sending $30 million to Texas to offset Fielder's cost. Fielder still has $168 million due to him over the next seven seasons, so Texas will pay him $138 million over that period. Kinsler is guaranteed $62 million over the next four seasons, which includes a $5 million buyout on his 2018 club option. In total, Detroit will pay $92 million in the deal -- $62 million to Kinsler and $30 million to Texas for Fielder.

Fielder, 29, hit .279 with 25 homers and 106 RBIs in 2013, his second season in Detroit. He gives the Rangers a power-hitting, left-handed hitter for the middle of their lineup, something Daniels listed as the top priority heading into the offseason. Fielder will be the primary first baseman and that the club is still figuring out Mitch Moreland's role. The Tigers get a three-time All-Star second baseman and someone who has hit in various parts of the lineup. Kinsler, 31, batted .277 with 13 homers and 72 RBIs last season (ESPN). He adds good speed, replacing what was lost by Omar Infante hitting the free agent market.

Now here's how both teams benefit from the trade. First Texas is getting a big addition to their lineup. Nelson Cruz isn't, as of now, going to be back in the mix for Texas, meaning that Adrian Beltre is the only real heavy hitting power threat in the Rangers lineup, at least on paper. Fielder put up respectable numbers a season ago playing in Detroit, hitting 25 homers and driving in 106 runs. But Fielder's batting average (.279), home runs (25), OPS (.819) and slugging percentage (.457) were all down from 2012. The slugging, OPS and homers were the lowest of his career (ESPN). One theory as to why those numbers are down is the ballpark he was playing in. Comerica Park is more of a pitcher friendly park, where as the Ballpark at Arlington is more of a hitter friendly ballpark. So Texas adds a big power bat to the middle of the lineup and solidify the position of 1st base. This should help the Rangers be more of a threat to Oakland in the American League West.

Now from a Tigers perspective the move was a good one too. Sure it stinks to lose Prince at first base, but in the long run, the move will be of benefit to Detroit. Now they have the option to move Miguel Cabrerra back over to 1st base if they so choose, which would be an easier position for him to play compared to 3rd. By getting rid of Fielder, it frees up some salary cap space and give Detroit more financial flexibility, with Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer a season away from free agency. I think the Tigers are really going to want to lock up Scherzer long term and they needed the money to be able to do it, so they pulled the trigger on the trade. Also adding Kinsler fills a couple of holes for Detroit to fill for next season. They lost a little bit of speed from the lineup with Omar Infante leaving due to free agency, so Kinsler can fill that hole he left. Also Kinsler is a proven 2nd baseman, and lets face facts the Tigers just improved the position because Kinsler is better than Hernan Perez who is listed as the Tigers 2nd baseman.

So the trade is a perfect balance as both teams are able to fill holes in their ballclubs both short and long term. It is a good deal for both sides.

Oswego State Womens Hockey Sweeps In Dramatic and Dominating Fashion

After suffering their first loss of the season and pulling in a tie, the Oswego State Women's Hockey team looked to get back to their winning ways. This time it was back on home ice against a familiar foe in the Neumann Knights. In each of the last two seasons, Oswego has played Neumann at home in the opening round of the ECAC West Playoffs. So you could say there's a bit of a rivalry starting to brew.

The first meeting of the weekend ended in dramatic fashion, as Oswego was able to skate away with the 2-1 overtime victory. Neumann opened the scoring at the 10:51 mark of the first period, when Lauren Cusack scored her first of the season. That goal would hold up till about the midway point of the 3rd period. Oswego was finally able to break through at the 10:21 mark of the 3rd period, when Megan Hagg scored her 2nd goal of the year, a powerplay goal to tie the game. The game remained deadlocked through the end of regulation and into overtime. Finally at the 4:19 mark of the extra period, Emma Smetaniuk buried the game winner, her first goal of the season, to give Oswego the victory.

Justina Mayr took the loss for Neumann, dropping her record on the year to 0-3-0, while stopping 36 of 38 Oswego shots. Catherine Cote picked up the win for Oswego, improving her record to 2-1-0 on the season, while stopping 33 of 34 Neumann shots. This was the 3rd time in the first five games Oswego had to go to overtime. They tied Potsdam in their last game, with the other overtime game resulting in a 3-2 win against Castelton. Ironically, both overtime wins for Oswego have occurred at home, and Megan Hagg has scored in both games. She scored the OT winner in the first game and scored the tying goal in this game.

Now after the nail biter on Saturday, both teams met again on Sunday, but the result wasn't as dramatic. Oswego dominated the game from start to finish, walking away with a 3-0 victory. Melissa Seamont got the scoring going, scoring her first of the season, a powerplay goal at 12:18 of the 1st. Then Alexa Aramburu scored her first career goal at 17:27 mark of the 1st. Finally, Oswego put the game away at 1:10 of the 2nd period when Melissa Seamont scored her 2nd of the game and season, to ice the victory at 3-0.

Julia Fair took the loss for Neumann, dropping her record to 1-1-0 on the seaosn, as she stopped 9 of the 11 shots she faced in the 1st period. She was replaced in the 2nd by Justina Mayr, who stopped 24 of the 25 shots she faced over the final 2 periods. Catherine Cote picked up the shutout victory for Oswego, improving her recod to 3-1-0 on the season, stopping all 17 shots she faced. For Cote it was her 3rd career shutout, and her performance in both games earned her  ECAC West Goalie Of The Week Honors.

That wasn't the only piece of history made this weekend. Two school records were broken this past weekend, and both by the same player. With her assist Saturday on the Oovertime winner by Smetaniuk, Melissa Seamont earned her 32nd career assist, good for the most in school history. The previous record had been 31 career assists which was held by Jillian Bergeron. Also with her two goal performance in the win on Sunday, Melissa Seamont is now the all time leading scorer in school history with 52 points. The previous record had been 51 points held by Kelly Collins.  So Congratulations are in oreder for Melissa Seamont for setting two new school records!

(Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Oswego Men's Hockey Rolls Past Elmira

For the 2nd weekend in a row, the Oswego State Men's Hockey team had a one game weekend to play. This time it was at home, as the boys played host to the Soaring Eagles of Elmira. It was a four goal opening period that helped power the Oswego victory. Kenny Neil got the party going, his first career goal, on the powerplay at 8:39. Elmira came right back at the 10:07 mark, when Jarryd ten Vaanholt scored his 4th of the season. Oswego took control of the period from that point on, scoring three more times. First, at 14:54, it was Mike Montagna with his first of the year, and career. Then at 17:32 Brandon Adams scored his 3rd of the year. Finally at the 19:00 mark, Matt Galati connected for his 3rd of the year. Oswego carried a 4-1 lead into the locker rooms.

To the 2nd period we go and the only goal of the period came at 18:02 of the period when Matt Galati scored his 4th of the season, and 2nd of the night, to stretch the Oswego lead to 5-1. To the 3rd period we go, and it takes just 47 seconds for Kyle Badham to connect for his first of the season, thus upping the lead to 6-1. Elmira would get two goals back, one from Josh Burnell and one from Brian Depp, both coming on the powerplay and both coming 41 seconds apart. So with the lead now just 3, Shawn Hulshof scored his 2nd of the year at 16:59 to put the game away and seal the 703 win for Oswego.

Sal Magliocco took the loss for Elmira, dropping his record to 2-4-0 on the season, while he stopped 34 of 41 Oswego shots. Justin Gilbert picked up the win for Oswego, improving his record to 2-1-0 on the season, stopping 24 of 27 Elmira shots. Elmira went 2 for 5 on the powerplay, while Oswego went 1 for 4 with the man advantage.

Through the first four games of this season, Kenny Neil leads Oswego with 6 points and 5 assists, while Matt Galati leads the team in goals with 4. Justin Gilbert  haas started 3 of the first 4 games, going 2-1-0 with a 2.28 GAA and a .911 SV %. Matt Zawadzki had the other start, picking up the win. He has a 2.00 GAA and a .923 SV %.

Next up for Oswego is a pair of road games heading into the Thanksgiving break. Both games take the team to Western New York, as Friday night November 22nd Oswego heads to Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena in Geneseo, as take on the Ice Knights at 7PM. Then they close out the road trip Saturday November 23rd at Tuttle North Ice Arena in Brockport, as they take on the Golden Eagles at 7PM!

(Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Best And Worst Of NFL Week 11

Well its that time of the week again. Its time where we look back at some of the best and worst performances from this week's action in the National Football League. With what has gone down, we finally have every team in the league with at least 1 loss, as the Chiefs fell to Denver. The Jets continue their jekyll and hyde type season, other teams are starting to hit their stride, like the Giants, and still other teams manage to surprise you, like the Panthers knocking off the Patriots on Monday Night Football. So with all of this in mind here now is the best and worst of week 11.

Best:
EJ Manuel, Quarterback Buffalo Bills
What a difference a week makes. Buffalo’s rookie quarterback, who looked overwhelmed a week ago in his first game back from injury, made a big statement against a tough Jets defense on Sunday. Manuel completed 20 of his 28 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-14 Bills win, outplaying fellow rookie Geno Smith and looking like the franchise quarterback Buffalo was hoping they’d drafted. Manuel had himself a very solid day, and was able to avoid pressure form a good front attack from that Jets Defense. He played a great game, showing he could come back from injury and still play well.

Worst:
Geno Smith, Quarterback New York Jets
I really could possibly give this to the entire team, as Nick Folk missed a field goal, the defense looked average and un Jets like, if you want to call it that. But Geno Smith looked horrible. Smith went 8 for 23 for 103 yards and was picked off 3 times, one of which was run back for a touchdown. This is the 4th time that Smith has had a pick returned for a TD this year, and he has already been picked off 16 times on the season. Some nights, Smith looks really good and looks like he could be a good quarterback at this level. Then theres nights like last weekend where he looks like he shouldn't be in the NFL. If this kinda stuff keeps up the Jets are going to have to do some major overhauls during the offseason.

Best:
Bobby Rainey, Running Back Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Here's a guy who sort of came out of nowhere. Rainey, who started the year as Tampa Bay’s third-string running back, tore apart a bewildered Falcons defense in a 41-28 Buccaneers romp. He had 30 carries for 163 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a 43-yard run in the second quarter. It was the best day, yardage wise, by any running back in the league in week eleven, and it was done against a defense in Atlanta that seems to really be struggling a lot as of late.

Worst:
Maurice Jones-Drew, Running Back Jacksonville Jaguars
For Jacksonville to be able to go on a winning streak this year,, they need to be able to run the football. They weren’t able to do that against the Cardinals on Sunday, as Maurice Jones-Drew carried the ball 14 times for 23 yards. The Cardinals do have a good defense, but Jones-Drew only averaging 1.6 yards a carry is inexcusable for a back of his quality. If he wants to generate interest from other teams and get out of his situation in Jacksonville, he needs to do more. The way things are going at this point for Jones-Drew, he may be finding himself on another football team before the start of next season. He's the Jaguars best player and right now he doesn't exactly look like it.

Best:
Nick Foles, Quarterback Philadelphia Eagles
If there was any doubt about who was in charge of the offense in Philly on the field, that is now a memory. Foles has the job outright over Michael Vick. Foles had another strong outing for Philadelphia on Sunday, throwing for 298 yards and finishing with a 104.3 passer rating. He scored a touchdown on a four-yard run as well. Foles is proving that mistake-free football and an ability to find open receivers is all you need to be a successful “Chip Kelly quarterback.” Philadelphia won the game, 24-16, and with a 6-5 record find themselves atop the NFC East. So yeah as good as Vick is, or was I should say, that has been surpassed by the play of Foles. this is his offense there is no longer any doubt.

Worst:
Robert Griffin III, Quarterback Washington Redskins
After a slow start against the Eagles, RG3 rallied his team, throwing for two scores and converting two two-point conversions, one through the air and one using his feet. It wasn’t enough for Washington, though, and most fans will only remember Griffin’s two turnovers from the game– a costly red zone fumble, and his last throw, a back-foot heave to the back of the end zone that was intercepted easily by the Eagles’ Brandon Boykin. Griffin still has flashes of his old self, but the turnover in the red zone late in the game is what did him in. RG3 is usually better at being able to hang on to the football. He needs to settle down and do a better job of ball and clock management if the Redskins want to grab this wide open NFC east.

Best:
Vontaze Burfict Linebacker, Cincinnati Bengals
This guy was all over the field on Sunday, reaking as much havok as was humanly possible on a football field. The second-year defensive star logged 15 tackles, including 10 solo tackles, and returned a fumble for a touchdown in a 41-20 Bengals win. Burfict, who went undrafted a year ago after a poor combine, is leading the Bengals in tackles for a second straight season, and has more than twice as many tackles as the next one of his teammates.

Worst:
Solider Field
I'm not blaiming the field itself for the Bears and Ravens performances on Sunday, but it did play a factor in the ballgame. After a period of severe weather in Chicago that delayed the game between the Ravens and the Bears, the two teams returned to a muddy, sloppy turf at Soldier Field. The weather approached so rapidly that the field crew was unable to get a tarp down, so the field was drenched in a torrential downpour. The teams did their best to play a football game after the delay as players from both sides slipped, stumbled, and slogged their way around the chewed-up field. The Bears won the game 23-20 in overtime.

Best:
Calvin Johnson, Wide Receiver Detroit Lions
Megatron played like well Megatron. He had six catches for 179 yards with two touchdowns on Sunday, including catching five passes for 163 yards in the second quarter alone. Strangely, the Lions didn’t find Johnson once in the third quarter, and the Steelers rallied to beat the Lions 37-27. I just feel bad for him that the rest of the Lions couldn't get their act together and help him out in the game, but the Lions still sit atop the NFC North, so he's pretty happy about that at the moment.

Worst:
Case Keenum, Quarterback Houston Texans
The Texans quarterback was benched in the third quarter of their game against the Raiders after the Houston offense sputtered in the second half. Keenum was replaced by Matt Schaub, who also struggled and got into a shouting match with wide receiver Andre Johnson during the fourth quarter. Perhaps most troubling for Texans fans was that both Keenum and Schaub were outplayed by Oakland rookie quarterback Matt McGloin, an undrafted free agent out of Penn State making his first NFL start.

So there you have it, the best and worst from week eleven in the NFL!