FREDONIA, N.Y. -- Fredonia State men's hockey coach
Jeff Meredith believes his team learned this valuable lesson when it lost Feb. 10 to the Oswego Lakers, 10-2: How not to play against the No. 1 ranked team in NCAA Division III.
He also believes his team learned another lesson Wednesday when it won at Geneseo, 4-1, in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament: How to win playoff hockey games.
Both theories will be put to the test when the Blue Devils (12-10-3) and Lakers (21-2-2) meet 7 p.m. Saturday at Oswego in a SUNYAC Tournament semifinal.
"The thing from the other night (at Geneseo) that impressed me," Meredith said, "was how simple and thorough that we played. I was really impressed by our maturity for doing the simple things that lead to being effective. That is exactly the type of game plan that we will need to execute at Oswego.
"Obviously having been run out of their rink a few weeks ago was tough at the time it happened. Where we are mentally at this point though is that I look back on that as a bit of a twisted positive now from the standpoint that I think it will help hone us in on the style of game that we need to play. Executing our plan will be key for us."
The Blue Devils and Lakers, winners of 11 straight, will be meeting for the third time this season. In addition to their lopsided win at home, the Lakers were 4-1 winners when the teams met Nov. 18 at the Steele Hall Ice Arena.
Fredonia State has been down this path before. In 2007, they won three straight road games en route to the SUNYAC championship, including an overtime victory at Oswego. Last season, the Blue Devils -- coming off another first-round road win as they are now -- again had to travel to Oswego, and again pulled the upset.
Last year's streak of playoff road success came to an end the following week when the Blue Devils lost to Plattsburgh in the SUNYAC championship game. The Cardinals, ranked No. 4 in the country, will host Buffalo State in Saturday's other SUNYAC semifinal.
"If you are going to win a SUNYAC conference championship," Meredith said, "you have to go through either Oswego, Plattsburgh, or both, so this is the route and this is the game.
From what we have experienced in the past, winning that Wednesday playoff game gives you alot of momentum going into the Saturday semifinals."
Complete coverage of the game -- audio, video, and live stats -- will be available via www.fredoniabluedevils.com.
Tickets are $8 for adults, and $3 for college students with ID. They can also be purchased online at tickets.oswego.edu
