SUNY-Oswego

[dSkatedad]

So how good will the new Oswego team be this year? I'm assuming they had a strong club program beforehand and that they'll be relatively strong. Anyone got the inside poop?

[PrezdeJohnson09]

I'll be covering the Oswego Women's team this year for the school paper. Tryouts start Monday or Tuesday. It's tough to base what they have right now without them being on the ice yet with Coach Dillon.

I can tell you they have 22 recruits in this year with a majority coming from Canada. Coach Dillon has a deep background in women's college hockey as she comes over from being the assistant for 5 years at D1 Cornell. Her recruiting contacts are there and she's done a fine job bringing in a large class in her first season as coach, especially since she was named so late in March. Many kids already knew where they were going and she had to work fast to bring in the talent that she did.

What doesn't help Oswego is they are gonna be thrown right into the lion's den having to play Plattsburgh, Elmira, Neumann, and Utica just from the ECAC West schedule.

I'll be sure to let you know how things look come a bit closer to the season opener and when they play their first game in the brand new Oswego campus center on October 22nd and 23rd against Chatham.

[GreatLakerMohawk]

And just to let you know - the club program there was...well, it wasn't very much existant or...good. :o

[PrezdeJohnson09]

This was published in the Oswegonian on Friday...

Dillon picked to lead new women’s hockey program
By Derek Dunning

On March 8, 2006, Oswego State Athletic Director, Tim Hale, announced that Diane Dillon would be the head coach of the new women’s hockey team at Oswego State.

“Oswego presents a tremendous opportunity for me that was too good to pass up,” Dillon said. “I have the chance to start from scratch and not inherit another coach’s players.”

Dillon comes to Oswego after being the assistant coach at Division I Cornell University for five seasons. She was also a player for the Big Red and remains one of the most prolific players to ever wear a Cornell uniform. She ranks 7th in goals (65), 5th in assists (79), and 6th in total points (144).

“It was a tough decision for me to leave Cornell,” Dillon said. “We were just starting to bring Cornell hockey back to prominence as we beat some top Division I teams last season.”

Oswego State is known for fielding a strong men’s hockey team year in and year out. The women’s program faces a tough task for a first year team trying to emerge from the shadow of a powerhouse men’s team as well as playing in the ECAC West Conference.

The ECAC West is arguably the toughest conference in the country with national powerhouses Elmira and Plattsburgh as well as up and coming teams that are looking to place their names in the mix of national contenders in Utica and Neumann.

“I’m excited to say the least,” Dillon said when asked about competing in the ECAC West. “We will get a quick measurement on how good of a team we are. It’s a daunting task, but the only way for our program to get better is by playing the best Division III has to offer.”

Due to the late naming of Dillon as the head coach at Oswego, recruiting has been tough. “We’ve had to start really fast,” Dillon said. “There is a lot of interest right now in our program. Twenty-two players will attempt to make the cut for Dillon’s inaugural roster at the team tryouts starting on October 3rd.

One overwhelming recruiting tool that Dillon has in her favor is the brand new campus center rink set to open this year on the Oswego State campus.
“The new rink has helped recruiting not only because it is brand new, but also the fact that is shows the commitment of this university to its hockey program and the community.” Oswego’s new rink has drawn comparisons to Middlebury’s Chip Kenyon Memorial Arena, widely considered the premier Division III hockey facility in the country.

When asked about her expectations for this year’s team, Coach Dillon stated, “I want a team that will work hard everyday and one that has character and talent. These players will lay the foundation for Oswego women’s hockey. I’m optimistic that we will compete in every game regardless of the score.”

The schedule for Oswego’s inaugural women’s hockey season includes 22 games with 12 at home and 10 on the road. Oswego is currently slated to play the 14 game ECAC West Conference schedule as well as two game series with Plymouth State, St. Olaf, and Chatham and one game against both Castleton State and Utica.

“I thought that it was best for us to stay away from the Middlebury’s of the world in our first season,” Dillon said. (Middlebury has won the last three Division III NCAA Championships.) “We already will have a strong schedule for a first year team just from playing in the ECAC West.”

Joining Dillon behind the bench this year for the Lakers will be newly named assistant coach, Beth Torrice. She returns to her hometown of Oswego after a successful four-year hockey career at Utica College, tallying 32 goals and 49 points. She was also named team captain as a junior. Torrice graduated in 2005 from Utica and spent the 2005-2006 season as an assistant coach at SUNY Cortland.

Oswego certainly seems to be off on the right foot with an extremely dedicated coach in Diane Dillon. We will all find out how much her hard work paid off on October 21st, when the Lakers take the ice for the first time.

[Bill-R-]

Great story Derek. Looking forward to seeing the Lady Lakers in Plattsburgh this coming season.

[UCBadger]

Glad to hear the Beth Torrice is on board as assistant coach. ;)

[spwood]

Great story Derek. Looking forward to seeing the Lady Lakers in Plattsburgh this coming season.

So, will we see any tennis balls on the women's side of this rivalry???:rolleyes:

[SHUCrosscheck]

So, will we see any tennis balls on the women's side of this rivalry???:rolleyes:

Please no.

[PrezdeJohnson09]

Please no.

I've already had enough of that tradition...when it effects the outcome of the game...It's gone too far and that's what has happened because idiots on both sides dont follow rules and listen to when and when not to throw the bagels or tennis balls.

[dSkatedad]

I've already had enough of that tradition...when it effects the outcome of the game...It's gone too far and that's what has happened because idiots on both sides dont follow rules and listen to when and when not to throw the bagels or tennis balls.

Could someone please fill in the details of what's being talked about here for the newbies (like me) on this board. Thanks.

[GreatLakerMohawk]

Could someone please fill in the details of what's being talked about here for the newbies (like me) on this board. Thanks.

Back in the 90's, Plattsburgh State started to throw tennis balls on the ice to make fun of (and take your pick here) the color of the Oswego uniforms, the hockey coach also coached tennis, etc. I forget which reason it was or if it's a combo of everything - but after Plattsburgh would score their first goal against Oswego the fans would reign tennis balls down on the ice.

To counter that, and much in thanks to Oswego State goalie Carl Antifonario shutting out Plattsburgh in Plattsburgh (for the first time either ever or in many, many years - again not sure of the exact details) Oswego fans decided to taunt Plattsburgh in retaliation during Oswego home games by throwing bagels on the ice when the Lakers score their first goal.

Lately however, and as is evidenced by my fuzzy history on the "tradition", the meaning and the reasoning has been lost and now these games have become an event, moreso in Oswego, for fans to be dopes and bring in bags of bagels and just start heaving-ho and not just after the first goal. It's been after the second, third and sometimes fourth goal. That, of course, means that Plattsburgh gets a delay of game power play from the fans tossing the extra bagels on the ice.

During last seasons playoffs, in game 2, a maliciously tossed bagel from the far end of Romney up and over the netting found its way on the ice and gave Plattsburgh a power play that they scored on and effectively killed any and all momentum the Lakers had going as Plattsburgh went on to win the game and the series - the first time in the rivalry's history that you could attribute the ice vandalizing to costing a team their game (and in this case their playoff series and shot at the NCAAs).

During my two years there I thought it was fun seeing it happen that first game I saw between the teams, but everytime after that I got more and more aggravated with it and I'm hoping that after what happened last year it stops immediately. It is meant to be fun and all that and fun to the point where clubs were making t-shirts special for the game. That's fun, don't get me wrong. But when people (whether they're Oswego fans being dopes or Plattsburgh fans taking advantage of a hostile atmosphere) can't be trusted to put the bagels away after the first goal (or throw them all on the ice even). And now that it's costing Oswego games against the biggest and most hated rivalry - it's time to put a bullet in the whole thing.

[hockeyyfan]

This was published in the Oswegonian on Friday...
.

Prez, seriously if you can, get to know Coach Dillon...she recruited my daughter very hard for Cornell, but she ended up picking Elmira, but Diane is the best........the kids there will work their tails off but love it.

[PrezdeJohnson09]

Prez, seriously if you can, get to know Coach Dillon...she recruited my daughter very hard for Cornell, but she ended up picking Elmira, but Diane is the best........the kids there will work their tails off but love it.

working on it:)..

I've already met her once and emailed her numerous times. Between attending women's games and writing about the team i feel I'll become plenty friendly with Coach Dillon in the coming years:cool:

[dSkatedad]

Back in the 90's, Plattsburgh State started to throw tennis balls on the ice to make fun of (and take your pick here) the color of the Oswego uniforms, the hockey coach also coached tennis, etc. I forget which reason it was or if it's a combo of everything - but after Plattsburgh would score their first goal against Oswego the fans would reign tennis balls down on the ice.

Thanks. Much appreciated.

[End2End]

From what I've heard...the green tennis balls tossed after a Plattsburgh goal -may have replaced the tossing of a frozen Lake(r) Trout which used to be tossed toward the Oswego goalie....a rope was attached to the trout..so when the goalie went to get it...the fan pulled it away. I guess you can't get octopus in Plattsburgh...but tennis balls must be plentiful.