OSWEGO, NY – Hartwick and Oswego opened their seasons against one another for the fourth consecutive season Sunday and the game, once again, didn't disappoint as the two teams were separated in the end by a single goal for the third time in the four meetings. This time, the host Lakers scored the final two goals of the game in a 10-9 victory over the Hawks.
           
'Wick trailed for the first three quarters but three straight tallies would give the Hawks their first lead of the game, 9-8, with 11:16 remaining in the contest. Oswego's Jack Delany netted his second goal to tie the score at nine less than two minutes later, and Kyle Bacon scored his game-high fifth goal of the day with 5:09 left on the clock for the clincher. Hartwick had the ball in the Oswego end with 11 seconds left to go. The Hawks put the ball in after a loose ball but it was after the final horn giving the Lakers the win.
           
Kainen Francis-Thompson (Hogansburg, NY/Massena) and Dylan Ferguson (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin) each scored a pair of goals and dished out an assist for Hartwick. David Demand (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) and Mike Majchrzak (Plantsville, CT/Southington) each scored twice, and Pete Conley (Foxboro, MA/Foxborough) registered a goal and two helpers. Tim Watson (Wrentham, MA/King Philip Regional) also had two assists.
           
The Hawks out-shot the Lakers by a margin of 44-37, but goalkeeper Kevin O'Donnell was a wall making 24 saves in the game for Oswego.
           
The hosts jumped out to a 2-0 lead quickly as they opened the scoring 1:35 into the contest and then Bacon capitalized on a 'Wick turnover and buried his shot just 24 seconds later for the two-goal advantage.
           
A Conley feed in front for Demand produced the first Hawks' goal of the season at the 10:41 mark of the first quarter. The game remained 2-1 for the next 10 and a half minutes until Oswego made it 3-1 with only three seconds left.
           
Majchrzak made it a one-goal game 4:56 into the second period only to have the Lakers get the next two 4:01 apart for a 5-2 edge. Majchrzak countered from the top of the circle for his second goal of the quarter at 3:46 with Watson assisting. The two teams traded goals in the last two minutes, including a Ferguson goal with just 1.6 seconds to go to give Hartwick a two-goal (6-4) deficit heading into halftime.
           
Bacon netted his third of the day early in the third quarter before Francis-Thompson tallied twice in a 25-second span to close the gap to one, 7-6. His first was an even-strength goal with his second came on the man-up from Ferguson.
           
Another Bacon tally closed out the Laker scoring in the third. Conley answered with his first goal in a Hartwick uniform with under two minutes left and Oswego led 8-7 entering the final quarter.
           
Demand evened the score 2:55 into the fourth from Conley. Forty-nine seconds later, Ferguson put Hartwick up for the first time with Francis-Thompson assisting. The Hawks held the lead for the next 1:45 until Delany tallied. Bacon scored from in front following a nice pass from Tim Schof 4:22 later for the winner.
           
'Wick had two more shots, a Majchrzak effort that was saved by O'Donnell and a Watson shot that went high of the cage. Later, the Hawks killed off a penalty taking the game under a minute. After alternating timeouts by each team with 32.5 seconds left, Alec Lind (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills Ballston Lake) picked off a pass behind the Lakers' goal. The Hawks cleared and head coach Don LaSala called timeout with 11 seconds left and time for one more play. 'Wick couldn't get a shot off, however, until after time expired as the Hawks would come up just short.
           
Lind finished with a game-high eight ground balls. Zack Orth (North Haven, CT/North Haven), who won 12-of-19 face-offs on the day, had seven. Francis-Thompson added five ground balls and Tyler Rivera (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) contributed four. Lind and Justin Curreri (Miller Place, NY/Rocky Point) each caused two turnovers. C.J. Alesandrini (Schenectady, NY/Colonie) finished the game with 13 saves in the Hawks' cage.
         
Dan Doolan contributed two goals and an assist to the Oswego offense. Schof finished with a goal and two assists. John Petrelli grabbed seven GBs and Seamus Burns forced five Hawk turnovers.
           
'Wick is next in action on Saturday, March 7 at Farmingdale State. The opening face-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
           
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