2022 NECHL Season PREVIEW: OSWEGO STATE

The Oswego State ACHA men's hockey team is under second-year head coach Travis Hyde. After finishing in second place both in the league and playoffs last season, the team has a lot of short-term goals to push the Lakers to long-term success.

quick hits

Coaching Staff: 

Head Coach: Travis Hyde (5th year coaching, 2nd with Oswego State)

Assistant Coaches: Matt Ide, Nick Keyes, Tyler Ellor

Captains:

C: Andrew Cardi

A's: Braydon Deming & Trevor Jubran

2022 Record:

Overall: 18-8-2-1-1

NECHL: 8-1-5-1 (2nd)

New Players (former team, if applicable):

• Duncan Crawford (Boston Advantage, USPHL Premier)
• Nolan Sullivan (Shenendehowa Plainsmen, NY High School)
• Ryan Kemp (West Genesee Wildcats, NY High School)
• Luke Nassoiy (Hamburg Bulldogs, NY High School)
• Nick Kidder (Utica Jr. Comets, USPHL Premier / Charlotte Rush, USPHL Elite)
• Jonathon Murphy (SUNY Cortland, NCAA Division III)
• John Trum (Long Island Arrows, EJEPL 18U)
• Ryan Lempicki (Columbus Mavericks, USPHL Premier)
• Jason Monte (White Plains)
• Bailey Doust (Columbus Mavericks, USPHL Premier)
• Nate Hutchens (Shenendehowa Plainsmen, NY High School)
• Joey Jamison (Worcester Railers, EHL Premier)
• Anthony Del Tufo (Plattsburgh State, NCAA Divison III)
• Logan Dorfman (Utica Jr. Comets, USPHL Premier)

Key returners

• Braydon Deming (forward)
• Trevor Jubran (forward)
• Andrew Cardi (forward)
• Thomas Sansone (forward)
• Thomas McAleer (goaltender)

COACH's corner

What were your immediate reaction/thoughts to how your team did in the 2021-22 season; what was the general takeaway moving into the offseason?

Hyde: "Overall, our regular season was one of the most successful in franchise history, achieving our highest win total and playing great hockey down the stretch. Playoffs were a bit of a let down for the seniors especially, but the adversity will help our games be resilient all season long. During the offseason, the focus was on preparation to have a strong start with a tough out of conference schedule the first two months. The program struggled during that stretch last year, so the short term goal of starting strong was prevalent in every guy."

What was your biggest task going into the offseason? What was the No. 1 goal heading into the 2022-23 season?

Hyde:  "The No. 1 goal for me in the offseason was adding some X-factor players that will help us stay consistent through the entire year. We had some holes to fill in the seniors we lost but found some guys that should fill the voids in their own ways very well."

What's the team goal this year? Anything specific (outside of the obvious answers such as winning the league, etc.)?

Hyde: "Obviously the answer is winning, but we have our own special teams and per game goals including specific power play and penalty percentages, shots for and against per game, as well as the intangibles in terms of discipline, attitude, etc. Winning is at the top of the list of course, but is a lot easier if we achieve the smaller goals first."

Do you have any personal goals or does the coaching staff have any goals for the program this year?

Hyde: "As a coaching staff, we have implemented new infrastructure to our preparation and analysis we hope will contribute to success on the ice."

Now that you're settled in as it's your second year as head coach, what's the mentality for you personally this season as you continue to build and grow the program?

Hyde: "My mentality is a get up and go to start the year. As a new head coach, it is sometimes difficult to implement everything all at once the way you would like to. You have to build trust and grow the relationships first before throwing a ton of info at the players. Now that everyone is comfortable with many of our new guys we have been in communication with for months, the start of the year has been much more seamless in terms of our systems and approach to the season. Personally, I see this year as being a very important year for the growth of the program in terms of its success and recognition among conference and ACHA opponents. We have some new teams coming into the Deb (Oswego State's home rink) and we expect to give them a product of Oswego ACHA hockey that will be tough to play against."

FIRST SIGHTS OF ACTION

To kick off the season, Oswego State takes on Temple University on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. The Lakers host the Naval Academy -- a team that made it to the 2022 ACHA National Tournament -- on Sept. 23-24 afterward. Both starting weekends are at Oswego State's home rink, The Deborah F. Stanley Arena.

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Cover photo by Aubrey Fischer